Hazardous Weather Outlook
Heat Advisory
DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS...STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM...STAY OUT OF THE SUN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
This was the forecast. So, of course, we set out for a three day, 2 night backpacking trip into the Goat Rocks Wilderness.
I�d had the Goat Rocks on my hiking list since 1980 and with so much time to think about it, I had a full agenda in mind for this trip. I jumped at the opportunity when David suggested heading up there. We planned to climb to 6000 ft and camp Friday night. On Saturday, to climb Old Snowy, cross over to Ives Peak and try to summit Curtis-Gilbert Peak before decending back to camp via Cispus Pass. Sunday would be a relatively easy loop up to Goat Lake and back to the trailhead. (Remember this was my first time up there and it looked easy on the TOPO! map.)
I took MAX to the east side so I could meet David early on Friday afternoon. We were on our way by 3:00 pm. We took I-5 north to Hwy 12 and headed east toward White Pass stopping briefly for a sandwich at a Subway in Morton. We turned onto Rd 21 about 13.5 miles past Randle and followed the well-groomed gravel road to the trailhead, arriving just before 7:00 pm.
We pushed hard and found a campsite between Snowgrass Flats and Alpine Camp a bit before 9:00 pm � just in time to set up camp and get a few sunset photos. The mosquitoes were fierce. They even got in the way of several of my photos (I like to set my camera to flash when taking a sunset photo. It often will let in just the right amount of light and freeze the frame for me as long as nothing near the camera reflects the flash back � like a mosquito swarm.)
After a breakfast hurried along by the wish to be walking away from the mosquitoes, we headed across Snowgrass Flats, toward the PCT. The wildflower display in the meadow was amazing. Small mountain streams running through the grass made a striking backdrop to the various colors & shapes of flowers. The early blooming glacier lily was finishing it�s show, but at the edges of the meadows, was still in force. Paintbrush, aster, lupine and more�
 
Once up to the PCT, the terrain was a bit less grown over, and the flowers appeared as they were placed in a well groomed rock garden by a great gardener. Clumps of heather scattered about added new depth to the hillsides.
We soon climbed above the alpine meadow to newly exposed rocks and snow patches. At the base of the climb to Old Snowy we crossed above a brilliant blue lake in the snow.
Snowfield lake & Mt Rainier from trail below Old Snowy:
The view from Old Snowy was worth the rocky climb that preceded it. The breeze at the top was warm, but comfortable. I was fascinated by the view to the north, but beginning to wonder if I bit off too much by wanting to travel the ridge toward Goat Citadel and Gilbert Peak. From this angle, I wasn�t even sure I could safely descend the south side of Old Snowy so I could get to the ridgeline below.
David on Old Snowy. Ives Peak on the right, Gilbert, Citadel & Bighorn on left:
I decided I needed to be closer to know for sure, handed David a radio and headed across the rocks to the south. David and I kept in touch every 15-30 minutes for the rest of the afternoon. I soon discovered that the route would be much too difficult for David�s dog Kodi. David enjoyed a nice walk back to camp and I started picking my way south along the ridge. I found an interesting rock formation on the southern edge of Old Snowy. My descent off Old Snowy was more a controlled landslide than anything. I kept my balance in the scree with my trekking poles and zig-zagged down the slope, trying not to let too many rocks join me at any one time.
Southern edge of Old Snowy from the south:
I passed a number of interesting rock formations on the ridge and approached the jagged 7771 Pt. This peak is shaped much like the dorsal fin of a sailfish � thin and tall. I didn�t see an easy way around it at first and started climbing up the edge. Of course, it was easier to climb up than across, so I soon found myself perched atop this thin peak, 10 feet from the summit and sitting with one foot dangling off to the east and one off to the west, looking at a rock spire in front of me. (A bit like the catwalk on Ruckel Ridge without the trees and a lot more precarious.) I couldn�t go any farther and had to climb back down: Easier said than done! After I worked my way back down, I found a route around the base of the vertical rock face on the east side and continued south along the ridgeline.
7771 Pt on left, interesting rock formation on right from north:
I approached Ives Peak up the loose and rocky south face, and angled toward the west side of the summit to avoid the vertical northeast face. Near the top on the west side, the going was steep, but the rocks weren�t as loose. With the better footing, I made it to the top rather easily. I checked in with David in the valley below. He could see me moving across the summit. After some time, I was able to locate him and Kodi on a snowpatch below. I had a satisfying lunch break, noticed a billy goat climbing up toward me, took a few pictures and followed the goat down the peak. The southern slope was covered by larger loose rocks which made the going tedious � watching every step. I wasn�t a sure-footed as the goat. I was getting overconfident too, with the slope now only 30 degrees or so. Suddenly, my right foot missed one of the rocks, and I bounced face down onto the rocks and ended up with a rather ugly bruise on my right thigh. I picked myself up and as I stood, was rather surprised that nothing else was hurting. My clothes and trekking poles were intact as well. I continued on with renewed diligence in every step.
Approach to Ives Peak from the north:
West face of Ives Peak. Steep, but firm footing on thin sheets of vertical rock:
Goat looking up and wondering how a human got above him:
I traversed the east slope of 7476 Pt and reached the top of Cispus Ridge below Bighorn and Goat Citadel. At this point, I took a break and checked the time. It was 3:00 pm and I was about to ascend the steepest part of the climb. It was impossible to see the ascent route while climbing. It was just too steep. I had to rely on my memory of photos and a write up in a book. I did have the GPS to guide me as well, but I knew the waypoints I added were only approximates. I decided that I would have to turn around at 4:00 pm. I didn�t want to get too tired before my climb back down or to be out too late. I checked in with David, and headed up the rocks.
I hugged the base of the rocks on the left and turned uphill just past the rock tower, nothing but up from here:
This climb was the sketchiest bit of scrambling I have ever done. I pushed up to 7800 ft or so and reached a point even with Big Horn. I was up against the rock wall of the Citadel and couldn�t see a way to continue either up or to the south. (I hind sight, I would have needed to descend 100 ft or so and climb to the right toward the southern edge of Goat Citadel. That would have led me to the final walk up to the top of Gilbert Peak)
Rock wall to my left, Big Horn to my right:
 
and Cispus Ridge fifteen hundred feet below:
But, it was 4:00 now, I was getting tired and the sky started to sprinkle me with raindrops. I had to turn back. I sure hate climbing down. At one point, I lost my footing in a particularly loose section of rocks and sand, and glissaded down the rocks for about 25 ft on my backside. Thankfully, I was careful enough to cross such loose spots only when I had a firm stop not too far below (it still wasn�t much fun). In another spot, I found I had descended a slightly different route than I had climbed, and I had to crawl down a nearly vertical section for 100-150 ft using hand and toe holds on the rocks.
I reached the top of Cispus Ridge and followed the ridgeline down to Cispus Pass and took the PCT back toward camp. I returned to camp, hungry, thirsty, tired, sore, but absolutely exhilarated. What a trek. (Don�t try this at home � professional idiot on a closed course.)
My route superimposed on a photo from Goat Ridge:
After a restless night avoiding sleeping on that charley horse of a bruise on my thigh, we rose Sunday morning to a bright blue sky and had a beautiful hike up the 2 miles to Goat Lake and down Goat Ridge to the car. I was satisfied I'd finally experienced the Goat Rocks.
Our GPS track of the whole trip:
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