We climbed Goat Peak from the Goat Creek trailhead. The trail was a consistent uphill the entire way and well-maintained. There was quite a bit of deadfall over the trail, adding a small adventure in places. About halfway to the ridge, a small creek crossed the trail and ran along it briefly, turning the trail into a mud pit. This was the only water source and not a great one—bring all the water you'll need, especially because this one won't last all season.
Intermittent snow started as we neared the junction with American Ridge. By midday it was fairly soft and we postholed more than once. Luckily, the snow was inconsistent the whole way and was never more than a nuisance.
The American Ridge trail is slightly less well-maintained and more aggressively graded, but offers open views in two directions. The actual summit is a short scramble above the trail. Although the summit was once home to a fire lookout, we did not find any evidence of the historical building. We did find a summit log and registered ourselves!
I recorded a total distance of 9.3 miles out and back, which agrees with WTA's posted mileage but not with our guidebook!
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