Three days at Goat Lake

Blaise and I have a sort of ritual. After each week that I have class, we have been going on short day hikes. This time around, we were a little more adventurous and spent three days backpacking through Mt. Rainier National Park.

On the first day of the trip, Blaise and I left Seattle rather late and so did not get to the Round Pass trailhead until around 6:00 or so. We did stop along the way to look for bear spray, but couldn't find any. :(

The first four miles of the trail to Lake George were actually part of a forest service road that was closed due to washouts. As a result, we had to cross quite a few large streams. We had not even gone a mile when I fell into a stream and everything got wet, including my shoes and what was in my pack. I was frustrated at myself and was not enjoying the hike as much as I could.

From that moment on, I decided that I would have a great time. And I did. It was such a fun trip.

We got to Lake George at around 8:30 that night and set up camp. Unfortunately, I only brought a very thin sleeping bag with me and it got so cold at night that I couldn't sleep. Once the temperature rose in the morning, I was able to sleep for a few hours, enough to keep me going.

In the morning, we had a great breakfast and had the luxury of having real coffee. We ended up hiking until the early evening, taking a trip first up to Gobblers Knob, which had some of the most amazing views I've ever seen. Next to hiking through the Rhododendrons forests of Nepal, the hike to Gobblers Knob was the most spectacular I've done in a long while. There were magnificent views of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, and the Olympics.

We then descended around 1,000 feet to Goat Lake. We decided to take a chance and go for a swim. The water was freezing cold, but it was refreshing and a nice break from the warm afternoon sun. (That's me in the water).

Hiking back up from Goat Lake was tough, but it took a lot less time than I thought it would. We were back at Lake George by sunset. We tried to catch a fish and did not have any luck. According to a review I read about Lake George, "It appears to be a fairly pristine mountain lake, and apparently also supports brook trout, though from what I could tell they appear to be finicky eaters."

We cooked a delicious dinner with the food we had packed and went to bed just after dark. The next day, we hiked down the remainder of the trail in an hour and 45 min.

When we got back to the car, it was absolutely covered in mud.

The trip was a lot of fun, though it was sort of a trial run. Now, we know what else we need for a longer trip. (Like warm sleeping bags, lighter food, and Tevas!).