What better way to spend the day after the 4th of July then with a hike up to the top of Goat Mountain!

Went up with 2 girlfriends and one dog. The road to the trailhead is well maintained with barely any potholes. Nice parking area just below the trailhead and a bathroom at the parking area. You need a forest pass or america the beautiful pass to park here.

The hike starts off with some switchbacks through the trees and then once you get around 3 miles up you start to get some views. 3.6 miles up there are some great spots to set up tents to camp with beautiful views looking over toward the Mount Baker Ski Area and views of Shuksan and Baker on a clear day. There was still lots of running water on the way up but once you got up ther 3.6 miles not much running water, but still snow melt that you could use for water. 

We continued up from there for another mile and over 1000 feet of vert up to get the false summit of Goat Mountain. We ran into a couple small snowfields that were very easy to cross and are melting quickly. No need for microspikes on this hike. You could do the hike with or without poles based on your preference.

The true summit of goat mountain involves some scrambling. We were okay with the false summit and it had amazing 360 degree views!

Entire day was 10 miles round trip with 4249 feet of elevation gain (the 4249 feet of gain all within the first 4.5 miles). 

Forest Road 32 in good shape.   A few potholes but easy to avoid.   Arrived at TH @ 7:30 AM.   50 degrees.   Mostly clear.   Bugs not a problem. Nice trail, reasonably graded switchbacks and some rolling up and down runs.   Snow patches on on and near trail start at about 4600'.   Great views.  Official trail ends at 5600', trail under snow fields near the end point off and on. Found way using GPS and following boot tracks with poles.   Continued on the unofficial "trail" another 125' feet elevation, much of which under snow.   Stopped at 5737' when trail got too sketchy, loose footing, wash outs and steep slope.  

Made it to about 5700', consistent snow started at 4500'. We turned around as we entered a cloud, boot track continued toward the summit. Snow conditions were great, minimal to no postholing. 

The road was recently graded so is mostly smooth to the trailhead (for now, the potholes are already starting to reappear).

The trail was snow free and clear for about 2.75 miles (about 4400'). There are 6 small (about 6" diameter) poles across the trail before the Wilderness boundary. All are very easy for a hiker to get over or around. 

Snow first shows up around 4400' and becomes solid soon after. There is a slide alder mess (see photo) at the first big snow patch which required leaving the trail to get past.  I turned around soon after because I wasn't interested in spending a lot of time on snow and it was about another mile to the lookout. The snow was in good shape (at least to the point where I turned around), with minimal postholing.

This trail has multiple small stream crossings, but I was able to keep my feet dry using poles.

The color palate was predominantly green (moss, ferns, etc.), but intermittent splashes of color with calypso orchids, trillium, and yellow violets. I also saw some wild ginger blooming by the trailhead, and a couple of glacier lilies near the snowline.

Climbed another one of the 28 (!) Goat Mountains/Peaks we have in WA, this one in the Baker Lake area.

Road Conditions. Parked on the shoulder of Baker Lake Rd, just outside the Grandy Lake Campground (which appeared to be open).

Trail Conditions. The first 4 miles of logging road were smooth (except for a short section 2 miles in, where the road is sloughing off). A dusting of snow started at 2,000 ft; put on snowshoes at 3,000 ft. Another 1-2 miles on a decommissioned road (with frequent water bars). Shortcut the final switchback on the way up, not sure the bushwhacking and tree wells were worthwhile... The final mile to the summit was a pleasant climb through open forest on nice soft snow.

Crowds. I doubt this mountain sees much use, but today there were two other climbers.