This has been on my list for quite a while since I heard of a section of the trail called "The Knife" and it being the highest point of the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington. Goat Rocks is an area south of Packwood between Mt Adams and White Pass.
I parked close to the Chambers Lake Campground and the trailhead for Snowgrass - Trail #95 which takes you to Goat Lake
This was a solo hike, but I never felt alone.
I started out on Thursday, August 20 at about noon and the first part of the trail was in the tree canopy. The trail kept climbing with the first leg to Goat Lake being 6.5 miles and 2400 vertical gain. The second leg was to camp along the PCT in the area known as Snowgrass Flats. This is the Lily basin trail and it was about 3.8 miles with about 1000 vertical gain. I found a nice campsite (elevation 6250) near a water source, basically the source of Snowgrass Creek as it came out of the earth clean and cold.
On Friday, August 21, the weather took a bit of a turn as it clouded up and an occasional rain. My goal was to cross the "Knife" along the PCT to Elk Pass and return back to camp (didn't have to carry the tent, sleeping bag etc). Visibility was only about 30-40 feet so I could see what was on the trail but not where it went off the trail on either side. I crossed a couple snow patches, some people were pretty sketched out on this as it was a bit slippery, but as long as I placed my foot in the bottom of the sun cups and used by poles, I felt comfortable. The winds were blustery, probably 30-40 mph. I planned to do the scramble up "Old Snowy" but due to visibility, I thought it was pointless. I continued on to the 1.5 - 2.0 miles across the knife, up and down around rocks and precipeses and made it to an area called Elk Pass. Since it was now raining, I found a bit of a shelter under 4 trees and made some ramen for lunch - hot soup tasted so good as it was probably in the 40s or lower with the wind chill. After I finished and packed up, I realized the rain had stopped and the clouds had lifted so I could actually see some of the area. I should have been able to see Rainier, but that wasn't possible. The valleys on either side of the ridge were amazing with one side being green and the other more moon scaped. The Goat Rocks area is an ancient volcano that has been eroding for millions of years. Doing the out and back was about 8.7 miles and about 1200 vertical.
Most of the time back to camp I was out of the rain but the clouds were still hiding the surrounding peaks and it was still very blustery on the ridges. I made it back to camp by 3 pm and if it wasn't for the rain to the south making its way up, I would have packed up and hit the trail for a few miles. Oh well, just rested it out and had some brown sugar bourbon.....
After being in the tent from 6 pm to about 6 am, I felt pretty rested and was anxious to get started on the day, Saturday 8/22. The plan was to go south along the PCT and the Cispus Basin and get to Nannie Ridge, which is about 7.3 miles. It turned out to be a beautiful morning with clear skies and starting out at :7:30 meant that I didn't run into too many people (most are heading north on the PCT to Canada). This is a very unique and beautiful section of the trail and very scenic with the valley and above it the goat rocks massif. Crossing the valley, you go over Cispus Pass and are now in the Yakima Indian Reservation, with signs saying to stay on the trail - no trespassing. The views looking south down this valley are spectacular. Just over 5 miles on this trail, there is a small lake that is popular for camping, Sheep Lake. I made it here at about 10 am, and stopped to change as it is now getting warmer and I got a bite to eat. I continued on and had some great clear views of Mt Adams to the south and was thinking I might go to the Nannie Ridge lookout. I have a trail map on my GPS and it indicated I was at the trail for the lookout, but darned if I could find it - I can usually find other's boot tracks. I decided it wasn't to be, and headed down to Walupt Lake, about 2.5 miles away and 1850 in elevation loss. At this point I started feeling my shins on the down so I just took it easy. I was in the tree canopy and many people were hiking up the trail, including a lady on a horse. I made it to Walupt Lake and to my surprise there were lots of people as you can drive to this campground and launch a boat (speed limit 10 mph). I found a nice section of beach, took off my shoes and socks and dunked myself in the lake (warmer than most alpine lakes I have been to!). After resting and getting some lunch, I decided to push on for the car, which was about 6 miles away, 1.5 of which was on a road and the rest of it was called the Klickitat horse trail 7A, which was fairly primitive and some descriptions indicating to keep a lookout as the trail goes off when you get to a road (when I say road, this is an abandoned logging road with tree falls, washouts etc) - the other side of the trail isn't always on the other side. Fortunately my GPS was tracking the trail very well. When I got to the start of the trail it indicated the bridge was out and honestly I had a bit of a panic set in. But then I realized, I am not going over that section of the creek, but rather need to cross a section of a river, which was not flowing very high. I kept my shoes on, deciding I didn't want to stub a toe or slip, so I went across, which was about up to my knee. Once I found the trail on the other side, it was pretty good travel. I noticed there was a pretty fresh boot print from what seemed to be that day (it had rained the day before) so I knew I wasn't the only one that decided to go that way. After traveling up the valley and crossing a few roads, I found the last 1.5 miles basically traveling along one of these old roads and aside from the overgrowth and some washouts, it made pretty easy travel (if a truck could go up it, you knew it wasn't going to be too steep).
I got back to the car at about 3:45, traveling about 16 miles with an elevation gain of about 2,100 feet. I headed back to Packwood in the car, about 20 miles on a gravel road, a day ahead of the original plan and glad for it, just wish I had better weather for the Knife.
Highly recommend this hike and if you are interested, there is a decent video of a PCT thru hiker below:
At about the 9 minute mark she makes a statement that resonates with me and why I have come to find myself enjoying this experience so much. I am being called to the beauty that is in our area that few people honestly experience.
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