Goat Peak — Sunday, Jul. 2, 2023

A column of cars rolled along 410. Even at 07:30am it was already looking like an overcrowded summer Sunday in the mountains. But as we passed Rainier, the other traffic dropped out and only a few vehicles crossed Chinook Pass. At the trailhead, at 08:15am, there were only five cars. The first section of the trail, through shady woods, was interrupted by tangles of trees down across the trail. Some could be stepped over, but some crawling in the dirt was required. An hour in, the blowdowns became infrequent and it was a steady plod upwards. The forest gradually became more open and there were exposed traverses across slopes of dirt and gravel. A hiking pole would have been helpful. Higher up, there were flowers in bloom and an abundance of butterflies. There was no snow anywhere on the hike. I met six people on the way up, and two on the summit. Maybe another half-dozen on the way down. It was 58F when I set out, and 82F in the parking lot when I returned, Still there were only five or six vehicles. I took 2.5L of water, and used 2.0L. An excellent hike!