[hopsage]

I'm organizing a group of backpackers for an August 2024 trip in the Goat Rocks, and I'm thinking of starting frmo the Jordan Creek trailhead. My understanding is that the Forest Service road to access the trailhead is closed at the crossing of Jordan Creek, about 1.5 miles short of the trailhead. Has anyone tried a hike recently from the washout point? If so, what is the parking like? Is fording the creek there likely to be a problem in August? (Hoping I don't have to consider going in at the Angry Mountain TH instead, as that looks like a brutal start to things). Thanks, -- John

[Gwen]

I'd think it'd be easier to start at Snowgrass Flats or Chambers Lake THs (which opens up a good loop option) and hike in via Goat Ridge. It's a shorter approach, too.

[hopsage]

Thanks. I do know about the Snowgrass and Chambers trailheads, but unfortunately, this is technically a commercial trip (Sierra Club outing, which, since the organization was stripped of it nonprofit status in the 1960s, has to apply for guide service permits), and the Forest Service no longer issues such permits for the more heavily used trailheads in the area. That's a good thing, but it definitely required a lot of extra homework on my part to figure out a decent itinerary within those constraints. I ended up planning something that starts from the northern side, at Clear Fork TH.

[Randito]

https://content.sierraclub.org/outings/wandering-goat-rocks-wilderness-washington-0#trip=24227A