Glorious day on Goat Mountain! Selected this trail thinking it would be more melted out than other nearby hikes given the south-facing/exposed upper sections of trail. The road is bumpy but any car can manage. Our goal was only to get to the knoll at about 5200'. There are a few patches of snow that are soft but not super deep. We did fine in trail runners, with trekking poles, and made it across without much issue. There is a lot of water crossing the trail throughout, plenty to filter for the day. The upper switchbacks before you reach the knoll are somewhat wet from snow melt. It was clear there is still a lot of snow beyond the viewpoint we stopped at—I would not want to attempt before significantly more snow has melted. Heard a ton of Townsend's warblers and a good amount of varied and hermit thrushes in the upper parts of the trail. One Townsend's solitaire at the top! Also saw several tiny toads hopping across the trail in a few spots, and a couple good patches of beautiful glacier lilies. We saw a total of six other hikers all day. 

Happy hiking!

Arrived at to the TH at 11:00 am, there were two other cars. The road had quite a few potholes but nothing too severe. The trail starts with quite a few switchbacks and then mellows out for awhile. The trail was in great condition, plenty of water, and some muddy spots here and there. At 2.8 miles, the trail is fully covered in snow and remains so for the rest of the trail. It seems that a majority of people stopped here but I decided to keep going. The snow was soft which meant I sunk up to my knees and hips numerous times. As I got higher up, I kept following the very faint snowshoe tracks and would sink a few inches with every step. I reached the top in about 2 hours and decided not to follow the unofficial trail another 1k feet up as it got much stepper and I had nothing but my trail runners on. It was a cloudy day but the views were still spectacular. I would probably bring floatation if I was to go during the next week or two. Going down in the snow was a blast and once I was out of it I ran most of the day way down, took about an hour total to reach the car.

We had five people from three generations) enjoying a wonderful hike up Goat Mountain today. Weather was mid-50s and partly sunny; perfect for hiking. The trail condition was superb. The first mile was a bit tiring (750’ up) and we went another half mile up onto the traverse section and then turned around; hot tub and dinner at Snowater beckoned. A variety of beautiful mosses covered almost everything. In 2 1/2 hours we passed only one other person, and there were a total of three cars in the lot. The outhouse is fairly new and completely odor-free. The only challenges were some mosquitos and the many potholes in the road—but fortunately it’s only for ~2 miles. I’m sure this hike will be quite a different experience in July; that’s one of the of the benefits of growing old—retiring and enjoying mid-week shoulder-season hiking on cool, uncrowded trails.

Nice morning hike part way up Goat Mountain. Road to TH easy/bathroom at TH. Only saw 3 other people. Several water crossings that weren’t a problem. Trail covered in snow still just below tree line…..passible for those inclined and/or equipped. Turned around at about 2.6 miles up because of snow. Talked to someone that went about 1/2 mile further and was told sunk to knee deep a couple times. Will be back in a month or so….

Made an attempt to summit goat mountain but was stopped on the first big ridge with a view. Snow was very soft and sunk up to knees and waist at times. Trail was otherwise cleared of logs and debris below the snow. A few others were having the same difficulties and we all stopped around the same point. Give it a few weeks. Amazing view though.