Tag: mountain goat

2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 26, 2023
No Comments on 2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

This year we split our wildlife gallery into two posts starting with our feather friends (post). We now move on to our featherless friends which ranged from tiny ants to bull elk and an almost too friendly black bear. It was an especially good year for deer including several encounters with does and fawns.

We’ll start out small and work our way up to the larger mammals.
Ants dropping sawdust from a log along the Catherine Creek Trail. We sat and watched these busy ants for quite a while. They had created a good-sized pile on the ground below.

We see a lot of beetles but usually not all at once like these lady bugs on Observation Peak.

Lady bug – Upper Table Rock

Yellow & black beetle – Mule Mountain

Redish brown beetle – Siskiyou Wilderness

Green beetle – Siskiyou Wilderness

Hitchhiker – Mt. Ireland

Blueish green beetle – Catherine Creek Meadows

Small beetle – Catherine Creek Meadows

Green beetle on a geranium – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Green beetle on a wallflower – Silver Star Mountain

Stripped beetle – Spring Valley Greenway

Water skippers – Big Twin Lake

Spider on thimbleberry – Siskiyou Wilderness

Crab spider – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Another crab spider – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Cricket – Pacific Crest Trail

We are often literally struck by grasshoppers as we hike. Sometimes they stick when they hit us such as this one along the PCT.

Bee on phacelia – Mule Mountain

Wet bee on lupine – Julia Butler Hanson Wildlife Refuge

Bumble bee – Hemlock Creek Trail

Lots of pollen – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Bee landing on a marsh marigold along the PCT

Bee approaching penstemon – Siskiyou Wilderness

Bee and a tiny ant in a bindweed – Siskiyou Wilderness

Insects on thistle – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Wasp? – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Some sort of wasp – Silver Star Mountain

Insect along Bear Creek – Eagle Cap Wilderness

My brother and I used to call these “weird things”; I have no idea what it actually is – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Damsel fly – Denman Wildlife Area

Damsel fly – Hemlock Lake

Dragon fly – Goat Marsh Lake

Dragon fly – Siskiyou Wilderness

Dragon fly – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Dragon fly along the Wallowa River – Wallowa Homeland

Dragon fly – E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Dragon fly – Hemlock Lake

Dragon fly – Sky Lakes Wilderness

Snail – Rock Creek Trail

Snail – Applegate Lake

Snail – North Siouxon Trail

Snail – Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge

Snail – Siskiyou Wilderness

Snail – Cascade Head

Slug – Larch Mountain Trail

Slug (and a fly) – Susan Creek Trail

Slug – Fish Lake

Slug on lupine – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Slug and an unfortunate earth worm – Rock Creek Trail

Worms – Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

Millipede – North Siouxon Trail

Millipede – Rock Creek Trail

Millipede – Illahee Rock

Millipede – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Wet caterpillar – Yakona Nature Preserve

Dry version – Larch Mountain Trail

Caterpillar – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Caterpillar – Siskiyou Wilderness

Caterpillar – Larch Mountain Trail

Moth – Klickitat Trail

Moth -Eagle Cap Wilderness

Moth – Twin Lakes

Moth – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Moth – Wolf Creek Falls Trail

Moth – Cascade Head

Propertius duskywing (Erynnis propertius) – Klickitat Trail

Duskywing – Siskiyou Wilderness

Northern Cloudywing? – Siskiyou Wilderness

Silver-spotted skipper – Siskiyou Wilderness

Skipper – Grizzly Peak

Skipper – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Skipper – E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Hairstreak (bramble?) – Siskiyou Mountains

Cedar hairstreak – Siskiyou Wilderness

Hairstreak (possibly thicket) – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Ochre ringlet – Jack Ash Trail

Butterfly – Siskiyou Wilderness

Butterfly – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Butterfly – Upper Table Rock

Butterfly – Mule Mountain

Butterfly – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Butterfly – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Butterfly – Mt. Ireland

Butterfly – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Butterfly – Silver Star Mountain

Butterfly – Russian Wilderness

Butterfly – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Sara’s orangetip – Klickitat Trail

Common woodnymph – E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Another woodnymph – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Orange sulphur – Siskiyou Wilderness

Mountain parnassian – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Clodius parnassian – Hemlock Lake

Western white? – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Western white – Trinty Alps Wilderness

Pine white – Russian Wilderness

Butterfly – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Butterfly – Russian Wilderness

Butterfly – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Butterfly – Mule Mountain

Butterfly – Silver Star Mountain

Western meadow fritillary? – Silver Star Mountain

A fritillary – Silver Star Mountain

A fritillary – Trinity Alps Wilderness

A fritillary -Russian Wilderness

A fritillary – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Mourning cloak – Klickitat Trail

California tortoiseshell – Siskiyou Wilderness

Milbert’s tortoiseshell – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Lorquin’s admiral – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Common buckeye – Mt. Shasta Wilderness

Hoary comma – Sky Lakes Wilderness

Green comma? – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Swallowtails:
Klickitat Trail

Julia Butler Hanson Wildlife Refuge

Eagle Cap Wilderness

Tadpoles – Russian Wilderness

Tadpole transforming – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Frog – Russian Wilderness

Frog – Goat Marsh Lake

Tree frog – Siskiyou Wilderness

Frog – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Toad – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Toad – Mt. Jefferson Wilderness

Fish – Siphon Lake

Rough skinned newt – Yakona Nature Preserve

Western painted turtle – Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge

Baby snake – Miller Woods

Garter snake – Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge

Lizard – Mule Mountain

Lizard – Upper Table Rock

Lizard – Russian Wilderness

Lizard – Siskiyou Wilderness

Lizard – Klickitat Trail

Lizard – Upper Table Rock

Alligator lizard – Mule Mountain

Chipmunk – Observation Peak

Ground squirrel – Russian Wilderness

Ground squirrel – Klickitat Trail

Ground squirrel – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Ground squirrel – Upper Table Rock

Squirrel – Rock Creek Trail

Squirrel – Twin Lakes

Squirrel – Larch Mountain Trail

Marmot – Wallowa Homeland

Jack rabbit – Denman Wildlife Area

Rabbit – E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Pika – Silver Star Mountain

Muskrat – Julia Butler Hansen – Wildlife Refuge

Otter – Killin Wetlands

Sea lion – Hart’s Cove

Deer – Memaloose Hills

Doe – Miller Woods

Mamma – Roxy Ann Peak

Fawn – Roxy Ann Peak

Columbian white-tailed buck – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Doe & fawn – Donomore Meadows

Three bucks – Siskiyou Wilderness

Buck – Siskiyou Wilderness

Buck – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Doe & fawn – Russian Wilderness

Buck and does – Russian Wilderness

Two bucks – Crater Lake National Park

Elk – Yakona Nature Preserve

Bull elk – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Mountain goat below the Mt. Ireland Lookout – Mt. Ireland

Domestic goat – Near the Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Black bear – Siskiyou Wilderness

The same black bear making eye contact the day before.

