Goat Rocks Backpack

Trip Summary
Backpacking Miles: ~20
Approximate Elevation Gain: 1900 feet
Days/Nights in the wilderness: 4/3 
Number of mountain goats seen: zero!


In mid-August we spent 4 days/3 nights backpacking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness of Washington.  This is one of the most beautiful alpine areas in the Pacific Northwest.  During our trip the weather was outstanding, the wildflowers were at peak and the light for photography was just about perfect.  We planned this backpack during the middle of the week, to avoid the crowds that hit this area on the summer weekends.  Other than the thru-hikers on the PCT, we hardly saw anyone in 4 days, except for the hike out on the last day.  We hope you enjoy the images from the trip.  You can click on any of the images to see them larger.

The Goat Rocks are collection of moderate size volcanic peaks located between Mt Adams, Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier in southern Washington state.  Although the area is named after the mountain goats which are commonly seen there, we did not see a single goat on the trip!  

We also would like to thank our good friend Matt for recommending this area.

Tuesday, August 21st, 2012

Snowgrass Flats Trailhead (4700') to Split Rock 

Campsite (6600') near the Pacific Crest Trail

6 miles

  

Scott on the trail near Alpine Camp.

Angie and Warren on the trail near Snowgrass Flats.  This is where we really started to get into the wildflowers.

Angie filtering water from a snow-melt stream near our camp.  The little stream dries up overnight and starts running again the next day when the sunlight starts melting the snow.

Warren resting in our camp after the hike up.

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

Exploring the PCT and Snowgrass Flats 

plus a day hike to Goat Lake

"Morning View"  Sunrise alpenglow on Mt Adams with peak summer wildflowers.  Scott and Warren got up early for sunrise (Angie and Cami slept in).  We were surprised by how close Mt Adams was to the Goat Rocks.

"Ice Bubbles"  The temperature dipped below freezing during our first night out.  This was a small pool of water near our camp which froze overnight.  I was drawn to the circles and lines here in the ice.

The view from the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) just north of our camp.  You can see our tent in the middle right hand area, near the big split rock.

Scott and Angie with Mt Adams.

Scott and Mt Adams.

Angie, Cami and Warren.

Cami and Warren at Goat Lake.  Yes there is actually a lake in there.  This basin holds a ton of snow and the lake didn't actually melt out until late September...just in time for it to start freezing over again!

The shore of Goat Lake.  This is usually a good area to see some mountain goats.  We scanned the cliffs above the lake, but didn't see any.

 

Scott and Angie at Goat Lake.

Mt Adams from the trail to Goat Lake.

Warren checking out the wildflowers.

Angie and Warren with Mt Adams.

Wildflowers in Lily Basin.  Goat Lake is in the smaller basin in the top center area of the frame.

Angie the Explorer!

Scott admiring the view of Mt Adams.

 Angie relaxing in the sun near our camp.

There were several Hoary Marmots living in the rock pile above our camp.  This guy was slightly upset with us getting near his rock pile.

This was the "boss marmot" and he must have weight 20 pounds.  He was very curious what I was up to with the telephoto lens.  I would quietly sit near the rock pile and he would slowly emerge from the den to keep and eye on me.

Our campsite near the PCT.

 Cami getting some rest after a long day of hiking.

Family portrait with wildflowers and Mt Adams

"Above the Clouds" Sunset alpenglow on Mt Adams.  This was basically the view out the side of our tent.  It doesn't get much better than this!

"Celestial Existence"  The Milky Way and millions of other stars above Mt Adams and a field of lupine and paintbrush. This was the only clear night while we were out and I took full advantage of the conditions. To me it seemed like the wildflowers were all looking up and admiring the stars just like I was while creating this image.  This one is Scott's favorite image from the trip.

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

Campsite above Snowgrass Flats to Cispus Basin

~4 miles

Warren and Scott got up early again for sunrise (Angie and Cami slept in again).  This is the view from the PCT just above our campsite.

"Lupine Sunrise"  Day break over a huge field of lupine.

After soaking up some of the early morning sun at our campsite, we began our hike over to Cispus Basin.  The hiking was relatively easy since we were on the PCT most of the way there.  The only hard part of the hike was getting up into the side valley were we wanted to camp.  It was an offtrail bushwhack up a very steep slope to get there.  It was tough work, but definitely worth it. 

 Here is the view from our campsite in Cispus Basin

Angie, Cami and Warren in one of the side valleys in Cispus Basin

Warren can't resist water!  It was fresh snow-melt and was probably 38 degrees, but it didn't bother him one bit.

Gilbert peak and a small pond in Cispus Basin.

 Warren and Cami resting at our camp.

"Cheers"  This was the view of Cispus Basin during our dinner that evening.  Talk about a table with a view!

 "Cispus Basin Sunset"  Nice sunset light and a field of lupine in Cispus Basin

Friday, August 24th, 2012

Cispus Basin to Snowgrass Flats Trailhead

7 miles

"Stay Awhile"   Summer wildflowers and sunrise alpenglow on Mt Adams.  On this morning Warren and I woke up to thick clouds, fog and wind (surprisingly Angie and Cami slept in). We decided to get up anyway and hiked up to the place I had scouted the evening before. Luckily, just as the first rays of light began to touch Mt Adams, the fog started to dissipate.  

One of the many waterfalls in Cispus Basin.

"Snow Cave"  This was the first time we have ever seen a snow cave in the Cascades.  These "caves" are created where large areas of snow collect over a stream.  The moving water of the stream melts the snow out from underneath and creates the cave.  It was really cool experience shooting a few images inside the snow cave.

Angie relaxing prior to the hike back to the trailhead.

The dogs were completely content to lay in the warm sand and had no intentions of going home.

Scott and Angie in Cispus Basin

We made great time on the hike out (it was all downhill!), but we were amazed by the number of people going into Snowgrass Flats on Friday.  We counted 66 backpackers, 5 horses and a llama named Teddy.  Our recommendation; if you want solitude, definitely go during the middle of the week.