John Guilford's Hikes
Goat Lake on 1989-10-08
Date: 1989-10-08
People: (including myself): Lynn
This was 11 miles RT with about a 1200 ft gain. It is one of the prettier
lakes that I've seen. We started off at 12:00 and got back to the car at
5:30 (this included spending over an hour at the lake snoozing in the sun).
There are two ways to go the beginning of the trail, either an old abandoned
roadway or the trail by the river. The road is a mile longer, but about the
same time as the trail (since you can make better time on the road). The
takes off from the parking lot about 15 feet from the signs on the right
side (the trail head isn't very obvious). The trail switchbacks down about
3 times before it gets to the river which it then follows up to the old
parking lot (at the end of the old road). The trail is prettier, although
the end near the upper parking lot was terribly overgrown. At times we
were wading through brush taller than ourselves. The end of the trail near
the upper parking lot may also hard to find (we bushwhacked from the parking
lot to find it). The road used to go all the way up to the upper parking
lot before a slide closed it. It is good mountain biking up to the upper
"parking lot", but non-hikers are forbidden beyond there. The lake is very
pretty, there are camping spots on the left just before you get to the lake.
It looks like it would be a good spot to go (probably mid-week) in September
after the crowds and bugs are gone (maybe leaving after work, and taking the
next day off). The trail beyond the upper parking lot is in good shape and
offers wide variety (old growth timber, young alder forests, brush). At the
lake, you can follow the trail around the left side about 2/3 the way across
where you come to a rock outcropping that is just perfect to eat, sleep, or
watch the views from. In warmer weather the swimming looks good. The lake
is real clear. Despite the previous days initial low clouds not breaking
through, today was clear with a bit of high clouds. We got to hike in the
sun (when it wasn't behind a hill or trees).
Please send comments or corrections to
john_guilford@keysight.com
Last updated on: Mon Jun 8 16:50:16 PDT 2015
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