I took an interesting day hike loop this weekend from the North Fork Tieton River TH. The road to the TH is barricaded about 3.5 miles from the TH. The road is in good condition and an easy hike or bike to the TH at the boundary of the Goat Rocks wilderness. The old campground at the TH appears decommissioned but has nice sites and a good creek for drinking water.
From the TH I attempted to find the "old army trail" to McCall Basin. I won't elaborate too much on this since I never found anything more than elk paths that went where I was going and may have been the old trail. Following the braided North Fork Tieton River channels through miles of old growth Cedar and then climbing around numerous cataracts to McCall Basin was beautiful and immensely rewarding. I ascended the ridge on the South side of upper McCall basin and scrambled along it (class 2/3) SW to the summit of Old Snowy Mountain. It was about five hours of magnificent cross-country travel to this point during which I saw no one even though the parking area was "packed". There were 10 vehicles which is the most I have ever seen there.
The summit of Old Snowy was misty and very windy. I was glad to have a down jacket and wished I had thought to bring gloves. I had to fold up my poles and put my hands in my pockets. I followed the PCT North from Old Snowy for a few miles to the Jct with the N. Fork Tieton Trail at Tieton Pass and descended this trail back to my car. This exposed section is my favorite part of the PCT in WA. Truly a must do. All trails were in excellent condition. Ran into a few friendly through hikers and hunters but overall a pretty quiet day.
<3 the Goat Rocks!
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