Tags Bear, Butterfly, California, Columbian White-tailed deer, deer, eagle cap wilderness, elk, fawn, Julia Butler Hansen Refuge, mountain goat, Oregon, Pika, Russian Wilderness, Siskiyou Wilderness, Trinity Alps Wilderness, Washington, Wildlife

Blue Mountains - South Hiking Oregon Trip report

Mount Ireland – 07/09/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 17, 2022
6 Comments on Mount Ireland – 07/09/2022

As we continue to work toward our goal of completing the 100 featured hikes (post) in each of the five areas covered by William L. Sullivan in his “100 Hikes” series we headed for Eastern Oregon for a week hoping to check off 6 more hikes from that area. The first hike on our list, Mt. Ireland, had become something of a white whale for us. We had tried to do this hike during a September 2017 to Sumpter, OR but an early round of snow forced us to change that plan (post). We tried again on the way home from backpacking the Elkhorn Crest (post) but a round of severe thunderstorms stymied that plan.

We hoped the third time would be the charm but a little doubt crept in when I checked the forecast Friday night before leaving and saw it called for a slight chance of thunder storms the next day. We left at 5am to make the five and a half hour drive to the trailhead. Our plan was to watch the weather on the way there and if all looked good to try the hike but if it looked like thunder storms were imminent we would drive straight to Baker City where we had reservations for that night and try the hike again on our way home. There were a few clouds in the sky as we approached but none looked threatening so we followed Sullivan’s driving directions to the small, poorly marked, parking area.
A small sign post was all that marked the trailhead.

The trail begins along a closed roadbed which climbs steeply for the first 0.3 miles to a junction with other old roadbeds a view of Mt. Ireland.

Mt. Ireland from the junction.

Hound’s tongue

There were several old roads/skids in the area but the trail was well flagged (we later learned that flagging had been recently placed by folks manning the lookout).
Flagging on the left marking the “trail”.

After another mile we came to FR 142 where a trail sign marked the continuation of the the trail.
Another flag hanging on the tree to the right.

Another glimpse of Mt. Ireland.

Small meadow near FR 142 along a tributary of East Fork Boundary Creek.

Trail sign at FR 142.

The trail climbed for nearly another mile from FR 142 to a junction on an open ridge.

Jacob’s ladder

This was one of three trees across the trail, all of which were easily navigated.

Ironside Mountain in the distance.

Phlox

Brown’s peony

Nearing the junction.

The trail to the right led 1.3 miles downhill to Downie Lake a possible side trip but one we decided to skip given our late start, the warm temperature, and we had another six straight days of hikes planned after this. We turned left and headed uphill, steeply at times (most times) toward Mt. Ireland.
Heading uphill.

Pussy paws

Mt. Ireland ahead.

Rock Creek Butte (post) and Elkhorn Peak along the Elkhorn Crest.

Paintbrush

Goosefoot violet

Vinegar Hill in the Greenhorn Mountains (post) with a few snow patches.

It was just over a mile from the junction to the lookout and as we neared the lookout we began noticing signs of mountain goats.
Mountain goat fur on the trail.

I was a little ahead of Heather reaching the tower and when I arrived there were goats at a salt lick placed below the tower to keep the goats from disturbing the tower itself.
Just to the right of the silver stump in the center of the photo is one of the goats.

One of the goats below the lookout tower.

Zoomed in shot of one of the goats leaving upon my arrival.

I rested at the saddle below the lookout tower next to a helipad and took in the view of Baldy Lake below.
Arriving at the saddle.

Baldy Lake below Mt. Ireland.

The tower from the saddle.

The helipad.

Being watched.

The tower is typically staffed from late-June thru late-September and as I waited for Heather I was waved up to the tower by the current staffer, Warren. Warren and his wife Chris(sp?), who are from Arkansas, welcomed me to the tower where they offered me a chair while I waited for Heather to arrive. Heather soon joined us and we spent almost an hour in the tower visiting. We learned the tower is a bit of an anomaly being steel framed and that the day before 23 goats had been at the summit. Warren also informed us that under the right conditions Mt. Rainier was visible from the tower over 200 miles away. Another interesting tidbit of information was that dietician was the most common occupation of visitors to the tower in 2021 which was Warren’s first year staffing the tower. Apparently they don’t get a lot of visitors which was surprising to us given how great the view was from here.

While we were visiting a nanny and kid came to the salt lick.
The kid was on the other side of mom.

After our visit we returned to the saddle for a few more photos and then headed back down the trail to the car.
The Elkhorns from the tower.

The snowy Wallowa Mountains beyond a gap in the Elkhorns.

Milbert’s tortoiseshell

Vinegar Hill with Dixie Butte to the left and Strawberry Mountain (post) the high point to the far left in the distance.

Clark’s nutcracker

Butterfly on pussy paws.

A comma?

Beetle on arnica.

Hookedspur violet

After returning to the car we drove into Sumpter and stopped for hand dipped corn dogs at a small stand that is only there typically between July 4th and Labor Day. The owner of the stand had stayed later in September of 2017 and we’d had several of the corn dogs (and cheese sticks) then which were delicious. The next year the stand wasn’t there but it was this year to our delight.

After a couple of corn dogs (w/jalapeno mustard) and a cheese stick each we continued to Baker City and checked into our room for the night. The hike came in at a little over 7 miles with just over 2300′ of elevation gain.

We really enjoyed this hike and getting to visit with the staffers made it even more enjoyable. It’s really hard to understand why this hike isn’t more popular except that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information out there about it. It felt good to finally be able to check this one off our to-do list but we would happily do it again if the opportunity arose. Happy trails!

Flickr: Mt. Ireland

Tags Baldy Lake, Blue Mountains, elkhorns, Greenhorns, hiking, Mount Ireland Lookout, mountain goat, Mt. Ireland, Oregon, Sumpter

Blue Mountains - South Hiking Oregon Trip report

Elkhorn Crest Trail Day 3

As far as we know we didn’t have any mountain goat visitors during our night at Lower Twin Lake but I did wake up once and managed to see a streak across the sky which I assume was part of the Perseid meteor shower. Another goat did pass close by in the morning though as we were preparing to leave.

It wasn’t nearly as chilly as it had been the previous morning and the air had gotten quite a bit hazier overnight.

The increased smoke made us thankful that we had made our climb up Rock Creek Butte the day before instead of waiting until this morning. We had a fairly straight forward day planned as we would simply be returning the way we’d come the day before minus the side trip up to Rock Creek Butte’s summit. We were still seriously considering not going all the way back to Summit Lake which would be approximately a 13 mile hike. We figured we could shorten that by nearly a mile if we set up camp near one of the streams along the Summit Lake Trail.

As we began the mile climb from Lower Twin Lake back to the Elkhorn Crest Trail we passed the mountain goat who had stop to graze.

A little further along we spotted three deer doing the same in a patch of yellow wildflowers.

The hoofed animals weren’t the only ones out this morning.

As we climbed away from the Twin Lakes Rock Creek Butte came into view.

