Hiked the Snowgrass Flats/Goat Lake Loop over 3 days/2 nights. Started with two day hikes at Mt Rainier Sunrise and then drove 50 minutes south to Packwood and up forest road 21. The forest road is washboard but few potholes. We parked at the Berry Patch trailhead and there were only 3 cars in the parking lot on Thursday. When we came out Saturday the lot was full.
The Loop Hikes book recommends hiking the Snowgrass Flat loop (#95/#96) counterclockwise but after hiking it clockwise I didn't notice any advantage either way. We started on trail #95 which starts climbing and doesn't stop until you reach Goat Ridge. We stopped short of the Ridge and camped in Jordan Basin since it was absolutely beautiful and we were the only campers. No trees in the Basin to hang food or hammocks and not many camp sites as it is a wet area. You can see Mt Adams from the edge of the basin. The evening winds were strong and cold at Jordan Basin and we had to climb into the tent early. We heard it was colder at Goat Lake since the winds sweep the frozen lake and icy slopes. The next day we zigzagged up the trail out of Jordan Basin to Goat Ridge and at the top were met with a spectacular view of Snowgrass Flats. From the top the trail down to Goat Lake is easy walking. There are dozens of social trails at Goat Lake to numerous campsites. Just walk along the edge of the lake and you will not stray off the main trail. We continued on the other side of the basin to Alpine Camp. There are many side trails leading to campsites off in the woods. The wildflowers the entire way were in full bloom and we only had to walk across a few small patches of snow. We set up camp off the main trail and when we walked back out for a short hike found a group of eight had set up their five tents right on the trail to our site. Reminder: do not set up guide lines/stakes in the middle of a walking trail.
The next morning we day hiked up the Bypass Trail to the PCT and headed north a few miles where the views to Mt Rainier open up. We were able to see Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier at this point on the PCT!
We returned to our packs and started hiking down trail #96 to the trailhead. This was Saturday and there were a lot of people coming up the trail. We saw over 25 dogs (only 1 on leash), 2 llamas, 2 babies and about 40 people. Very, very busy. Again, no bugs and beautiful flowers and full sun.
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