Goat Rocks Wilderness Trail Conditions

[vmgbac]

Hi hi hello everyone, long time lurker, first time poster here.

I'd like to head over to the Goat Rocks Wilderness and backpack the Goat Lake Loop this weekend. Does anyone know what the trail conditions are like up there? I'm mainly wondering what the snow pack looks like and if the trail will be clearly marked.

TIAD!

[drm]

I would call the ranger office in Randle. I would not expect it to be clear yet, especially the exposed route between Snowgrass and Goat Lake. But the FS website report is way out of date so I'm not sure.

[texasbb]

I'd expect it to still be pretty snowy. In the Alpine Camp-to-Goat Lake parts as drm mentions, but maybe more significantly, between Goat Lake and the pass over to Jordan Basin. Those are steep slopes that could be dicey or worse with significant snowfields remaining.

[retired jerry]

Goat Lake is notorious for melting out late

There is a poll somewhere of when people think it will melt out. I'm betting on next year

[Aimless]

Generalizing from the trip reports we've had so far from other places, I'd expect patchy snow beginning around 4400 ft, especially on north-facing slopes, with nearly complete snow coverage above 5200 ft. Under tree cover you could hit consolidated drifts 4 or 5 feet deep. Even if you're equipped for the conditions, it's going to slow you down quite a bit and eat up a lot more energy than just walking on open trails. I hope you're good at route-finding!

Later edit to address this question: "if the trail will be clearly marked":

As a rule, hiking trails in our local National Forests are not marked other than by signage at junctions, and even this is not always true. Signs get knocked down or damaged by falling limbs in winter, or the tree they were nailed to falls over. In the distant past trails were also marked by axe-blazes, where trailside trees were gouged at intervals, roughly at eye level. The great majority of these blazes have disappeared over time, but some still can be seen. These days you re better off looking for incidental signs that mark the existence of a snow-covered trail, such as the sawed ends of logs or other signs of trail building or maintenance.

So, in summary, no, the trail won't be "clearly marked".

[Steve20050]

I went into Goat Rocks on 4th of July one year back in the 90s. While every year is different, unless you really want to deal with a lot of snow, especially this year, I would pick somewhere else. The year I did this I had to hike over exposed areas with steep snow banks. You would definitely need traction equipment like spikes or crampons in numerous places.

[drm]

I went into Goat Rocks on 4th of July one year back in the 90s. While every year is different, unless you really want to deal with a lot of snow, especially this year, I would pick somewhere else. The year I did this I had to hike over exposed areas with steep snow banks. You would definitely need traction equipment like spikes or crampons in numerous places.

Steve - Looks like a typical August day at Goat Lake!

[retired jerry]

when it's warm like this you don't need traction devices

but it can get cold, especially in the morning, so it's probably wise to carry them just in case

[weekend_warrior]

complete snow coverage in Goat Rocks still. I'd wait another month. image date: 6/29/17

[RobFromRedland]

complete snow coverage in Goat Rocks still. I'd wait another month. image date: 6/29/17

Where did you get that cool picture? It looks to be relatively high resolution, too.