Snowgrass Flat, Heart Lake via Lily Basin Trail — Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010

South Cascades > Goat Rocks

I went on a Cascadian backpack Fri - Sun to the Snowgrass Flat area of the Goat Rocks. We hiked the Snowgrass Flat trail to the junction with the Lily Basin trail and then walked out that trail for a mile or so to a bench above the little basin with water. On Sat we followed an intermittent boot trail up to the PCT and headed north. I was feeling pretty wimpy and after a quarter mile or so I pooped out. The others went on to the summit of Old Snowy while I leasurely explored the meadows back toward the junction of the PCT and the Snowgrass Bypass trail. The others came by as I was finishing lunch and we walked together to the junction, then they went on towards Cispus Basin while I made my way across the meadows & over the little ridge back to camp. Fri & Sat had been partly cloudy with lots of sun, but on Sun morning the west side was more socked in with clouds lowering & lifting in & out of the Goat Lake basin, though we mostly had blue sky overhead. Brenda really wanted to hike out via Goat Lake, but I was still feeling to wimpy for that so she and Eric went out that way while Ethan & I waited an hour, then went out the way we had come in. The flowers along the Lily Basin trail were starting to be past, but were very nice up by the PCT. Brenda & Eric reported that they were also very nice at Goat Lake & above. There was vertually no water along the PCT north from the junction with the Snowgrass Bypass trail and only a couple of places along the Lily Basin trail. Many folks seemed to be spending some time searching for a campsite with available water. The weather was sunnier than we expected and the cool temps kept the bugs away. Despite the number of other people in the area, we never felt crowded.