A group of 6 Mountaineers hiked Goat Lake-Snowgrass Flat loop as part of the Conditioning Hiking Series. We arrived at the Berry Patch trailhead at 7:30 am, there were 2-3 parking spaces left. Road was as has been described - washboard and rough at times, but passable for all vehicles.
This was a spectacular hike. I'd backpacked to Snowgrass Flats about 8 years ago and loved this area so I was excited to go back. The trail up to Goat Lake was in good condition, a few blowdowns that were easy to climb over or go around. The trail has a lot of ups and downs, and a few steeper sections near the beginning and a longer one on the approach to Goat Lake. But you'll be stopping to gape in awe at the wildflowers and views, so plenty of rest opportunities. Trail gets a bit rocky on the ascent towards Goat Lake, but nothing too difficult. The section of trail from the high point traversing across to the descent to Goat Lake has an insane amount of wildflowers. I've never seen so many colors in one place. Fabulous!
The section of trail descending to Goat Lake is loose gravel and rock and quite steep at times, my least favorite kind of terrain, but wading into Goat Lake was the reward for the descent. After eating lunch and cooling down in the lake we hiked out via Snowgrass Flats. It was HOT, felt like upper 80s/low 90s so we took it slow, took many breaks, and filtered water to refill our bottles. Total stats for the day 13 miles, 2465' gain. Our moving time was 7.5 hours, but with breaks the total time for the hike was around 9 hours. Long but satisfying day.
Comments