We left the trailhead around 4:30pm. Snow was not an issue at all (outside of a few very small patches) until reaching the spur trail up to the point. Even then there wasn't more than a quarter-mile of it and the boottrack was very easy to follow. Some people were continuing on the snow up the gully but we went to the right a bit and took the climbers' trail on the ridge that moved through the woods. My wife isn't much of a scrambler and isn't comfortable on steep, loose trails so the last half-mile up to the shelter took quite a while and we arrived up top at about 8pm.
The view in the evening light was beautiful...
We set up camp in an established spot in the meadow above the shelter and were one of only two tents in the area...only five people spent the night up there on Friday night, which is a big difference from the many that are up there this evening.
In the morning we hiked up the ridge to the end of the trail before the ridge drops down a bit and requires an ice axe. The views were amazing and the flowers are out in full force right now.
The meadows are melting out quickly, but like others have said, the snow below will keep the easy route up there covered up for another few weeks still.
We made our way down in the afternoon and saw dozens of dayhikers and overnighters making thier ways up...that's what happens when there aren't a lot of other options open for alpine wildflower meadows without significant snow and route-finding issues.
It was a beautiful weekend to be up there and I'm definitely glad that we went up on Friday instead of Saturday.