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Trip Report

Gilbert Peak, Surprise Lake & Warm Lake — Saturday, Jun. 1, 2019

South Cascades > Goat Rocks

Trip Report By

1K

Type of Hike

Overnight

Trail Conditions

Obstacles on trail:
    Trees down across trail,
    Muddy or wet trail.

Road

Road suitable for all vehicles

Bugs

No bugs

Snow

Trail snow-covered at times - gear and expertise recommended

Trails Hiked

  • Wildflowers blooming
  • Hiked with a dog
Gilbert Peak patiently awaits - (c) johnwporter

Blog version (disclaimers)

Quick-and-dirty version

Access: Conrad Meadows Trailhead
Round Trip: 21 miles
Elevation Range: 4040′-8184′
Gear: helmet, crampons, ice ax

Approach

  1. Hike the snow-free South Fork Tieton River Trail (#1120) through Conrad Meadows to the Surprise Lake Trail junction.
  2. Turn right and follow Warm Lake Trail through the forest to the upper trail junction. Full snow coverage above 5000'.
  3. Ascend one of the snow gully options to reach Warm Lake.
  4. From Warm Lake, travel southwest to reach Klickton Divide.
  5. Follow the ridge and travel northwest to 8000'.
  6. Get onto the southwest face and ascend steep snow to reach the summit ridge.
  7. A short ridge traverse to reach Gilbert Peak summit.

Highlights

  • View to three volcanoes: Mount Adams, Mount Saint Helens, and Mount Rainier
  • Views to many high points in the Goat Rocks Wilderness
  • Zero mosquitoes; a few flies at camp
  • Sunlight and solitude

Lowlights

  • Down trees on Warm Lake Trail
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Comments

wishfulwanderer on Gilbert Peak, Surprise Lake, Warm Lake

How dog friendly is the climb of Gilbert? I'm looking at doing this in a couple weeks and would like to bring my dog along.

Posted by:


wishfulwanderer on Aug 06, 2019 01:09 PM

onehikeaweek on Gilbert Peak, Surprise Lake, Warm Lake

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! If your pup is used to scrambling on rough terrain, with some guidance, it shouldn't be a problem. The steep southwest slope traverse and the summit block may or may not pose an issue depending on the pup's comfort level. Feel free to contact me via my blog if needing more info. Happy to help!

Posted by:


onehikeaweek on Aug 06, 2019 01:22 PM