When we reached the Elkhorn Crest Trail we turned left and headed toward Rock Creek Butte where we spotted another mountain goat coming down the ridge where we had gone up the day before.

It turned out to be a mountain goat filled morning. As we were passing around the western side of Rock Creek Butte a herd of goats came up from the valley below. Some of them crossed the trail in front of us while others stayed down in the trees until we passed.

We had another encounter a short while later as I passed around a rock outcropping and came face to face with a goat heading south on the trail. We were both equally startled and the goat quickly leapt downhill behind more rocks.

The increased smoke limited the views on the way back so we focused more on the things along the trail.
Mt. Ruth to the north

Rock Creek Butte to the south

Looking east toward the Wallowas

Curiosity got the best of Heather as we came to a jeep track heading uphill to a ridge 9.3 miles from the Twin Lakes Trail junction and 1.2 miles before the Summit Lake junction.

Wondering if there might be a view of Summit Lake from the ridge we followed it steeply uphill only to discover that the angle was wrong and we were looking north over Little Summit Lake which was hidden in the trees below.

We were feeling relatively good all things considered so we had decided to go all the way to Summit Lake and stay there again only this time we would take the first available camp site we came too instead of going half way around the lake. We arrived at the lake to find it a little smokier than we had left it the morning before but it was still a great lake.

We were the only people there when we arrived and did indeed set up camp in the first available spot.

We were later joined by a solo backpacker who we had passed along the Summit Lake Trail. We spent the afternoon lounging around camp and hanging out with the locals.

The total distance for the day was just a bit over 13 miles but there had been a lot less elevation gain making it a fairly mild day. We were dealing with some blisters and Heather was having a little issue with an ankle that was being bruised by her shoe which told her it was time for a new pair. The good news was the next two days were only going to be around 10 miles each, but we were facing some more climbing on day four along the Lost Lake Trail which I had been told was steep and rocky. We turned in after memorizing the route for the following day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Elkhorn Crest Trail Day 3

Tags backpacking, Blue Mountains - South, Butterfly, deer, Elkhorn Crest National Recreation Trail, Elkhorn Crest Trail, Elkhorn Range, elkhorns, hiking, Lower Twin Lake, mountain goat, Mt. Ruth, Oregon, Rock Creek Butte, Summit Lake, Summit Lake Trail, Twin Lakes, Twin Lakes Trail

Blue Mountains - South Hiking Oregon Trip report

Elkhorn Crest Trail Day 2

The second day of our Elkhorn Crest backpacking trip began with a welcome chill in the morning. It was actually cold enough to break out the beanie, Buff, and gloves.

We ate breakfast as the Sun came up creating a nice reflection in Summit Lake.

After packing up we decided to continue around the lake counter-clockwise to complete a loop around the shore. We crossed a small inlet in a meadow at the southern end of the lake.

Beyond the meadow the trail passed a couple of other campsites with views to the north across the water.

Birds were busily flying from tree to tree but one sat still long enough for a photograph.

After completing the loop we began the 1.5 mile climb back to the Elkhorn Crest Trail. The trail crossed over several small streams and meadows as it passed through a forested section. We spotted two does and a fawn in the area.
One of the does (the fawn dashed by moments later)

Close-up of the doe

As we continued along we were hailed by the group of hikers we had passed early on the first day who had said they were aiming for Summit Lake as well. They wound up running out of gas they said so they set up camp on a rocky overlook of the valley below. After talking with them briefly we continued on to the cairn marking the junction with the Elkhorn Crest Trail where we turned left.

Our goal for the day was Twin Lakes but we also planned to summit Rock Creek Butte, the highest peak in the Elkhorn Range. We were leaving our options open though. The route up was 9.5 miles away and we weren’t sure if it would be better to wait and attempt it the next day when it would be earlier in the day and likely cooler or if doing it today would be better since the sky was still relatively smoke free in the immediate area. Either way we had time to decide as we followed the trail along the western side of the crest.

We were very interested in a peak on the horizon to the south. It was clearly separated from the Strawberry Mountains further west and we weren’t sure what it was. When we returned home it was one of the first things I looked up and it turned out to be Ironside Mountain.

We spotted a number of animals along the crest in the morning including the biggest caterpillar either of us had ever seen digging in the dirt.

Approximately a mile and a half from the junction with the Summit Lake Trail we came across the only water we would encounter along the entire Elkhorn Crest Trail. A small flower lined stream heading down into Sardine Gulch to join Cracker Creek.

The trail had left the North Fork John Day Wilderness at Cracker Saddle and we began seeing the difference at a hairpin turn around a ridge.

From above we couldn’t read the sign without the aid of the camera zoom.

Someone clearly put some work into that. A little further along the trail we started noticing mining operations along the hillside. We could also see 9106′ Rock Creek Butte further along the ridge.

The trail spent a short while along a wide section of the ridge top before returning to the western side of the crest.

We would again gain the ridge top with a nice view down the Rock Creek Valley to the east.

Nearly seven miles from the Summit Lake Trail junction we came to the Pole Creek Ridge Trail which headed faintly downhill along a ridge.

By the time we’d reached this junction we had decided to attempt Rock Creek Butte on the way by instead of waiting for the next day. It wasn’t too hot and more importantly it looked like smoke was creeping towards us from both sides so we thought we’d better get what views we could while the getting was good. It was still a little over two and a half miles to the SW ridge of Rock Creek Butte where we would turn up for the climb.

We were having a hard time coming from the direction that we were determining which peak ahead was actually Rock Creek Butte. We were hoping that the closest rounded peak was our goal and not the larger one further away. From the angle we were at they appeared to be somewhat similar in height.

When we gained the ridge top again though we could just make out Rock Creek Lake in the basin below the further peak which told us that was our next goal.

As it turned out the peak we had hoped was Rock Creek Butte was 500′ shorter although it did seem to have a possible route up.
Looking up “not” Rock Creek Butte

Rock Creek Butte is still a little ways away.

It took another mile and a half to reach the saddle where we would turn up the SW ridge of Rock Creek Butte.
Looking ahead to the saddle.

Nearing the saddle.

At the saddle we left the trail and ditched are backpacks in a group of trees in favor of our day packs.

Before starting the climb we noticed that we weren’t the only ones traveling south on the Elkhorn Crest Trail. A pair of mountain goats could be seen walking along the trail.

After watching the goats head over the ridge toward Twin Lakes we began our ascent.
Mountain goat sign was everywhere along the rocky ridge and there was no discernible path, although we did occasionally spot a human foot print in the dirt.

The half mile route gains roughly 600′ with the final tenth of a mile being the steepest portion.

A large cairn and register box sit atop the peak.

From the summit Lower Twin Lake was visible to the south.

Mt. Ireland and Vinegar Hill lay to the west.

To the NE should have been the Wallowas but smoke appeared to have overtaken them.

The view to the north included many of the peaks of the Elkhorn Range but there was no view of Rock Creek Lake due to the broad summit.

A 500′ stroll across the summit though revealed the gorgeous lake below.

Notice the golden-mantled ground squirrel sitting atop the large rock overlooking the lake.

