Running low on provisions, we
decided to skip Mt. Ararat and just do Mt. Beljica, just outside of the park. Roads 59 and 5920 were a bit rough, and nearly impossible to drive one handed with an open cup of coffee in a car! After spraying the ceiling with java, my girlfriend made me finish the cup. We ran into Dan from Illinois, who we hiked with to our junction. He convinced us to press on to Gobblers Knob, and between us we had enough inaccurate maps to pull it off, although we did not have a topo for post-Goat Lake. Dismayed at the elevation loss on the trail and the horrendous bugs at the Lake, we figured the Knob must just be through the trees. Wrong! Another 1500 ft straight up. Flowers are still raging on the last climb, the usual paintbrush, lupine, columbine, cow parsnip, tiger lilies... We finally made the Knob, but Dan said he would have done Beljica if he knew so much elevation was involved. Two parties at the peak- the first was fully armed with knives and guns (in the NPS' What's up with that'), the others were camped at the Lake, and had spent most of the day on the peak avoiding the bloodsucking fest below. They finally descended after the mosquitos started biting through clothing... Good views of Rainier Glaciers, although clouds at 1200 ft. Decided I will have to do Wonderland some day. Passed said campers looking miserable and packing as fast as insects would allow. The 600 ft elevation gain on way out was a mean trick, but the shady open woods kept it interesting. Dan pointed out shell casings in the parking lot, and we found empty beer cans and dolls used for target practice. Probably NOT a good place to park overnight, esp. on a weekend!