Goat Rocks Wilderness – Backpacking

Matt’s an amazing friend and was my roommate at UW-Madison my Junior year.
Among other things, he and his fiance Greta were there when Katy and I first met at Grand Targhee, and we’ve all been snowboard and adventure buddies since. Plus, they definitely helped influence our decision to move to the PNW!
So when it came to planning Matt’s bachelor party weekend, I wanted to make sure we had all the elements that would keep the stoke high all weekend.

– Beautiful views
– Backpacking
– Great company
– Great beer
–

All we needed was some good weather, and for the most part, we got it!

We left Seattle early and arrived at a crowded Goat Rocks Wilderness trailhead, but luckily most of the folks we saw on the trail were day hiking. We arrived at Snowgrass flats with plenty of time to find a fantastic campsite, crack open a few beers, and play with some throwing axes we got Matt as a gift. We got some weather through the night, but we had a pretty awesome evening.
The next day we awoke to mostly clear skies and gorgeous views of Mt Adams, Old Snowy Mountain, and the valleys that open up around Goat Rocks Wilderness. The wild flowers were out in force.
We had a few steep snow crossings, but aside from that, an easy trek up to Hawk Eye point and then back to the car.
It was an excellent weekend, celebrating a pretty rad dude!
More photos up at https://www.flickr.com/photos/elygerbin/sets/72157645880986436

Matt!

Cloudplay on the ridge between Goat Lake and Old Snowy

The guys filtering water beneath Goat Lake

Mt Adams from Goat Lake

Jordan Basin – Wildflowers in bloom!

PNW Forests. Some of my favorite views.