Mountain goats were grazing in some green grass by a smaller body of water near the lake.
(Full disclosure neither of us noticed the goats until I was looking through the pictures at home.)

Looking back at the summit cairn from the Rock Creek Lake overlook.

There were a lot of flying ants on the cairn as well as several lady bugs and some butterflies nearby.

After recovering from the climb up we started back down just as another hiker was closing in on the summit. It turned out that he had been the other person besides us camped at Summit Lake the night before. We left him to the summit and slowly picked our way back down to our backpacks. After retrieving them we returned to the Elkhorn Crest Trail following a section of trail that had been blasted out of the rocks.

Soon Lower Twin Lake came into view followed by Upper Twin Lake.

The trail made a sweeping curve for the next three quarters of a mile above the lakes bringing around to the opposite end of them before arriving at a junction with the Twin Lakes Trail.

Although the lakes are only about 350′ below the junction the Twin Lakes Trail takes its own sweet time getting down to them via a series of long switchbacks.

They made for a relatively easy climb out the next day but I was ready to be done for the day and became rather impatient with the slow decent. After a little over a mile we arrived at the lake and chose a camp stie.

Both our guidebook and signs at the trailheads had warned about the mountain goats in the area being habituated to humans. A good reminder of why people shouldn’t feed wildlife, without the fear of humans the goats have been known to nibble on tents, clothing and backpacks in search of salt. We made sure not to leave anything lying around outside the tent but it wasn’t long before the first goat passed nearby.
You can see Heather’s arm on the left side of the photo.

About a half hour later a second goat followed.

After dinner we watched a nanny and kid circle around the lake and graze nearby.

We did leave our tent for about 45 minutes to visit Upper Twin Lake which was just .3 miles away.

More mountain goats were grazing on the hillsides above this lake.

The goats left our tent alone and we turned in for the night after what would be the longest day of our trip at 15.9 miles. Our original plan had been to return to Summit Lake the next day and stay there again but we were now considering camping along the Summit Lake Trail like the other group we had met had done. The nearby streams would allow us to get water and it would shave off a little distance both the next day and the day after when we were planning on heading from Summit Lake to Dutch Flat Lake. We decided to play it by ear the next day and turned in for the night halfway expecting to wake up to a mountain goat staring at us through the mesh on our tent. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Elkhorn Crest Trail Day 2

Tags backpacking, deer, Elkhorn Crest National Recreation Trail, Elkhorn Crest Trail, hiking, Ironside Mountain, Lower Twin Lake, mountain goat, Oregon, Pole Creek Ridge Trail, Rock Creek, Rock Creek Butte, Rock Creek Lake, Summit Lake, Summit Lake Trail, Upper Twin Lake

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Eagle Cap Wilderness Day 2 – The Matterhorn and West Fork Wallowa Trail

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 7, 2016
1 Comment on Eagle Cap Wilderness Day 2 – The Matterhorn and West Fork Wallowa Trail

When we had gone to sleep the night before we weren’t sure if we would be continuing our trip or hiking back to the car after only one night due to Heather having gotten sick during the night. She was feeling pretty good in the morning though and was fairly certain she had just overheated the day before, so we decided to move ahead with our plans and see how she held up.

We had breakfast and watched as the morning light slowly made it’s way into the Ice Lake basin.

The Matterhorn catching the morning sunlight.

Our plan for the day was to take our day packs and hike up to the 9826′ summit of the Matterhorn before packing up camp and heading further up the West Fork Wallowa River. To reach the Matterhorn we would need to follow a use trail on the west side of Ice Lake up almost 2000′. We had explored some of the south side of the lake the day before so we went around the north side of the lake to reach the use trail. This proved to be a good choice as there was no wind allowing for some beautiful reflections in the lake.

The lupine was just starting to bloom along the north shore as well.

The trail crossed an inlet creek at the west end of the lake and then grew fainter as it headed uphill.

The scenery grew more alpine like as we climbed. A few trees dotted the rocky landscape and wildflowers added color.

Alpine shooting star

Alpine springbeauty

Lewis flax and wallflowers

Ice Lake was getting further away as we continued up.

The path led to a marble outcrop that overlooked a basin where we spotted a pair of mountain goats.

In addition to Ice Lake below there were a couple of snow melt tarns visible below the trail.

The trail had been fairly easy to follow but it became more difficult after crossing a section of red rocks and starting up the marble of the Matterhorn.

Despite the rocky terrain several different wildflowers had managed to find footholds.

Once we were on the marble we worked our way up following cairns and whatever footprints we could find in the areas of dirt that were present. A couple of times we realized we had lost the shoe prints and were only following mountain goat hoof prints. We made our way up to a surprisingly wide ridge top and followed it south toward the summit of the Matterhorn.

The view of the Wallowas was amazing. Smokey skies surrounded us limiting the visible distance, but we couldn’t complain.

The Elkhorns

The Lostine Valley

Cairn marking the summit of the Matterhorn with a smoke plume from a wildfire in Idaho in the distance.

Eagle Cap in the center of the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

In addition to the great views were some interesting rock features.

We headed back down from the summit stopping along the way to chat with another hiker on his way up. After packing up we took the Ice Lake Trail back down to the West Fork Wallowa Trail. We were surprised by the number of hikers we passed heading up to Ice Lake on a Monday.

When we arrived back at the junction with the West Fork Wallowa Trail Heather was doing well so we continued with our trip and took the trail south toward Sixmile Meadow.

This 3.3 mile section of the West Fork Wallowa Trail wasn’t the most exciting trail we’d been on, but to be fair it was following up Ice Lake and the Matterhorn. We also had remembered the distance incorrectly thinking it was only about 1.5 miles to the meadow causing it to seem like it was taking forever to get there.

We had originally considered setting up camp at Sixmile meadow but after passing the junction with the Lakes Basin Trail at the edge of the meadow we only saw one campsite which was closer to the trail and more exposed than we wanted to be.

We decided to continue further along the West Fork Wallowa Trail planning on stopping at the first good campsite we found. That proved to be more difficult than we had expected. The scenery along the trail improved beyond Sixmile Meadow as open wildflower meadows replaced the forest but there was a lack of noticeable campsites and the couple we saw were already occupied.

One of the more interesting flowers we had been seeing on the trip were yellow columbine which was becoming more profuse in these higher meadows.

After passing an unsigned junction with the trail up to Polaris Pass the West Fork Wallowa Trail passed through a narrow canyon before entering another meadow.

It was getting close to 6pm and we were getting a little tired and anxious about finding a suitable campsite. Our worst case scenario was to push on to Frazier Lake but that would mean possibly fording the river, another climb and an additional mile plus of hiking. Luckily as we passed through this meadow we spotted a faint path to the left which led to a small campsite next to some trees. We quickly claimed the spot and set up the tent.

We had gone quite a bit further than we’d originally planned that day ending up having covered 16.7 miles for the day, but this site turned out to be wonderful. The sounds of the nearby river was joined by the distant roar of several waterfalls cascading down the surrounding cliffs.

