Backpacking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Backpacking has been kind of our thing, me and my dad's. We went on our first trip when I was 15 and I fell in love with hiking in wild places. I loved this tradition we created of choosing a trail each year, prepping our gear, planning our meals and connecting with each other and the wild areas in the PNW.

We hiked the Timberline trail around Mt. Hood and Broken Top near Three Sisters, Oregon among several others. We watched the 2018 solar eclipse near the Wallowa Mountains, jumped in alpine lakes in Southern Washington and have collected our fair share of geodes and rocks.

Back with my dad in Portland for a month we decided to reinstate our backpacking tradition by planning a short trip in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. The Goat Rocks are part of the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest in Central Washington, 3.5 hour drive from Portland.

We arrived at the Snowgrass trailhead at 7:45pm on a Tuesday, quickly filling out the on-site permit registration (it is free!) and started hiking. We found the first viable campspot and due to a heat wave we forfeited our tent's rainfly, opting instead to fall asleep to a starry sky. 

I woke Wednesday to my dad handing me a big cup full of wild huckleberries and our dog Raleigh running happily through the ferns and brush. We drank coffee, had berries in our oatmeal and greeted the day with gratitude.

Hiking clockwise around the Goat Lake loop, we passed through meadows full of wildflowers and dense old growth forests. In the afternoon we walked along a ridge and saw expansive views of Mount Rainier, Adams and Helena!

Around noon we made it to Goat Lake, an alpine lake up at 8,220 foot elevation. Dropping our packs we jumped into the water and boy was it cold! I blew up my sleeping pad and using it as a floatee I paddled out in the lake gazing through the crystal clear water. A few passerbys loved the idea and soon several people were floating — I’d highly recommend it!

We lazed and had a long lunch by the tree line near the lake (heads up the edges of the lake itself are exposed and there is no shade). Filled with ramen and peanut butter crackers, we kept hiking around a basin and past lots of fast flowing creeks until we found a nice open campsite by a creek near Snowgrass Flats meadow. 

Raleigh rubbed herself in the mud, we picked more huckleberries. We reminisced on our previous trips, reflected on the ways we’ve changed as hikers and as humans. 

Sitting in the meadow at sunset, I meditated. I found myself humming lines of “I am light,” by India Arie and remembering my pure light within. It was a beautiful practice of self love, of surrender to the present.

We ate our freeze dried meals, stretched, dusted the dirt off Raleigh and fell asleep quickly, keeping time with the sun. I love the simplicity of wildness, the roar of my body come alive and my senses calmed by the rhythm of hiking, filtering creek water, falling asleep to a star speckled sky.

On our last morning we hiked through more lush forests filled with stringy moss, mushrooms and lavender butterflies. We were in no rush to leave, taking our time to take breaks and say hello to the people passing by. It is a beautiful thing to notice when you donmt want a good thing to end.

But a 12.5 mile loop can only last so long, even with a couple thousand feet of elevation gain. This time it wasn't about the miles though, they were a means of having quality time. Time for some sweaty uphill grinds and serene silence and rest.

It was a wild and wonderful trip and for others interested in going I would recommend this loop as a one night trip (unless you arrive very late like we did!) We didn’t encounter any snow this late in the season and the mosquitoes were not too bad. There are plenty of creeks, especially on the latter half of the trail when going clockwise and the ridgeline views are magnificent.