Those two speedy sporty specks you refer to are my brother and I. Our round trip to the base of Echo Rock took about 5 hours, tennis shoes and camelbak. We went up there to check out the Mowich Face (which we plan on skiing next spring). We saw you guys on top and were wondering why you had ice axes. Now I understand. We also wished we had brought skis.
While I'm on the Rainier message board... does anybody know if the Wilson Headwall has been skied? It looks totally doable in the spring, although I've yet to climb it.