Heather was starting to feel a little under the weather again as we turned in for the night and we decided that we would try and take it a little easier the next day. We had already cut down the distance we needed to go to get to our next planned stop at Mirror Lake and we decided that instead of an afternoon side trip we would just hang out around the lake. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157671954055746

Tags eagle cap wilderness, hiking, ice lake, mountain goat, Oregon, sixmile meadow, the matterhorn, Wallowas, west fork wallowa river, west fork wallowa trail, yellow columbine

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Mount Margaret Backcountry – Obscurity Lake to South Coldwater Trailhead

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 22, 2016
1 Comment on Mount Margaret Backcountry – Obscurity Lake to South Coldwater Trailhead

Waking up to a third tent at Obscurity Camp wasn’t our only surprise in the morning. I awoke at 4:30am to find nearly clear skies above the lake save for one small finger of cloud creeping over the ridge behind Obscurity Lake. We were getting an extra early start due to the forecast of possible Thunderstorms after 11am. The clear sky was encouraging, but it wasn’t long before clouds began creeping into the basin from all sides.

By the time we were on our way we were hiking through fog.

It was a fairly steep climb out of the Obscurity Lake Basin but as we neared the saddle between Obscurity and Panhandle Lakes beautiful blue skies appeared through the fog giving us some hope for views.

There were some views if we looked up but when we crested the saddle it was evident that the view of Panhandle Lake would not be clear.

Down we went back into even thicker fog. The trail crossed a couple of nice streams with marsh marigolds as it wound around the lake.

As we neared the lake we spotted a mountain goat lounging just above the trail.

It sized us up and kept a close eye on us as we passed by.

We decided not to go down to the lake figuring the view couldn’t be much better than what we had along the trail.

We continued on toward Shovel Lake. Once again the trail climbed out of a basin but instead of dropping back down toward Shovel Lake the trail passed above it along a ridge. On the far side of the lake was Mt. Whittier making this one of the most dramatic lakes in the backcountry but we never saw it.
The thickest layer of clouds lay right over Shovel Lake, but as we climbed the ridge we eventually rose above the clouds.

We were pretty excited when we realized we could see the top of Mt. Rainier in the distance.

The trail to Shovel Lake was near the top of the ridge which meant we would have had to descend a half mile back into the clouds to visit this lake. Once again we passed figuring it left us one more thing to come back for.

From the Shovel Lake Trail junction though we had a great view of Mt. Adams, which appeared to be wrestling with the clouds.

The trail continued up the ridge to a saddle where it was joined by the Whittier Ridge Trail.

From this saddle we then began our descent toward Coldwater Lake. First up was Snow Lake.

We had finally found a lake without clouds and as an added bonus we had a great view beyond to Coldwater Peak.

The trail swung out around the lake and as it did so we gained a little glimpse of Mt. St. Helens as well.

This time the trail went right by Snow Lake giving us an up close look.

The other nice thing about Snow Lake was the climb out of the basin was short and not steep. We quickly crested the saddle above the lake and began to drop into another mass of clouds.

From Snow Lake it was 3.4 miles to the Coldwater Trail and a footbridge over Coldwater Creek. We were passing through the cloud layer for the first part of this section so we couldn’t see much. The trail itself was brushy with thimbleberry bushes and vine maples.

The tread was also narrow and washed out in spots but passable.

We eventually got under the clouds and could see Coldwater Creek below us.

We were also seeing more wildflowers again and finding ripe berries, including our first thimbleberries of the year.

Trailing blackberry

Thimbleberry

Red huckleberry

We passed a couple of small waterfalls along side streams, one on either side of the valley.

The trail then passed above what appeared to be a nice fall along Coldwater Creek but didn’t provide much of a view.

Just after passing the waterfall the trail entered a forested area.

Hedgenettle

From there to the Coldwater Trail junction the trial alternated between small meadows and woods with occasional views back to Coldwater Creek.

Another trail crew from the Washington Trails Association was working on the Coldwater Trail on the far side of the footbridge when we arrived there. We stopped on some rocks above the bridge for a snack break and watched them as they worked.

We were now on familiar trail, at least in theory. When we had hiked the loop around Coldwater Lake in May 2014 much of the vegetation was only beginning to produce leaves.
Coldwater Trail

This time the trail was crowded with plants.

The wildflowers were out in force as we drew nearer to Tractor Junction.

A male grouse flew out of one of the meadows and landed in a nearby tree. It was the first one we’d seen in full display and was quite colorful.

IMG_2360 (2)

The views were much better than they had been the day before at Tractor Junction and along the 3.2 miles from there back to the trailhead. Coldwater Lake was clearly visible and Mt. St. Helens even made an appearance.

For the second day in a row we’d escaped without dealing with any rain showers and the thunderstorms had not materialized before we’d made it back to the car. Despite the sometimes cloudy conditions it had turned out to be a really nice trip. The views we did miss out on can now be our excuse for return trip sometime in the future. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157670492933452

Tags Coldwater Creek, Coldwater Lake, Coldwater Peak, Coldwater Trail, hiking, Lakes trail, male sooty grouse, mount margaret backcountry, mountain goat, Mt. St. Helens, Obscurity lake, panhandle lake, shovel lake, snow lake, sooty grouse, South Coldwater Trail, Thimbleberry, Washington

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Mount Margaret Backcountry – South Coldwater Trailhead to Obscurity Lake

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 21, 2016
6 Comments on Mount Margaret Backcountry – South Coldwater Trailhead to Obscurity Lake

The only backpacking trip that we had planned for this year which required a permit was an overnight stay in the Mount Margaret Backcountry near Mt. St. Helens. The area is part of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, displaying the effects of the 1980 eruption. The lateral blast from the eruption shattered trees toppling thousands of acres of forest.

Camping is limited to designated sites at eight backcountry camps where the maximum group size for camping is four. Pets and pack stock are prohibited in the Mount Margaret Backcountry and fires are not allowed. We made our reservation for Obscurity Camp on March 19th, the day the permits became available.

One drawback of a permit system is not having any idea what the weather is going to be like on the days you reserve. We were looking at the chance of showers and maybe even a thunderstorm as we were hiking out, but we liked our odds and we had spent a whole $6.00 on the permit so we decided to give it a go. It was a wet drive to the South Coldwater Trailhead which is located along the Spirit Lake Highway (SR 504).

Starting at Norway Pass would have made it a shorter hike but where is the fun in that? It also would have been a longer drive. Our plan was a lollipop route using the South Coldwater Trail 230A, Coldwater Trail 230, Boundary Trail 1, and Lakes Trail 211. We had been on some of the trails in 2013 during a May hike around Coldwater Lake, but that hike had been early enough in the season that there had been very little vegetation and almost no flowers. It was evident from the flowers at the trailhead that we’d be seeing different sights this time around.

We were under the clouds as we set off on the trail which passed through a short section of woods before emerging into wildflower filled meadows.

Although the clouds limited the view we were able to see back down to the South Coldwater Creek Valley where we spotted several elk.

