Lily Basin trail to Heart Lake. Original trip plan was to complete loop and come out at Packwood Lake on 7 day trip. Poor weather first two days shrouded landscape in mist, rain and clouds. Washout of trail a couple miles before Heart Lake made for logistical problem solving to get group down one side and up the other. Spent first night at Heart Lake. On second day climbed above the lake on open slopes toward Chimney Rock, Goat Lake. Began to hit more and more difficult snow fields, finally reaching a very large one with steepness that looked too difficult for a large group to safely cross. Returned to Heart Lake for another night. Weather improved dramatically and we enjoyed warm sunny climes in the meadows to dry out clothes and gear. Hiked out the following morning and ended the trip with two days at Packwood Lake instead--did Lost Lake as a side hike from there.

3 day/2 night trip. Perfect, sunny/not too hot weather. Day 1: Berry Patch TH - Goat Ridge through Jordan Bain to Lily Basin Trail to Goat Lake. Day 2: Lily Basin Trail to Snowgrass Flat, Bypass Trail (97) to PCT, to Sheep Lake Day 3: Nannie Ridge to Walupt Lake TH - bike shuttle back to Berry patch TH. The trails are in very good condition, few blowdowns easily crossed, good tread with a moderate amount of loose rock that will make trekking pole lovers love their poles, but fine for non-pole users. Lower elevations on Goat Ridge Trail are dry, but there are many small stream crossings/snowmelt runoff at the higher elevations. Day 1 featured views of Rainier, St. Helens, and Adams. Many of these are probably seasonal. Goat Lake is still frozen. The trail is easily navigated, though, short snowfields, and there are several amazing campsites at Goat Lake snow free. The Lily Basin trail over Hawkeye Point looked snowier (we did not go that way). We saw a herd of 20+ goats while camped at Goat Lake, + a bunch of marmots. One of my top campsites of all time. Stunning view of Mt. Adams down valley. The trails had a decent number of people out, so we were surprised to have Goat Lake to ourselves. PCT had rare snow fields - all short and easy. Cispus Basin was a highlight. All stream/river crossings were pretty easy rock hops. Sheep Lake was more crowded, and a bit anticlimactic after Goat Lake. Sheep Lake and Nannie Ridge are more forested with limited views. Peaceful and pretty, but not dramatic like Goat Lake. Sheep Lake was not frozen and had no snow, and other parties were swimming there. Walupt Lake TH is located within the campground that is now owned by a private concessionaire, and they do not recognize the NW Forest Pass. If you are leaving a car at this end, park outside the campground or pay a fee (or camp - the tent sites are beachfront!). Wildflowers everywhere, especially higher, no berries yet. All trails and intersections are well-signed, including a sign that said "Slayer" - not much help for navigation, but we knew where to find metal, I guess. :)

Our group of 5 from the Pierce County Chapter of Back Country Horsemen logged out and cleared the trail up to about .8 mi from the Glacier Creek crossing. Some work that we anticipated since our Jun 8 scouting trip had been done but we still had some work to do to finish the trail section. As of 7/13/16 the trail is log free up to the coordinates of N46° 32.823' W-121° 31.375' . Beautiful day for our work party and meadow flowers starting to bloom. Hope everyone enjoys the trail!

A nice even grade starting at 4200 feet altitude. The trail became too covered with snowfields at about 3 or 4 miles in. There were nice carpets of Avalanche Lilies at about 3 miles in.