Tumwater Trail (#218), Goat Creek, Goat Mountain

In the Backpacking Washington, 2007 edition, author Douglas Lorain, describes this hike as the "Northern Mount St. Helens Loop". There were no recent trip reports, so I checked trail conditions on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest Website.

After a few wrong turns, we finally found Forest Service Road 2750—there was a small sign for the trail, and about 4 miles of gravel road with many deep potholes. Luckily they were avoidable, and by going slow I did fine in a regular car. At the unmarked trail head (no forest pass required according to the forest service website) there was a sign that said the trail was closed due to washout 0.5 mile in. I was able to double-check on my phone, and the trail was open, so we went ahead. The first two miles of the trail were a dream, with a very modest climb, and thick forest. We crossed a couple of minor streams and finally encountered Leona Falls. It is one gorgeous waterfall and although it does not rush with the gushing ferocity of some waterfalls, it more than makes up for it with its showy, misty, flow. Walking in the deep cave behind it was a treat.

Unfortunately, it got much more difficult after that. The two water crossings described as “small” were actually rushing creeks at least 20 feet across. The first crossing, we were able to scramble across a few logs to get across. It was difficult, but we managed to stay dry.
The second crossing, over Goat Creek, was impossible to do without getting soaked. The bottom of the river was full of sharp rocks, and after searching for a way across, we went across in hiking boots. It was not much fun hiking in wet boots the rest of the day.

Due to our late start, we elected to camp near Tumwater Mountain. There was quite a bit of snow around the half-frozen pond, but we were able to find a dry place to camp, and although we didn’t require any water, we would have been able to get some from the pond. On July 4th, the pond was about 150 feet across at its widest diameter. It got very cold at night and our wet boots and the lake partially froze over.

We were going to stay overnight again, and add some of the extra hikes around Goat Mountain Ridge and Vanson Peak, but instead we decided to complete the remaining 14 miles and head back to the car. Anything over 4300 feet or so had snow and caused us to lose the trail at least 10 times due to the heavy snow. Most of the time, the snow was an annoyance, but a couple of times it was dangerous to walk on without better equipment. We lost the trail for three hours about two miles past Vanson creek, due to the snow, and a wrong turn at a small pond, which we mistook as the “Unnamed Lake” pictured in the map in our book.

The 14 miles were broken up with some decent views of Mt. Rainier, wildflowers, and by Deadmans Lake and Vanson Lake. Deadmans Lake was picturesque—other than the broken camping equipment someone had strewn around—and would be perfect to swim in (it is only about 0.25 miles off the main trail). Vanson Lake is about 0.5-0.75 miles off the main trail and a steep climb back up from. It was pretty too, and full of salamanders at its marshy shore, but if you are in a hurry, it is not a must-see.

This route would probably be at its best in a couple of more weeks, but overall, it was a great hike which made me thankful for our trusty compass while yearning for a fancy GPS device. This hike is perfect for a two day overnight for a more meandering hiker, but thanks to the modest elevation gain (3200 feet) it is very doable in one night. We didn't see much wildlife other than a few birds, and a couple of signs of deer. Perhaps the best part of the hike was that there were no biting bugs! We did not require any bug spray.