Snowgrass - Cispus Basin - Nannie Ridge Loop — Friday, Sep. 18, 2015

South Cascades > Goat Rocks

What a beautiful place the Goat Rocks are! I spent the weekend here backpacking with a friend and split the loop up over 3 days. We hiked into Alpine Camp just past Snowgrass Flats Friday night (5.6 miles). Then on Saturday we hiked to Sheep Lake with a detour to scope out Gilbert Peak (7.59 miles). Sunday was a bigger day since we didn't have a shuttle (12.3 miles). The highlight of the trip was definitely Cispus Basin. We counted about 40 mountain goats in the basin lounging about high in the meadows. If I did it over again I would've camped there instead of Sheep Lake. Sheep Lake was very overused and unfortunately had a lot of trash around it. But camping at Alpine Camp Friday night was very pleasant and there are plenty of campsites to go around (unlike Sheep Lake which filled up quickly). I'd definitely recommend doing this loop clockwise like we did. The hike down to Walupt Lake is steep and I was very glad to not have to hike it up. The 6.5 miles of old forest roads and trail to finish the loop definitely wasn't a highlight of the trip. If you can arrange a shuttle it'd be for the best. If you have to hike out then know that 7a starts a bit further down the road than the hiking guide suggests. Also, the last section of trail before you meet back up to the road to the Snowgrass Flats trailhead which is described as going on for 'some time' measured to be a mile on my GPS.

More Information on this Trip Report

• http://bobbyandmaura.com/backpacking/cispus-basin-loop