Goat Lake — Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

Annual birthday backpack complete!

I opted for an overnight trip to the Goat Rocks with some friends to enjoy the fall colors and to finally visit Goat Lake. I knew the forecast wasn’t looking stellar, but I figured it was good enough and I wanted one last trip before any snow hit.

We got started a little after noon on Friday after first dropping a car at Walupt Lake and shuttling up to the Berry Patch trailhead. There were only a few cars at the lot. The permit box was overflowing
(likely due to the gov’t shutdown) to the point that I couldn’t even shove my permit fully into the box. The gravel roads are in decent shape but the drive is LONG and there are some pretty washboard-y stretches.

We took the Goat Ridge route and hiked in probably about 6 miles to a fantastic campsite somewhere below Old Snowy. The climb is brief and the trail is in great condition. We had decent views this day with some lingering clouds and strong winds.

Day two was roughly 11 miles back to Walupt. Unfortunately, we were in a mist-filled cloud for most of the morning which put a damper on views, but things started to clear up a bit after reaching Cispus Basin. We were able to see a large group of Mountain Goats grazing in Snowgrass Basin, which was a delight.

This stretch is truly some of the best hiking Washington has to offer. It’s always a joy to be in the Goat Rocks, even in the clouds.

Getting back to Walupt was pretty quick, and the trailhead was still quite empty despite being a Saturday. The toilets at the campground were all unlocked, but none had toilet paper.

From here, we crammed back into the car we had dropped off on Friday and drove back up to Berry Patch to grab our other vehicle.

Just a reminder that October is a popular hunting. We saw and heard several hunters while we were out there. Glad I packed my bright rain jacket!