Jim and I spent Labor Day Weekend hiking and climbing with Kevin, Maria, George, and Karen in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. It was so much fun having a base camp so we could all do our thing during the day and then regroup in camp for dinner and laughs. Fabulous, low key trip.
We headed out Thursday morning hoping to get parking at the Snowgrass Flats trailhead. We knew there would be big crowds in the Goat Rocks over the 3-day weekend. We truly had no idea how big the crowds were going to be. Good thing it is easy to spread out on Snowgrass Flats.
We promised the group that this would not be the typical “Brisbine” trip so we took our first break less than 2 miles from the trailhead when Kevin spotted a swimming hole in the river. The river was very cold but the day was already getting so hot that we all enjoyed the break.
When we came to the alpine camp at the base of Snowgrass Flats, we all searched for shade in an attempt to get out of the heat.
Eventually, we shouldered packs and headed up the trail towards the Pacific Crest Trail and the upper basins of Snowgrass Flats. This was my first trip to the Goat Rocks Wilderness so I was in awe over the beauty of the upper Snowgrass Flats basin.
We wanted to camp as high in the basin as possible for the best views. After an hour of looking for a water source high in the basin, we gave up and descended 100 feet to a beautiful grassy knoll next to a spring come out of the hillside. What a perfect camp for the next 3 nights.
During the night, the wind directions changed and we woke to a smoky camp. The wildfires from Eastern Washington were blowing smoke our way.
After breakfast, we headed out to Mt Curtis Gilbert. Maria decided to hang out in camp to pick blueberries and relax in the great outdoors. As the rest of us headed down the Pacific Crest Trail, the smoke got thicker creating some interesting views.
As we hiked along, I was surprised to see how much water was still coming out of the hillside so late in the season.
We left the Pacific Crest Trail when we came to Cispus Basin. What a beautiful basin. I see why so many people camp here.
As we climbed up Cispus Basin, the Goat Rocks Wilderness came into view. Though it is a small mountain range between Mt Rainier and Mt Adams, it has a unique beauty.
Approaching Mt Curtis Gilbert from Cispus Basin is not the standard route. Jim and George had both already climbed Mt Curtis Gilbert from the standard route which is a beautiful, ridge run. Our route today would require us to traverse several steep, loose gullies.
Kevin and Karen quickly decided this route was not their kind of fun and headed off to go hiking instead. The gullies were difficult but the interesting rock formations made it worth it.
There was even a cannon hole enroute.
Once through the gullies, it was an easy ridge run with a few little scrambling sections.
The summit was quite roomy. The smoky air still obstructed some views but we could tell the air was starting to clear. The wind direction must have changed again.
We could see our summit goals for tomorrow: Ives Peak and Old Snowy Mountain. I liked that the Goat Rocks is one long mountain range.
Our route back across the gullies was so much faster than our crossing time. We made much better decisions on how to approach each gully. In no time, we were breaking in Cispus Basin and then off to camp. Along the way, I looked back at the basin and the smoke was definitely clearing.
We arrived camp with plenty of time to clean up before dinner. Not a normal trip for Jim and I. Usually we are racing to cleanup if there is any daylight left.
The next morning, we all headed out to Old Snowy Mountain.
Valley fog had settled in but the smoke seemed to be mostly gone.
It was actually amazing how clear Mt Adams had become over night.
We hiked along the Pacific Crest Trail which goes very close to the summit of Old Snowy Mountain. I think Kevin said this was the highest point on the entire PCT.
We got views of Goat Lake and Hawkeye Point as we hiked toward the pass. They would give Jim and I an excuse to visit the Goat Rocks again.
Instead of taking the direct route up to Old Snowy, Kevin had us cross under the high point so we could ascend the knife edge ridge. The trail was quite amazing.
Once at the high point on the Pacific Crest Trail, we could see the summit of Old Snowy Mountain.
There was a trail that took us right below the summit block which required us all to do a little scrambling. Along the way, Mt Adams popped into view again.
One by one, we all arrived at the summit. We had the summit to ourselves for about 5 minutes before the people started to arrive. Within 15 minutes, there were 15 people on the summit.
After a long break, Jim, George, Kevin, and I headed off along the ridge towards Ives Peak. Maria and Karen decided to head back down the trail. They said they passed 200 people heading up as they were heading down. It was the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend. We expected crowds but this was crazy.
The ridge to Ives Peak looked to have some interesting obstacles along the way.
The route to Ives Peak turned out to be quite fun. Nothing really difficult or scary. Before we knew it, we were all enjoying a boots off break on the summit. No one was in a big hurry to leave anytime soon.
Since camp was directly below Ives Peak, we decided not to return via the ridge but to drop straight down. It was very straight forward and Kevin delivered us right into camp. Maria and Karen were already there kicked back in their lounge chairs. Great thing about having a base camp is everything you can bring in with you.
The basin definitely had a bunch more campers but we were all really spread out. Kevin went for a stroll and counted 42 tents within half a mile of us. You really couldn’t tell there was that many people there. No one was really loud except us and the group on top of the hill who brought in Christmas lights to act as a fire.
The next day, we packed up camp. George, Karen, Jim and I headed out while Kevin and Maria headed off to camp at a near by tarn. It was a great trip. I told Jim to start planning another base camp trip for 2021. So much fun.