Goat Lake — Saturday, Jul. 30, 2016

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

We wanted a quick, easy weekend trip and got exactly that with Goat Lake. With a warm weekend the hike was perfectly shaded with great peek-a-boo views on the left hand trail on the way up. Going down we took the lower trail near the river and it was very pleasant being so close to see the periodic waterfalls. Fresh blueberries (among other berries) were all along the trail. The trail was somewhat popular on the way up in the morning with a decent number of other backpackers. The campsite was easily able to accommodate everyone without feeling cramped. There was plenty of space to move around and explore without interfering with other campers. The lake was beautiful with mild cloud cover during the afternoon. Early the next morning fog covered the lake but burned off by midmorning. All in all, this was a great hike for a beginner backpacker or an easy training hike.