Pleasant Valley Lake, Goat Peak — Saturday, Jun. 17, 2023

I did a loop by going up the main trail to Goat Peak from 410, then heading over on American Ridge a bit, then down Pleasant Valley Lake trail, and finally back to the car using Pleasant Valley. Great trip. Pleasant Valley Lake trail is not as steep as Goat Peak and easier on the knees! A loop is always a bonus anyway. The Goat Peak trail has some blowdowns in the first half mile or so - a couple take some effort and I ended up crawling on my hands and knees under two of them. The others were pretty easy to step over or walk around. Very steep trail and narrow with some exposure on a couple of places. Pleasant Valley Lake trail had LOTS of blowdowns. Most were easy to step over or walk around, but a couple required more effort and I fell a couple of times (minor falls just tripping over limbs) and had to crawl on my hands and knees under one. There’s also a nice little lake on the way down - the trail is easy to find. If you want a bit more adventure, mileage, and solitude, I’d highly recommend. I’ll be doing it again.