Iron Goat trail from Martin Creek trailhead on lower grade, up the switchbacks, over to Wellington Trailhead, back along the upper grade. Overall, a great forest walk for a rainy day that wasn't going to have views anywhere.

Lower grade is quite wide, nice and chill start. The switchbacks are a bit steep, climbing 800 ft in .8 miles. After that, the upper grade is very pleasant, giving an excellent tour of tunnels, bridges, walls, and the amazing history of the pacific northwest railroad industry. Just before Wellington Trailhead, a lovely culvert protects the trail from the elements. Some parts of the upper grade are brushy, which made for a very wet day out. 

Garmin logged 13.1 miles and 2400 feet of elevation.

This isn't the most exciting hike in the world, but it's certainly different than the usual, easy to get to (road is awesome by NW hiking standards) and suitable for all ages.  Calling it a 'Ghost Town' conjures up images that aren't realized, but they've done a great job with the historical information signs, and walking through the abandoned concrete snowshed (for probably 2/3 of a mile) was interesting and weirdly scenic in a ruined industrial sort of way.

I had to get my head around walking downhill at the beginning of a hike which is opposite 99% of what happens around here, but honestly the grade is soooo gentle that it took almost the same amount of time for me to go downhill as back up.  I did the hike to the Windy Point tunnel and viewpoint on a late Wednesday afternoon - lots of shade, saw only one other family on the trail.  Took about an hour each way, about 5 and a half miles total.  An easy and pleasant hike on my way over the pass.  No bugs, lots of butterflies, still lots of flowers and some berries, and I even found a place in the shade to park my car so it wasn't an oven when I got back.  Winning! 

I also walked a couple hundred yards east where there is a remnant of an old Wellington building and more educational signs, so it's worth checking out if you like the history.  

Fourth of July was a lovely day for a hike! Arrived at the trailhead about 10am. There were only 2 other cars for this lesser-known hike. Hiked to the West first along the trailhead marked with a plaque on a rock labeled "Iron Goat Trail - No. 1074" (if you want to see the Cascade tunnel and a foundation from Wellington you must head East). We traveled through the concrete snow shed which was massive and very impressive. The trail is marked with signs and informative plaques relaying an interesting history of the area in detail. We continued to hike along a well-maintained trail, which looked like it had recently been cleared of overhanging brush along the edges. It was very easy to navigate, and the path was level with no incline. We hiked past two additional snow walls which had dates stamped into them of "1914" and "1915". We continued about 3-3.5 miles until reaching an old train tunnel, which is barricaded so hikers can't enter. This looks like the end of the line for hikers, but if you proceed to the left and walk along the edge of the tunnel, you can go a bit further to your first waypoint "Windy Lookout". This is as far as we hiked, making a 7-mile round trip hike in total. I highly recommend this hike for families with children as there are fun waterfalls sprinkled throughout and is very easy to navigate.

Nice day for a gentle out and back stroll from the Wellington Ghost Town trailhead to Windy Point and back. The real highlight was that clearly a work crew had been in recently and trimmed back a lot of the overgrown vegetation that has at times in the past made the trail near-impassable in locations. (Thank you WTA or whoever else it might have been!) Wildflowers were in bloom but on their way down from their peak. One of the two trailhead toilets was open and operating. Small presence from gnats and mosquitoes but not bad.

Sunny day for a group hike from Wellington to Windy Point. Wildflowers & butterflies along with such lush vegetation that sometimes the walking trail is completely obscured. Lots of water cascades over the snowsheds. Fabulous view from Windy Point, our lunch spot & turnaround point.

FR6099 seems to have received some grading & fill-gravel for most of the potholes & hollows.  Trail tread surface is in good condition, just obscured by overhanging vegetation. The vault toilet at the TH is clean & had toilet paper. The backcountry toilet at Windy Point has been sealed with duct tape and the once-lovely view is overgrown.