Date Night With My Sweetie, Goat Lake, 6.26.15 - 6.27.15
With all my training hikes to get ready for the Cross The Cascades Tour ’15, Bridgit and I wanted to take a night just to get away for ourselves. We wanted something not too hard but still worth the effort. We had an open window Friday and with a hot clear forecast, we decided to do a one night backpack to Goat Lake. It’s five miles each way but a gentle grade and easy trail. So we loaded up our packs and hit the trail at 9:30AM. My pack was filled with just about everything I would be bringing on a week long trip and it still weighed in at only 38.5 lbs. That’s 22 lbs lighter than what I carried on my first few trips 25 years ago when gear was heavier and I had no idea what I was doing.
Now this business about pack weight is a scam. I’ve read up in various sources about how much these ultra lighters carry. They are claiming to be heading out with 15 pound packs for a week and I’m thinking I could never do that. Give up my tent? My camp chair? My cast iron dutch oven? Generator and 55” TV? There is just no way! But then I saw what the definition of “base pack weight” is and it is the weight of your pack and everything in it excluding - let me repeat - excluding food, fuel and water. Well who the hell hikes without those? Why exclude them? So when I talk about pack weight it includes everything including my cameras, filled water bottles, food, fuel, etc… Every damn thing I have to lug up the stupid trail. Otherwise, why bother weighing at all? But I digress.
The hike to Goat Lake was smooth an uneventful and since we left earlier than most folks (Friday) we were the first ones to arrive that planned to camp. The camp sites were above the lake in the trees and we found a nice spot fairly close to the lake outlet (for filtering water) and right by a side trail that led to the beach. As soon as we set up camp we changed into swim gear and took our new fancy ultralight camp chairs down to the beach. What a beautiful spot!
The view from our beach of Goat Lake. Not too shabby.
Being a bit hot and sweaty from hiking 5 miles in 80 degree temps, we decided a swim was in order. It felt so refreshing to dive into the cool water. The lake was a bit too chilly to wallow in but totally worth a plunge and a quick underwater stroke or two.
Bridgit in her element
After swimming and a well deserved nap, I decided to explore the shoreline a bit. Along the way the Brazilian Tiger Lilies were in full bloom. This has become my favorite alpine flower I think. I had been to this lake twice before and knew the trail went another 1/4 mile or so to a really cool rock outcropping underneath a waterfall but I got to a point where the brush and Devils Club had grown so high I couldn’t even see where the trail went so I stopped at a point where it dropped to the lakeshore.
The Brazilian Tiger Lily
Luckily, the spot I ended up was far enough around the lake that I was rewarded with a full view of Foggy Peak.
Foggy Peak above Goat Lake
The decision to plow through the Devils Club or turn back wasn’t a difficult one and soon I was back in camp. By the way, normally a camp in the trees in the late afternoon on a hot day would be so thick with mosquitos that you had to retreat to the tent until dusk just to get away from the little buggers but there were no bugs! Last season and so far this season it has been relatively bug free. I sure hope it stays that way for the big backpack trip in August. Speaking of mosquitos, do you think Noah coulda just said “sorry the boat’s full" when the mosquitos showed up?
Bridgit and I had a delicious dinner of lasagna and raspberry crumble for dessert before heading back down to the beach for a few nips of whiskey as we watched the evening light play on the peaks. As is fairly typical, by waiting long enough, the winds died down and the lake became a sheet of reflective glass which made for some nice pics.
Evening reflections
We stayed on the beach until after 8PM and then went back up and had a small fire before calling it a night. In the morning we had a leisurely coffee and breakfast before packing up our gear and heading back to town. On the way out from the lake we stopped to check out Elliot Creek Falls which is just below the lake outlet. Just a perfect quick getaway and we had a great time.
Elliot Creek Falls