Jordan Creek — Friday, Sep. 17, 2021

I hiked the Jordan Creek Trail #94 in the Goat Rocks Wilderness as part of a 2 day trip. I left my car at the Angry Mountain Trail #90 trailhead the previous day. After hiking the Angry Mountain Trail and spending the night at Heart Lake, I looped around to Hawkeye Point via the Lily Basin Trail #86 and used the Goat Ridge Trail #95 to get to the Jordan Creek Trail #94 for my exit.

Firstly, the junction between the Goat Ridge Trail and the Jordan Creek Trail is not easily seen when hiking from the East. In fact, I walked right past it and it wasn't until I reached the 95A junction that I realized I missed it. I turned around and hiked back to find that it is clearly marked for hikers coming from the West.

From the junction the trail descends steeply dropping nearly 1720 feet before reaching the Jordan Creek. During this descent I encountered a trail that was nearing the edge of extinction due to light use. Vegetation has encroached upon the trail and will probably reclaim it soon. I never completely lost the trail in this section, but a few times I did have to hunt for the proper direction. Also, a couple trees have fallen on the trail and make staying on the trail difficult. During this section you will soon join a tributary of the Jordan Creek, which even in the middle of Sept. 2021 was happily bubbling along adding a nice melody to the route finding of the trail. 

When the unnamed tributary you are tracing, (and even fording at one point), reaches the Jordan Creek, things get interesting. This confluence has created quite a bit of erosion over the years and many large trees have been downed. Finding a way across the Jordan Creek and then picking up the trail again took me a bit of wandering. Once I located the trail I was rewarded with a climb. From the Jordan Creek crossing you climb 680 feet up the ridge that bounds the Jordan Creek to the North. Through this section the trail is more clear and vegetation has not taken over. There are, however, many downed trees to navigate over, under, or around. 

Once you reach the trail's high point on the ridge, you hike a level elevation for about a 1/4 mile and then begin descending again. This descent plummets 1200 ft to the trailhead and while the trail is mostly easy to make out, it suffers from the same downed trees blocking it that the previous sections do.

At the trailhead there is a sign and a Wilderness permit box. I found a forest road at the trailhead, but you will never get to drive it. 2 miles down the road where a bridge crosses the Jordan Creek, the road has been closed. It looks like the bridge has been deemed unsafe and it has been blocked by a large pile of rocks and earth. Judging by the size of the bushes that have grown on this roadblock I'd say its been a few years since anyone has driven a car to the Jordan Creek trailhead and I'm sure that accounts for the condition of the trail.

I have been wanting to explore the Western side of the Goat Rocks and figured hiking this trail would be a great way to enjoy the wilderness without encountering any crowds. I certainly found this to be true. It was a lovely walk through the forest and the companionship of the Jordan Creek tributary was delightful. Views were missing from this hike, so making a trip to Goat Rocks and spending your time wandering through this part of the Wilderness may be a bit of a waste (if you have come here for the views--and honestly that is big draw for this Wilderness).

Would I recommend this hike? If you are looking for the smack-you-in-the-face vistas that Goat Rocks is known for, then no. But, if you want to spend some time alone, tracing an aging, forgotten trail with plenty of forested beauty to share, yes.