The trail then crossed over the ridge we were climbing providing views of Coldwater Lake.

The wildflowers were thick along the trail, but we were starting to enter the cloud bank and quickly losing our visibility.

The trail continued to climb along the ridge passing a couple of pieces of old machinery that is left over from the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens.

We were now in the midst (or mist) of the clouds. At least it wasn’t raining and despite the low visibility there were still plenty of flowers along the trail to see and there were a couple of snowshoe hares out having breakfast.

The hares weren’t the only ones enjoying some snacks. A variety of ripe berries offered us a nice selection of treats.

After 3.2 miles we arrived at Tractor Junction. Named for another piece of nearby equipment, this junction marks the end of the South Coldwater Trail at it’s intersection with the Coldwater Trail.

We turned right at the junction and headed toward the Boundary Trail which was just over 2 miles away. After .2 miles we passed Ridge Camp, one of the designated camps in the area.

The wildflowers were once again impressive along this trail, but the visibility was even worse. We focused on finding as many different flowers as we could.
Tiger lilies

Lupine, paintbrush and yellow wildflowers

Large patch of paintbrush

Arnica

Bugbane

Corydalis

Columbine

Scouler’s bluebell

An aster or fleabane

Pussypaws

Mock orange

Bistort

Another type of aster or fleabane

Violets

Orange agoseris

Spirea

Cat’s ear lily

Avalanche lily

We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the junction with the Boundary Trail overlooking St. Helens Lake. We had suddenly found a little blue sky and some better visibility.

Coldwater Peak was to our left and seemed to be acting as a cloud break.

While we were watching the clouds swirl around the back side of Coldwater Peak we noticed a mountain goat on the cliffs below the summit.

We took a nice long break at the junction watching the mountain goat and the ever changing clouds. When we finally set off again we passed by Coldwater Peak in sunlight.

We had some great views of St. Helens Lake below us as we passed the spur trail to Coldwater Peak after .4 miles.

The trail the continued around the lake with views opening up to Spirit Lake below St. Helens Lake.

For the next 3 plus miles the clouds came and went as the drifted over the ridge down toward Spirit Lake.

There was more snow along this section of trail and we started seeing more flowers that bloom soon after snow melt.

Cinquefoil

Cusick’s speedwell

White heather

Avalanche lilies

Cat’s ear lily

We crossed our first snowfield near The Dome, which was mostly hidden by the clouds.

It was a bit of a shame that we couldn’t see more of the surrounding area because the peaks and cliffs we could see where really neat.

The view downhill was a little better and we got a decent look at the outlet of St. Helens Lake, a log jam on Spirit Lake, and some elk in the valley.

We had skipped the .6 mile trail up to the summit of Coldwater Peak not wanting to make that climb with our full packs on a day when the visibility wasn’t great, but when we reached the shorter spur trail to the summit of Mt. Margaret we decided to head up. Unlike Coldwater Peak we had not been up this trail before so even if we didn’t have a view we couldn’t pass it up. The view from Mt. Margaret turned out to not be too bad. We could see Spirit Lake fairly well and the Boundary Trail below the peak. Other nearby peaks occasionally emerged from the clouds.

We could see some spots where mountain goats had been on a nearby ledge but no goats, just a swallowtail butterfly.

We took a nice long break and had some lunch on Mt. Margaret. As we were preparing to start hiking again we could hear people coming up the Boundary Trail, lots of people. Heather counted nearly 30 folks emerging from the trees below. We made it back to the junction with the Boundary Trail just as the first of these other hikers were arriving. The majority of them turned out to be members of the Mazamas, a nonprofit Mountaineering Education Organization based in Portland, Oregon.

After passing through the Mazamas we crossed another nice snowfield and reached a junction with the Whittier Ridge Trail.

The Whittier Ridge Trail was not on our to-do list on this hike. The trail is narrow and in places along exposed cliffs where the rocks had to be blasted to create a trail at all. Recent reports from members of the Oregon Hikers forum reported some snow still along the trail as well and with little visibility it wasn’t even tempting. We continued on the Boundary Trail getting our first view of some the lakes in the Mt. Margaret Backcountry.
Boot and Obscurity Lakes

We had been gradually descending since Mt. Margaret and the visibility was getting better the lower we got.

Along the way we spotted another mountain goat not far above the trail.

As we got closer it crossed the trail and disappeared over the hillside leaving us with just it’s smell. (And boy did it smell)

We had been working our way around Spirit Lake and were now just to the NE of it. Mt. St. Helens lay directly behind the lake but only the lowest portions were visible. What we could see was Windy Ridge on the Mountain’s flank.

Two miles from the Whittier Ridge Trail we arrived at the junction with the Lakes Trail at Bear Pass.

The Lakes Trail descended from Bear Pass toward Grizzly Lake.

A trail crew from the Washington Trails Association was busy brushing out the trail and restoring the tread along this section. They were doing some impressive work and we thanked them as we passed by.

Between Grizzly Lake and our final destination at Obscurity Lake were more wildflowers including a few we hadn’t seen yet that day.
Partridge foot and paintbrush

Penstemon and candyflower

Pink monkeyflower

Blue-bells of Scotland

Fireweed

Bleeding heart

As we approached Obscurity Lake a waterfall was visible along the outlet creek of the lake.

We finally arrived at Obscurity Lake after almost 16 miles of hiking.

We thought the hard part was over but then we went in search of the designated camp site. We found one tent pad already occupied and began looking for a second one. When I had made the reservation on the Recreation.gov website there had been 2 available permits for up to 4 people. There were several areas where tents had obviously been placed in the past but we couldn’t find any other tent pad or post marking another designated site. The hikers from the other tent said they had not been able to find a second one either so we picked what seemed like the most likely spot where there was no vegetation to trample and set up the tent.

We hoped that we had picked the right spot and figured if we hadn’t and a ranger came along we’d just ask them where the other designated site was and move there if we had chosen poorly. Oddly enough a third tent had appeared when we awoke the next morning. I don’t know if they were possibly with the Forest Service, but if they weren’t someone was not where they should have been.

Regardless of the confusion over the camp sites the day had been pretty spectacular. The showers had never materialized and between the wildflowers, wildlife, and scattered views we did get we’d been totally entertained. The clouds just made us more eager to come back again someday in the future so we could see what we missed this time around. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157668318616563

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Mt. Rainier National Park – Norther Loop Trail Day 4

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 21, 2015
No Comments on Mt. Rainier National Park – Norther Loop Trail Day 4

I had another night of poor sleep as my stomach decided to mutiny shortly after 11pm so I was happy to finally see the sky begin to lighten in the morning. After having breakfast and packing up we left Fire Creek Camp and climbed back up to the Northern Loop Trail.

We had over 2000 feet of elevation gain ahead of us again today but we were feeling surprisingly good as we set off. We were tired but at the same time we both felt like we could do this for at least a few more days. It was encouraging since someday we’d like to do a long trip when we have the time.

We had just over a mile and a half climb to reach Grand Park. Along the way we a couple of viewpoints offered great views of Mt. Rainier.

