We tried to access the Lily Basin trailhead via a different route. The Packwood Flea Market was in town and the traffic forced us to look for other options. We were coming from the east, and Google showed us we could reach the trailhead via Snyder -> 1260 -> 4830 -> 48 instead of going all the way through town and taking 48 all the way.

Forest road 1260 was paved and presented no problems but turning onto 4830 was a gravel road with many deep ruts and potholes that made going very slow. We made a turn to go by Art Lake and not long after, the trees closed in and the road was so rough that we gave up and turned back.

I suspect that Forest road 48 would have been fine but our impatience with the flea market traffic foiled us. Follow the directions provided by WTA and stay away from Packwood over Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend unless you like waiting while pedestrians cross at will in front of you.

My son & I joined 50,000 of our closest friends (well only 50 cars at the Snowgrass Trailhead) for a loop hike.  The bugs were annoying in the forest, but once at/above treeline the breeze provided some relief.  The flowers are all out in their beauty in the various meadows.  On the way in we took a cross-country side trip to look at the real Snowgrass Flats, which I had first hiked through in 1966 when the trail went right through the flats.  The basin looked great with all the flowers.  We didn't have time to go over to the falls below the flats.

We got back on the Snowgrass Trail and continued up to the PCT. We followed the PCT northward and then went cross-country to a campsite well above the trail we had used in 1993.  A lot of the campsites at this elevation were damp with runoff or still snowcovered.  We found a great one, with a nice stove cove for cooking and views of Adams and St. Helens.  We also could see a number of the camps below us, almost all in use.

The next day, we went cross-country to Lily Basin trail, about half was glissading/plunge stepping on snow.  The Lily Basin trail to Goat Lake crosses a number of creeks.  Some had snowfield remnants that required careful walking as the snowbridges were rotten and a few had shoe-sized holes through them.

Goat Lake is still frozen, with cracked bathtub rings in the snowcover.

Once over the pass into Jordan Basin, there was no more snow and it was just a hike out.  We decided to take the side trail up to the old Goat Ridge lookout site.  Part way up is a boot trail to great views of Mt. Rainier.  After that, the views from the lookout site were a bit disappointing, probably because we had been much higher already on this trip with better views.

Reached the trailhead around noon. FR-48 was dusty, but in good condition. Looked like there would be active logging during the week. The hiker trailhead had a proper sign with a trail register etc, but would have been easy to miss if we hadn't know the exact location, and seen a couple of cars parked along the road. The trail was in good condition with no obstacles (other than a few slightly brushy section) until reaching a washout a bit less than a mile from the junction with the Angry Mountain trail, just past a campsite and the first running water we saw on the trail. Everyone was able to cross with care (and some hand-holding). Set up camp at a nice spot with great views just short of the junction. Did a quick trip down to Heart Lake. Saw two parties camped there, including one that had set up their tents and had a fire going right on the lake shore... Had a brief "chat" with that group, and headed back up. Got water from a small stream just below the Angry Mountain trail junction, seemed more appealing than the water from the boggy marsh around the lake. Headed back out the way we came the next morning. Wildlife: Marmots, pikas, grouse, mountain goats, chipmunks. Wildflowers were mostly gone. Ripe blueberries in the north-facing meadows along the ridge.

The wildflowers are in full show in some of the shadier basins, and somewhat past peak in the large west-facing meadows, though they were noticibly less by the 4th and last day of our hike. It's tail end of wildflower season in the Goat Rocks, but there are still plenty to be found, especially in the creek beds. Huckleberries are prime in the slightly lower regions, too! Perfect weather for four days in the Goat Rocks. 80's in days, mid 40's in the nights. We never even deployed our tarps over our hammocks, as it just wasn't that cold, and there was no chance of rain. The full moon rising just after sunset each night dimmed the stargazing, though, and it got quite windy on the second night. But basically we coudln't have asked for better weather. The biting flies are jerks. They made it pretty hard to just sit around. They don't care one iota about DEET. Did't encounter a lot of mosquitos though. I was surprised how many people were there even mid-week. We hiked in on Wednesday and saw people everywhere, though it wasn't crowded. By Saturday, it was crawling with people. It's such a huge area, though, and there are sweet private campsites along every little side-trail for those wiling to scout them out. We camped all three nights just below the junction of the Snowgrass trail and the PCT, and day hiked to Goat Lake and Cispus Basin from there. Cispus seems to be the lesser-traveled trail in the region, and it is glorious. We saw a herd of mountain goats at Goat Lake. Wish we could have stayed longer to explore further and higher!

This was a great (long) day hike, up Snowgrass Flats trailhead, Lily Basin Loop and then down to Berrypatch. The people had thinned out some because this was a Monday, but there were still plenty of backpackers on trail and in the campsites. Several dogs were on the trail as well so if you don't like that, this is probably not the hike for you! As you go up to Snowgrass, you will come to a junction with Lily Basin Loop. If you want to go to Goat Lake or do the loop, this is where you will leave Snowgrass trail. LB loop heads down through camps and meadows until you reach a nice creek running through wildflowers. They are stunning and this is a nice place to enjoy a bite to eat. Once you leave here you will start to climb the rocky basin trail heading to Goat Lake. The lake is another nice spot to get a drink and let the dogs swim. We saw a human dive in as well. Brrrr. There was just a little patch of snow left for the dog to enjoy as well. Leaving here and continuing up towards Goat Ridge you will go through an incredible array of wildflowers. Blues, purples, pinks, yellows, white....all are full on in bloom and the colors and the smells will take your breath away. Water is plentiful here so if you have an empty container fill it up for the dog....there is very little on the way out and down the other side heading to Berrypatch. They will love you for it. After the last stream down, the way is very rocky and dusty until you hit the covered forest closer to Chambers. Not a lot of shade (and no water) til then. Once you get to where you can see the parking lot you need to take the side trail to the left. It is about a half mile around to the Snowgrass trail, then you take a right back onto that to the parking lot. You can do the loop either direction but Snowgrass Flats trail is my preferred route. However, if you go this direction, don't forget to look back! Mt. Adams is out in all it's glory during the entirety of the ridge hike. Enjoy!