With the heat wave this past week, we decided to flee to the mountains where cooler weather prevailed. We started from the Snowgrass Trailhead, which is in excellent condition—two brand-new pit toilets and a nicely maintained gravel parking area.
We followed the Snowgrass Trail (#96) until we reached the bypass and camped near the junction of the bypass and the creek crossing, about five miles in. On the way up, most sites were already taken, but we managed to find a flat-ish spot near the creek, which provided excellent background noise to lull us to sleep.
On Saturday morning, we hiked the last three-quarters of a mile up the bypass trail to the junction with the PCT. We dropped our packs and headed toward Cispus Basin, eventually making our way to Cispus Pass. This area was stunning—fewer people, wide-open views through the basin, and a dramatic waterfall. Returning to the junction, we picked up our packs and continued north on the PCT toward Goat Lake. The only difficult stretch was an unmaintained trail connecting the PCT to the Lily Basin Trail (#96) near the (now dead) Packwood Glacier. With careful footing and poles, it was manageable.
When we arrived at Goat Lake, we were shocked by how busy it was. By 1 p.m., 15–20 tents were already set up and a throng of people crowded the shore. We pushed past the lake (as planned) for another 1.5 miles and set up camp on a flat spot near the start of Johnson Creek. After a short rest, we went for a quick trail run up to Hawkeye Point, then back to Goat Lake for a dip. By then, the number of tents had seemingly doubled, and the atmosphere around the lake felt almost like a party. Back at our campsite, we spent the evening watching a continual stream of even more people heading toward Goat Lake. It’s beautiful, but clearly oversubscribed. I worry about where all those people are going to the bathroom and the impact on the fragile alpine terrain.
On Sunday morning, we hiked the ~5 miles out, detouring up to the Goat Ridge Lookout. The views of Rainier and Adams were amazing, though a little smoky. We loved our first trip to Goat Rocks Wilderness but it seems so do many others!
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