Goat Mountain — Saturday, Sep. 24, 2022

It’s the first time I’ve gone here later than July, so seeing the trail entirely melted out was amazing. The fall foliage here is stunning! I was at Ptarmigan Ridge a few days ago and honestly… the amount of color and the views here felt even more incredible. Of course the difference being you get views from the get-go at Ptarmigan and this trail makes you work for them first! But in return, it’s a much quieter day on the weekend. We saw maybe 10 groups total all day. Smoke could be visible out towards the fire in the Hannegan area, but was fairly contained the to valley. Air quality felt great, no smell, and visibility was largely unaffected.

Went all the way to the top and did the scramble to the true summit, managing to avoid the permanent snowfield up there as it’s currently receded quite low into the bowl. Lots of hunters out and about, so make sure to wear bright colors so that you’re easily visible. Temps were still really warm today, even at the top. Hard to believe we’re a week out from October!