Snowgrass Flat, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section H - Bridge of the Gods to White Pass, Goat Ridge & Heart Lake via Lily Basin Trail — Monday, Aug. 25, 2014

South Cascades > Goat Rocks

We decided to explore the Goat Rocks Wilderness area mid-week after hearing about the crowds on the weekends and boy were we glad we did. We ran into lots of people even during the middle of the week but still had plenty of solitude during our four days out. We started from the Berry Patch trailhead and completed the Snowgrass Flats/Goat Lake/Goat Ridge Loop counterclockwise with a few side trips here and there. After looking at previous trip reports, we brought bug spray but hadn’t anticipated using it, but let me tell you the flies were TERRIBLE. Without wind, we really didn’t have any relief from them until we reached the bypass trail, where we camped for the first night. I’d highly recommend bringing the strongest bug spray you feel comfortable using. Once we set up camp on the bypass trail (lots of bigger campsites there and plenty of water) we headed to the PCT, and east to Cispus Basin. Despite the terrible bugs on the way up, seeing Cispus Basin reminded us why we were doing this. That night we were exhausted and headed to bed early after hanging our bear bag (better safe than sorry) and a little bit later we heard something large crash through our camp. I can’t tell you for sure what it was, but it was a bit unnerving. The rest of the night was pretty quite and I ended up sleeping surprisingly well. The next morning we found our bear bag hanging untouched and there were no signs of wildlife. The second day, we decided to day hike up to the highest point on the PCT in Washington. We headed back up the bypass trail and north to the Snowgrass Flats junction and then up up up to the high point just below Old Snowy. That day was absolutely gorgeous but quite hot. We had to cross a number of small streams created by snow runoff and two snowfields (specifically on the PCT), but nothing difficult, particularly since the snow was so soft. The views were incredible the whole way up. Adams to the south, Mount St. Helens to the west and then Rainier pops up in the north. Truly spectacular and a side trip I would highly recommend for people staying in the area or as part of a longer day-hike. We chose not to go to the top of Old Snowy as we were already tired and needed to make it down with enough daylight to pack up camp and move to our next destination, the Lily Basin Trail. Although there were plenty of campsites on the Lily Basin Trail, it wasn’t easy finding a vacant one, particularly because it was later in the day, but thankfully a younger couple let us camp near them. Our site was beautiful and we watched the sun paint Goat Rocks orange and the stars come out…next time I need to bring a better camera to document the stars. The next morning we woke up ready to head to our final destination, Goat Lake via the Lily Basin trail. First we had to find a good water source to stock up for the day. This wasn’t as easy as it was on the bypass trail and the flies were HORRENDOUS as I tried to filter water. Thankfully that was going to be our last encounter with flies for the rest of our hike. We hardly saw anyone as we continued on to Goat Lake, were the first to arrive at the lake, got the best campsite per a fellow hiker’s recommendation. Water is plentiful and we ended up spending lots of time watching the 40+ goats on the mountain. As I had read, Goat Lake had very few campsites and most were quite exposed, so I wouldn’t have wanted to be there in bad weather, and although we spotted some ominous clouds, the weather held for us. The last day, we hiked out the last 5.9 miles of the loop via the Goat Ridge Trail, the first 0.9 miles to the Junction with the Goat Ridge Trail were beautiful, wildflowers everywhere! After you meet the Goat Ridge Trail there were a few camping sites but it looked like water would be harder to find. We were certainly happy to see the car when we got back to Berry Patch. In total, we covered roughly 25 miles of trail and it was beautiful. I’d highly recommend taking time off work and visiting mid-week to avoid the crowds. It’s so worth it.