Goat Marsh, Goat Mountain (St Helens)
Posted: November 3rd, 2019, 6:48 pm
I was aware there's a shorter easier way up Goat Mountain, but to do the whole thing from Goat Marsh is only about the equivalent of a Devil's Rest, so I decided to start from Road 8123 and follow the SE ridge up, along a satellite mountain next to Goat, or maybe it's considered part of Goat.
It was quite steep in spots, but never scary. Brush wasn't too bad, just a minor annoyance. Reached the high point on the Goat satellite and started dropping into the saddle headed towards Goat. At first it was easy open forest, until I came to a rocky prominence on the ridgecrest. An easy scramble put me at the top, where I aborted. The distance/elevation wasn't a problem, but I could see that the south ridge of Goat wasn't as distinct as I imagined it would be. In person, that side of Goat appeared amorphous, brushy, no fun at all, not enough reward to suffer the ascent.
On the way back, I took a spur ridge headed north. I had noticed it earlier, and made note that I should avoid accidentally following it down instead of the east ridge. But with time on my hands, I wanted to see if it would continue to be as open and distinct as it was at the top. It didn't, so I turned back, ascended to my high point, and down the east ridge.
I didn't make great time on my descent. It was steep and brushy, and I probably moved about as slow as I did going up. I went too low on the ridge (too far south and east) and ran into a creek in a gully. I knew I was off route, but not quite sure where I was. I wasn't too worried. You literally can't get lost here, road 81 and 8123 wrap around the mountain. Even so, it felt a bit spooky as I wandered around, and I was relieved when I hit a faint trail which took me to Kalama ski trail, which I followed back to the marsh and then road 8123, where I had parked.
Weather was amazing. Poking around the marsh/lakes, I wore a short-sleeved tee shirt, even when sedentary, even when the breeze picked up. Only in the shade was it a little chilly.
It was quite steep in spots, but never scary. Brush wasn't too bad, just a minor annoyance. Reached the high point on the Goat satellite and started dropping into the saddle headed towards Goat. At first it was easy open forest, until I came to a rocky prominence on the ridgecrest. An easy scramble put me at the top, where I aborted. The distance/elevation wasn't a problem, but I could see that the south ridge of Goat wasn't as distinct as I imagined it would be. In person, that side of Goat appeared amorphous, brushy, no fun at all, not enough reward to suffer the ascent.
On the way back, I took a spur ridge headed north. I had noticed it earlier, and made note that I should avoid accidentally following it down instead of the east ridge. But with time on my hands, I wanted to see if it would continue to be as open and distinct as it was at the top. It didn't, so I turned back, ascended to my high point, and down the east ridge.
I didn't make great time on my descent. It was steep and brushy, and I probably moved about as slow as I did going up. I went too low on the ridge (too far south and east) and ran into a creek in a gully. I knew I was off route, but not quite sure where I was. I wasn't too worried. You literally can't get lost here, road 81 and 8123 wrap around the mountain. Even so, it felt a bit spooky as I wandered around, and I was relieved when I hit a faint trail which took me to Kalama ski trail, which I followed back to the marsh and then road 8123, where I had parked.
Weather was amazing. Poking around the marsh/lakes, I wore a short-sleeved tee shirt, even when sedentary, even when the breeze picked up. Only in the shade was it a little chilly.