Grand Park lived up to its name. Despite the dry weather it was still an impressive sight and the views of Mt. Rainier were spectacular.

As we were passing through one of the smaller meadows we noticed that there was frost on some of the plants. It was funny how excited we got seeing the frost. It has been such a hot and dry year that the sight of the frost was a welcome sight.

After leaving Grand Park the trail headed down a ridge.

We had been able to see the trail far up the valley climbing out of Berkeley Park and here we were heading downhill.

The trail eventually stopped dropping and began climbing again below Mt. Freemont. Lodi Creek was on the opposite side of the trail between Mt. Freemont and Skyscraper Mountain. We passed through several small meadows with views of Skyscraper Mountain where we spotted a mountain goat.

We spotted a second mountain goat on the cliffs of the mountain a little further along the trail.

As we passed Berkeley Park Camp we found more frost covered plants and even saw a small pool with a thin layer of ice.

The trail continued to climb up the valley along the increasingly scenic Lodi Creek. We popped out of the shadow of Mt. Freemont into sunlight filled meadows and quickly warmed up.

As we neared the top of the valley we spotted a pair of marmots on the hillside. They were hilarious to watch especially when one of them plopped itself down on a rock and spread out its legs.

When we arrived at the Wonderland Trail I realized that I had forgotten that there would still be more climbing to do. I had been thinking we would be heading downhill from that point on and was disappointed when I realized my mistake. The .7 mile climb to Frozen Lake was probably the hardest for me because I had planned on coasting downhill at that point, but once we had reached the lake I was over my mistake and back to enjoying the scenery.

Near the lake I happened to say the word “goat” and two girls nearby freaked out. They thought I had spotted one and they really wanted to see one. They were disappointed to learn that I hadn’t really seen one and even more disappointed to learn that we had seen two on Skyscraper Mountain from Berkeley Park because that was where they had come from. We left them by the lake and turned up the Sourdough Ridge Trial. Shortly after doing so we did spot another goat. Three to be exact, a nannie and two kids.

We looked back to see if they were following but they hadn’t come around the bend yet. Heather considered running back to tell them about the goats but there was no guarantee that she could reach them before the goats disappeared.

We stopped a couple of times along the trail to take in the view to the north. This was the furthest north we’d been while hiking and were seeing Cascade peaks that we had never seen before including the snowy Glacier Peak.

After getting some pictures of the new mountains we began our final descent. The trail was full of hikers huffing uphill from Sunrise. We couldn’t believe how many people there were and we were becoming anxious to reach the car, get cleaned up, and escape the crowds. It was such a stark contrast to the peacefulness of the Northern Loop Trail.

We dropped our packs off at the car and then stepped into the snack bar to get a cold drink and a souvenir. We had discussed chocolate milk on the trail after some muddy water had reminded us of the drink and it had sounded really good. We wound up leaving the snack bar with the most expensive chocolate milk we’ve ever had. Mine was gone before we even got back to the car.

I don’t know when we’ll get back up to Mt. Rainier but I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of that National Park. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157655104282083

Tags berkeley park, fire creek camp, Frozen Lake, glacier peak, grand park, hiking, lodi creek, marmot, Mount Rainier, Mount Rainier National Park, mountain goat, mt freemont, skyscraper mountain, Washington

Goat Rocks Hiking Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Goat Rocks Wilderness

We just returned from our longest backpacking trip to date, a three night, four day stay in the Goat Rocks Wilderness in Washington. What an amazing place. Located between Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier the Goat Rocks Wilderness sports spectacular views, vast meadows of wildflowers, and plenty of wildlife. A number of trails including the Pacific Crest Trail provide 120 miles of hiking opportunities to explore this special place. Our plan was to establish a base camp at Alpine and then explore in all directions from there.

We started our trip at the popular Snowgrass Trailhead and quickly entered the wilderness.

A little over 1.5 miles we crossed Goat Creek on a footbridge.

In another 2 miles we came to a trail junction where Bypass Trail 97 split off on its way up to the Pacific Crest Trail. Staying left on the Snowgrass Trail we climbed .7 miles to a trail junction.

The Lily Basin Trail meets the Snowgrass Trail at this junction amid a wildflower meadow. Just a short distance away was Alpine where we began searching for a tent site. The views and wildflowers at Alpine were simply amazing. We ended up deciding on a small site with a view of Old Snowy Mountain.

After setting up camp we loaded up our daypacks and headed back to the Snowgrass Trail and climbed to the Pacific Crest Trail. The scenery just kept getting better as we approached the PCT. Mt. Adams was standing tall to the SE, Mt. St. Helens sat in the distance to the SW and Old Snowy Mountain & Ives Peak lay dead ahead.

We turned right (south) on the PCT and headed toward the Cispus Basin planning to go as far as Cispus Pass before turning around. After a mile the Bypass Trail 97 joined the PCT which we would take on the way back. After crossing a large rock slide we got our first view across the Cispus Basin to Mt. Adams peaking over the far ridge.

The Cispus River begins at the top of the basin underneath more jagged peaks of the Goat Rocks.

There had been wildflowers all along the trail but as we entered the basin they increased. Adding to the scenery was a waterfall that the PCT passed below.

The trail continued around the basin crossing the Cispus River and then heading up the eastern side of the basin.

At the top of the ridge was Cispus Pass and the border of the Yakima Indian Reservation. The Klickitat River flowed below and Mt. Adams was again visible to the SE.

We returned to Alpine via the Bypass Trail 97 and took a short rest before heading back out to catch the sunset. We decided to try heading further out on the Lily Basin Trail since the Sun would be setting over the ridges in that direction. We passed a small pond with a big reflection before finding an unoccupied camp site where we settled in.

Clouds started to move in and cover some of the higher points though so we headed back toward Alpine to check on Mt. Adams. The Moon had risen over the ridges to the North of Mt. Adams making for a perfect ending to our first day.

I was up early on day 2 and was able to catch the sunrise which lit up the clouds over Ives Peak and Mt. Adams.

Several elk were passing through the trees on the far side of Alpine but the low amount of light left me with a single picture worthy of a bigfoot sighting. 🙂

We set off early on the Lily Basin Trail planning on passing Goat Lake then continuing on the trail to Heart Lake with a possible side trip up Hawkeye Point. As we headed in that direction the view of Hawkeye Point and Goat Creek falling from the rocky ledge below Goat Lake was another stunner.

The trail passed through some large wildflower meadows where marmots could be seen scurrying about in the lupine.

We also passed several waterfalls. The first just disappeared into a rock slide while the second slid down the rocks.

Everything was so impressive but most of all were the wildflowers. The variety and amounts of them were unbelievable. Entire hillsides were covered in colors.

And to top it off Mt. Adams loomed behind us.

When we arrived at Goat Lake it was mostly frozen as we had expected. The lake rarely ever thaws out completely sitting in a bowl beneath Hawkeyepoint.

From the lake the trail climbed to a ridge crest junction with the Goat Ridge Trail. Again the wildflowers were profuse.

