For years the Goat Rocks Wilderness of Washington has been on my "to do" list of hikes. Because of its distance from Portland, however, I have never been able to get there for day hikes. The pictures I had seen and the trip reports were all spectacular, and I could resist no longer!
The drive from Portland to Packwood, the town nearest the Goat Rocks, was about 2.5 hours and 130 miles (I-5 N to SR-12 E). Another 20 miles on an excellent gravel road brought us to the Berry Patch Trailhead; it was completely packed with cars and horse trailers!
I should not have been too surprised for a popular area on a Saturday.
My wife Amy, stepdaughter Miette (11 yrs) and I set off up the Snowgrass Flats Trail (#96). For the first few miles it rambles through typically beautiful Northwest forest and begins steepening just after passing Goat
Creek.
We were soon making steady progress uphill, pausing for numerous groups heading down, including three groups of horse riders. We would discover though the rest of our trip, the.....errr.....evidence of horses' presence on the trails. Overall, though the trails appeared well used and rutted in places, they were not as bad as I thought they might be at such a popular destination. They were certainly not as bad as some parts of the Three Sisters Wilderness where they appear more like backroads.......
Our mild uphill battle ended at a beautiful, if not entirely flat, campsite on a ridge. The views of the Goat Rocks were spectacular!
As was the sunset!
In the morning Mount Adams was bathed in the gentle hues of the new day.
We were up early and packed up camp so we could move it when we got back from our destination hike of the day: Old Snowy. I did not realize what a popular goal it was! Everyone we met seemed to be coming or going from there. The hike up along the PCT was like walking the roof of the world: expansive views, wildflowers and wildlife, a slow transition into pure alpine rock and snow. The wind was frightful on the upper parts and we could see stormy weather blowing in from the west. All together it was an easy scramble to the top, with trail most of the way.
We met some adventurous souls on top who had traversed from the east that day, summiting Gilbert and Ives Peaks before Old Snowy! We returned to our camp and moved to a different site, hoping to find a breezier, more open place were the mosquitoes could not get at us. We found a more beautiful site but had little luck warding off the bugs
During the night it rained heavily and we awoke to a misty morning. After packing up, we headed out the Lily Basin Trail (#86) to Goat Lake, which was still crowded with ice!
We had a chilly lunch and continued on, in awe of the incredible scenery. On the way out we passed a few campsites (incredible places to stay!!) and even saw a lone mountain goat
.
This part of the trail was the most magnificent of the trip and could go head-to-head with any other beautiful alpine setting (that I have seen) for the U.S. Heavyweight Scenery Title: beautiful vistas high above glacially carved valleys, a stunning riot of wildflowers, mountain goats, frozen lakes.....almost too much
. Pictures don't do it justice.
After crossing over the saddle into the Jordan Basin we were in awe of the hanging basin that is the source of Jordan Creek. At this point we were descending via the Goat Ridge trail (#95), with extensive views to the west. We got back to the Berry Patch Trailhead to find just 5 vehicles in the lot! The lesson: go on a weekday!
Thanks for sharing the warning.