Just Me and My Backpack - The Goat Rocks Wilderness, 9.3.19 - 9.5.19, Part 1 of 3
I have long had the desire to visit the Goat Rocks Wilderness and it was one of those places I had just never gotten around to seeing. It has a reputation of being not only extremely scenic but most would also consider it to be the finest display of alpine flora in our beautiful state. So last spring I decided to finally get it together and backpack into this legendary place. I considered doing it at the peak of the flower season which is July and August but the place is so mobbed at that time and the bugs can be so horrendous that I opted for the day after Labor Day. This would put the kids back in school and being during the week in September it would be far less crowded. It would also be far less buggy. With no one else able to go at that time, this would be my third solo backpack trip ever.
Fred Beckey, author of the definitive Cascade Alpine Guide, describes the Goat Rocks as follows:
The picturesque Goat Rocks are the eroded remains of a complex of as many as four overlapping volcanoes with a history of very explosive episodes. The Goat Rocks are a jumble of ragged spires resulting from violent volcanic action followed by periods of rapid cooling. The meadows of the area sparkle with streams and flowers. Elk herds and mountain goats are commonly seen.
How could I not want to go there?
At 4:30AM the day after Labor Day I drove down south past Mount Rainier to just beyond the town of Packwood and then followed a dirt forest road about twenty miles to the Snowgrass trailhead. My itinerary called for three nights doing a counter-clockwise loop hike that would put me back at the car without having to retrace my steps.
Oh boy! A wilderness area I had never been to!
I felt strong and motivated and the first four miles through timbered forest went by in no time at all. Soon I was entering the area known as Snowgrass Flats which is where you leave the trees and enter vast meadow systems. It was easy to see how incredible this place must be during the peak bloom. As I climbed out of the trees I could see the main ridge of the Goat Rocks ahead of me.
First view of the Goat Rocks
The Goat Rocks are strategically positioned between three of Washington’s five volcanoes which include Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams. Entering Snowgrass Flats Mount Adams came into view to the south.
First view of Mount Adams
Being so late in the season, my one concern was finding water sources in the area I wanted to camp. I had read that higher up the basin were some beautiful view camps and that was where I planned to pitch my first camp. To make sure I had enough water for two days, I stopped at a trail junction down low in Snowgrass Flat, found a running mountain stream and filtered about a gallon of water into a water bag. I then had to carry the water bag up another eight hundred feet of vertical gain before I found my perfect spot to camp. I’m glad I did too because I found no further water sources between where I filtered and my camp.
Working my way higher I came to the junction of where the Snowgrass Trail connects with the Pacific Crest Trail. For the uninitiated, The Pacific Crest Trail or PCT runs the length of the country from the southern border with Mexico to the northern border with Canada. Many people try to hike the entire thing in a single year, typically starting in the south and working their way north. It can take six to seven months to complete which puts many of these thru-hikers in Washington State in September. By the way, there are many thru-hikers who claim that the section of the PCT running through the Goat Rocks Wilderness just might be the prettiest section of the entire trail.
Above the trail junction, and now hiking north on the PCT, I climbed through a series of rocky benches. I came upon a bench high up the meadow, overlooking the entire Snowgrass Flat area. It not only had a nice flat tent site tucked away in a clump of trees, but it also had a rocky shelf next to the tent site which provided me with a panoramic view from Mount Adams all the way to Mount St. Helens. It was there I set up shop.
Being still relatively early and still feeling energetic, once camp was established I prepared my day pack and continued north on the PCT. My goal was to climb a mountain above the Crest Trail called Old Snowy. The trail was just a blast to hike on and the higher I went the more came into view. Soon I could see across to the deep cirque that contained Goat Lake where I planned to make camp two days later. Beyond Goat Lake Mount Rainier towered in the distance but the summit was encased in cloud cover much to my disappointment.
Goat Lake and Mount Rainier
After winding my way up and crossing a snow slope I came to a high ridge.
Thru-hikers at the ridge top
At the ridge I came to another trail junction. The PCT continues north along what is considered to be the scariest section of the whole trail as it traverses along a very steep rocky mountainside and then follows along the top of a knife edge before eventually coming to Elk Pass. Since my goal was to summit Old Snowy, I took a right and started up the route that leads to the top.
Old Snowy from along the summit route
The climb reminded me a lot of the big fourteeners in Colorado I climbed in my younger days. Lots of scree and rock with big rewards at the top. I was able to follow some semblance of a trail through the rock until maybe forty feet from the summit. There I ditched my poles and scrambled the final section.
Final section
The last little bit was a rock ramp that led around to the east side and then I was on top of 7,930’ Old Snowy. Wow! My view stretched straight down the length of the entire Goat Rocks Crest. To the south was Mount Adams, to the southwest Mount St. Helens and to the west was Goat Lake cirque and Mount Rainier. I was the only one on the summit which was a good thing as there wasn’t room for much more than one person at a time.
The Goat Rocks Crest
Gilbert Peak, highest peak in the Goat Rocks
Pano of Goat Rocks and Mount Adams
PCT crossing the knife ridge taken from the summit of Old Snowy
I was elated at how my day was going so far and I took my time working my way back down to the ridge and down to my camp. Along the way I ran into quite a few PCT thru-hikers. Some wouldn’t even look up, so intent they were on getting in their miles. It really confirmed my feelings that I have no desire to do a thru hike like that. I saw thru hikers working up past my camp until after dark and it just didn’t look fun.
Back in my camp I had time to get fully functional, eat dinner and sit back to watch the sun go down. It was cloudier than I had expected and I didn’t quite get the orange glow on the peaks that I was hoping for. However, I did see some really nice light conditions that challenged my ability to capture them as images.
Big Horn. Part of Goat Citadel
Ives Peak. You can see the route coming from Old Snowy that leads to the Ives summit.
Interesting rock formations
Camp pano. My camp chair is over on the rock shelf where I ate and stared at the mountains. Old Snowy is the peak on the left.
I waited until dark for any cool evening light. Most of the big mountains had some cloud cover but just before dark I had some great light sneak its way underneath to bathe the valley in late evening sun before sinking for the night.
Soft evening light
Day Two is forthcoming!