When we reached the junction Mt. St. Helens came into view beyond the Jordan Basin.

We left the Lily Basin Trail to attempt to climb Hawkeye Point. As we climbed the tip of Mt. Hood could be seen over the shoulder of Mt. Adams.

Then came Mt. Rainier beyond Johnson Peak.

We followed a clear path to a rocky knob where we discovered a large snowfield lying between us and the visible trail up to the summit of Hawkeye Point.

There was a steep drop part way out on the snowfield and no visible tracks so we decided to declare victory where we were and see if there was a different route to the trail we could see on the far side so we climbed back down to the Lily Basin Trail and started to head toward Heart Lake. We didn’t get far though before we were stymied by another snowfield.

We decided to take a short break before heading back to search for a different route to Hawkeye Point. While we were resting Heather spotted the one thing I was really hoping to see on the trip – Mountain Goats! There was a pair of them near the top of the ridge across the basin.

Mountain Goats were on top of my list of animals we hadn’t seen yet while hiking so even though they were a long way away it was exciting.

After they disappeared over the ridge we started our search for a path around the snowfield to Hawkeye Point. We managed to find what turned out to be a goat path that got us around the snowfield, but we were too far down a steep hill with no visible route up to reach the continuation of the real trail. Instead we followed the goat trail passing some beds complete with goat fur to a view of Goat Lake below.

Satisfied with the view we began our return trip to camp. It was such a pretty trail that was just as spectacular the second time through.

When we got back to camp we noticed that the family who had been camped further back in the same area as us had left. We took the opportunity to switch sites and moved to a spot with a view of Mt. Adams.

After getting our new site set up we decided to go up to the PCT junction to catch the sunset. When we reached the junction with the Snowgrass Trail in Snowgrass Flat Heather noticed a large animal emerging from the trees on our right. We could see dark brown and my first thought was Elk but then it stepped out into the sunlight on the trial.

It was a llama and it looked mighty proud of itself.

We didn’t see anyone around but someone must have been using it as a pack animal. It rolled in the dirt for a moment then got up and then disappeared into another camp site. It was so unexpected all we could do was laugh all the way up to the PCT.

Meanwhile the setting Sun was bringing out the best in the wildflowers on the PCT.

We found an open site and watched the Sun disappear behind a bank of clouds that was hanging over Goat Ridge before returning to our tent and putting day 2 to bed.

The third day started much like the previous day with a pretty Mt. Adams sunrise.

The animals were up early too.

After a yummy breakfast of Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy we headed up to the PCT once again but this time headed left (North) toward Old Snowy Mountain. As we approached the mountain we left the meadows behind for more rocky terrain dotted with lingering snowfields. The flowers were not completely left behind though.

We spotted a ground squirrel that appeared to be sitting on a ledge enjoying the view along with its breakfast. The ledge it was on looked out over Goat Lake to Hawkeye Point with Mt. Rainier towering behind.

The trail crossed several snowfields but unlike those we encountered the day before the trail was easy to follow and none were too steep.

The views were great in every direction and we were able to spot a new mountain to the North – Mt. Stuart.

The PCT eventually splits with a hiker bypass climbing up higher on the side of Old Snowy to avoid lingering snowfields on a steep, exposed hillside. We took the bypass having seen the snow fields from our exploration of Hawkeye Point the day before, plus we had considered climbing Old Snowy Mountain and the bypass would lead past that trail. When we reached the junction for the summit of Old Snowy we could only make out the lower portion of trail. After the previous days exploits we decided against trying to climb it then and figured we could always try it on the way back past.

We found out later that the crest of the bypass trail is the highest point of the Pacific Crest Trail in the state of Washington at 7230′.

From the crest the PCT descends to “The Knife” before reaching Elk Pass where we had planned to turn around. As we began to descend though we got a good look at the trail ahead.

It was the freakiest looking trail we had encountered and for the first time I wasn’t sure I could do it, but after having a couple of thru-hikers pass by and survive we decided to go for it.

It was nerve racking at first but the trail was good and the views better. We spotted flowers and wildlife all around including a large group of mountain goats in the valley to our right.

Soon we could see Packwood Lake in the valley to our left.

Also in that valley was another herd of goats.

We decided to turn around prior to reaching Elk Pass when we reached a crest and realized that we’d have to climb back up several hundred feet if we continued on and we already had a good climb ahead of us to get back up to the PCT high point.

PCT down to Elk Pass

PCT up to the crest

As we were returning the first group of goats we had seen suddenly started to dash across the snow. A second group came racing down from a higher meadow joining the first group.

We don’t know what spooked them but it was fun to watch them run.

When we finally got back up to the crest the trail up Old Snowy was easy to see. There was a line of people hiking up and down. Between the crowds and our tired legs we decided we’d done enough climbing for the day and headed back to Alpine. Things had gotten crowded in the wilderness as it was the weekend and a lot of people had shown up. Most of the camp sites were now taken so we stuck close to ours until we turned in for the night after the Moon had risen.

We set our phones to wake us at 5am on our last day so we could get a nice early start. Another amazing sunrise greeted us as we packed up our gear.

We took the Lily Basin Trail toward Goat Lake and were greeted by a friendly little Pika near Slide Falls.

The marmots were also out to send us off.

We stopped at the lake to get some water out of Goat Creek and were paid a visit by a pair of Ouzels.

Goat Lake had refrozen a little overnight.

At the junction with the Goat Ridge Trail we took it and dropped down into the Jordan Basin. The best views we’d had of Mt. St. Helens were had as we descended into the basin.

Of course there were wildflowers.

And a lot of crickets or grasshoppers.

There were flowers in this basin that we hadn’t seen at all in the other parts of Goat Rocks.

Soon we were far enough down to no longer be able to see the mountains. It was a bittersweet hike as we hated to leave this beautiful place but after four days a shower was sounding real nice. We got one last glimpse of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, and Goat Rocks before entering the trees for good.

The Goat Ridge Trail would take us to the Berrypatch Trailhead and from there a .6 mile connector trail would bring us back to the Snowgrass Trail just .1 miles from our car. We were moving quickly along the connector trail when the wilderness gave us one last surprise. A small tree frog sitting on a huckleberry bush next to the trail.

Our time was up but we were already thinking of our next visit. We can’t wait to go back and explore more of the wilderness. The only negative to the entire trip was witnessing the disregard for the area that some of the people showed. There were people traipsing through the meadows and setting up tents on the vegetation. Such a beautiful place to visit will only stay that way if people take care of it so please go and visit but stay on the trails and camp on the brown ground not the green. Happy Trails.

UPDATE on the llama. The llama had indeed either been left or escaped and was seen multiple times throughout the summer. She was finally rescued this fall and is safe and doing well according to this report: http://www.rattlesnakeridgeranch.com/documents/Rescue_in_the_Goat_Rocks_Wilderness.pdf

Flickr albums: Day 1-https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157646295294436/

Day 2-https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157646295758026/

Day 3-https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157645936565989/

Day 4-https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157645937647578/