Following the Goats and Elk

The Goat Rocks are a unique region in the South Central WA Cascades. The high massif, known for its alpine meadows, is an old eroded stratovolcano. Because of the long drive, I had never visited. But our awesome adventure exploring the Garibaldi area, another volcanic massif, motivated me and Logan to attempt a high route in the Goat Rocks.

Logan was already in Yakima for work, so we planned an east to west traverse of the range with a big car shuttle. 90+% of visitors to the Goat Rocks only see the lush west side, but we also wanted to experience the post glacial east side of the range.

After a stormy night, we were pleased to find cool and dry conditions as we begin our ascent up to Bear Creek Mountain on the east side. The trail is a bit messy through a burn zone, but we were able to relocate it once back into the forest.

The ascent from the South Fork Tieton took longer than expected, with many ups and downs. I spooked a bull elk in the forest. But finally we broke into the open with good views of the Mt. Aix region.

After climbing up to a ridge, we got our first view of the Goat Rocks crest. Adams and Rainier acted like bookends to a beautiful panorama, with clouds spilling over the crest from the west.

We followed a foot path along the ridge, passing by some lovely volcanic rock. The worst part was crossing some loose gullies beneath Devil’s Horn.

Once down in the meadows, travel was more pleasant. We followed elk hoof prints along an elk highway towards the Conrad Glacier Lake. Although not the most stunning terrain we’ve seen, the signs of wildlife felt very primal and peaceful.

The Conrad Glacier barely exists anymore, but the lake cirque is still very beautiful. Craggy peaks reflect in its turquoise waters, and streaks of tan, orange, and red paint the hillsides. Although a volcano, the Goat Rocks is certain not a geologic monolith, with vibrant colorful displays and complex geology.

We climbed to a pass overlooking the sharp spires of Black Thumb, Black Horn, and Goat Citadel. Tucked away in this north facing cirque is the largest remaining glacier in the Goat Rocks. While it is now a tiny shell of its older self, it still has crevasses and a decent amount of ice.

We were unsure how the next section would go. Our goal was to get over to Old Snowy. It seemed that we could drop low and travel through simple post glacial terrain beneath the remnants of the McCall Glacier.

We found a way off the lateral moraine and down to the glacier terminus. It was hard to tell where the glacier ended and the rocks began, since so many rocks covered the ice.

Our route across the basin was blocked by a large family of goats. I had never seen such a large herd of goats in the Cascades. Suddenly, we heard rock fall above us and saw a second family!

We continued across the giant post glacial basin. We were shocked how easy and beautiful the travel was. The bright green moss in the post glacial gravel reminded me of similar scenes in the Olympics. So did the elk trails.

We eventually found ourselves beneath a small patch of glacial ice on the east side of Old Snowy. A tiny bit of recent fresh snow created the tackiest glacial ice surface we have ever experienced. So we walked up the 25-30 degree slopes in the trail runners with no issue. It was beautiful and sad to walk across this dying piece of ice, which was once part of the mighty McCall Glacier. In a few years, it will likely be completely gone.

Once on the ridge, we turned northward and climbed to the summit of Old Snowy. Along the way, we passed through an incredible natural arch.

We reached the summit of Old Snowy just as it begin snowing on us. Clouds were rising against the crest, engulfing the high peaks.

We wasted little time in heading down towards the PCT in a whiteout. It never rained hard, but was definitely quite moist.

As we got lower, we finally got below the clouds. The fall colors were not quite peaking, but they were there. The entire landscape was lush and wet – a huge contrast to the east side. Once again, it reminded me of the Olympics, but in a different way.

Our plan was to take the Snowgrass Trail back to Snowgrass Flats, where our second car was waiting. But groups coming north on the PCT spoke highly of Cispus Basin, so we decided to take a detour to check it out. It was well worth it: steep meadows, cascading waterfalls, and even a hidden family of goats in the mist!

Content with our day, we jogged a few miles out to the Snowgrass Flats Trailhead.

Our Goat Rocks High Route was a really varied route exploring a unique part of the Cascades. It featured more diversity, from the dry eastside Ponderosa forests, to the striking post glacial landscape, to the lush westside meadows, than any other route I can think of. After a decade of waiting to explore the Goat Rocks, I finally got to experience them, and in a great way!

Notes:

• Our route was about 25 miles and 8k gain.
• One could start from the Bear Creek Mountain trailhead instead of the Conrad Meadows Trailhead like we did, saving quite a bit of vert and avoiding a poorly maintained trail.
• We did not need any traction for the brief bits of snow and ice we crossed.