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).
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