Goat Rocks Wilderness - Oct 17-18
Posted: October 25th, 2022, 6:52 am
The trails would be new to me. I’d been before in Goat Rocks coming up Nannie Ridge, from Packwood Lake, and from Tieton Meadows.
I’d recently invested in a new pack, sleeping bag, bear canister with the aim of lightening my load - to breathe new life into my step. I thought of handicapped horse races, where weights are added to the top thoroughbreds to even out the field. Now I was the slower horse, and so I was chucking off some of those weights, to compensate for this mutt’s lost youth.
And I must say, it made all the difference, wondering why I hadn’t done it earlier; the reason being that I don’t backpack all that much so all my old gear was fine - kind of durable in its heaviness, including my Osprey with a lifetime repair warranty (I got another Osprey). My new sleeping bag was both lighter and roomier - no more mummy rules - and I liked that too.
I chose to ascend up Goat Ridge because it’s steeper than Snowgrass and knowing it would get me to Goat Lake quickly enough given my midday start. It’s my kind of trail - commencing in rich forest, climbing steadily with peek-a-boo views until opening up to wide open vistas. I wasn’t hurrying, getting warmed up and just enjoying being out. Some hazy smoke snaked its way into the valley below; an inversion layer at work for now. Where I was, and above, was blue sky with dashes of fall color. I reached the end of #95 and transitioned to #86 for the final leg to the lake.
I had seen no one as I reached Goat Lake, set among a sea of well worn but entirely vacant campsites, and so I took my pick of the litter. Also missing were signs of goats anywhere on Goat Ridge or here at Goat Lake. I coudn't help recall a recent WTA trail report that described a scene where at least two goats were picked off above Goat Lake by cheering gunmen - one goat tumbling into the water - before a crowd of thirty or so campers. Goat tags are not a dime a dozen, and they come with numerous regs to follow.
Today was more peaceful, and having pitched camp, I backtracked on the Lily Basin trail, heading up to Hawkeye Point for a look. However, heavy smoke shrouded the view to the north and west; only a sliver of Mt. Rainier barely visible. The most pleasing view was from Goat Lake.
The night was almost T-shirt warm - mid October yet - and it made stargazing a delight. The Milky Way above turned like a screw slot and the Big Dipper traced the ridge around Goat Lake. When a half moon came up later, it became a Zodiac sky.
………….
A great sunrise; colors extra warm thanks to residual smoke. I packed up and descended on #86 with that million dollar view to the south of the Goat Creek Valley and Mt. Adams. The smoke seemed to be clearing in this direction.
About an hour into my descent I encountered a serious hunter quietly scanning the landscape. I would only meet two more hikers on the trip.
As #86 approaches #96 there are a number of confusing user trails so I checked my GPS. Otherwise than that this was a smooth, gentle descent. I made nice time and it was easy on my knees.
Approaching the Snowgrass TH I veered onto what is pretty much a connector trail back to the Berry Patch trailhead, but it's technically the final leg of #96. This connector section appears fairly lightly used, which surprised me.