[tigermn]

This last/only time I went to Goat Lake it was at best clouded/fogged in and at worst drizzling rain. This time appeared to present a bluebird day which for late November is a rarity. A recent WTA report indicated a car break in. Oh well that can happen anyplace. These pictures were taken with an iPhone 4S since I forgot my camera. Thom will probably have much better photos. Met Thom at his house at 6AM and headed out. The Mountain Loop highway was clear, but frosty in places and Thom left the Vette at home in favor of the Element. Past Barlow Pass a little snow in the road (mostly in the middle/not tire tracks). Nothing just about any vehicle couldn't deal with. We arrived as the sole vehicle at the trailhead. The rest room was open and clean.

Goat Lake trailhead.

Starting up Goat Lake trail.

The lower portion follows Elliott Creek. We took the low road up and the high road back.

Elliott Creek along Goat Lake trail.

Icicles

One of the relatively easy creek crossings.

Raging Elliott Creek.

It was crisp but seemed to be warming up. A few views were had after the hiker only sign.

No more mountain bikes.

Views from Goat Lake trail.

Views from Goat Lake trail.

Views from Goat Lake trail.

Near the outlet is a nice waterfall.

Falls from Goat Lake outlet.

Just after there is the lake area. Most people stop in the initial lake area which has some shore access and logs to sit on.

Falls near Goat Lake.

Goat Lake.

We continued on, at times cutting slide alder branches to make it a bit easier, aiming for a nice point to have lunch maybe 1/3 of a mile from the outlet.

Goat Lake.

Goat Lake falls.

We cleared off a couple of rocks and sat back for lunch. The sun was hazy but it kept it just warm enough to not have to bundle up.

Goat Lake.

Views from lunch spot at Goat Lake.

Views from lunch spot at Goat Lake.

Views from lunch spot at Goat Lake.

After a bit we decided to head back. No one else ventured past the outlet area that we could tell. More trail work was done on the way back to make it a bit easier/maybe more inviting to others.

Heading back Goat Lake.

Heading back Goat Lake.

At the fork with the upper RR grade trail we took that back. It is a bit longer, but a stroll with a few nice waterfalls and views (now that the deciduous trees have no leaves) of neighboring ridge.

Waterfall on upper trail heading back from Goat Lake.

Waterfall on upper trail heading back from Goat Lake.

Peaks across valley from upper Goat Lake RR grade trail.

Peaks across valley from upper Goat Lake RR grade trail.

This pipe to cross looked harder than it was.

Kinda fun to cross.

WTA must have missed this one.

There is a trail junction lower down which I haven't explored.

Trail fork.

Trail fork.

Maybe an hour before sunset we arrived back at the trailhead. There were 3 other vehicles. No broken glass. As we were about to pull out a Sheriff vehicle patrolled through which I've hardly ever seen before. We kind of followed him out at a distance. All in all a great way to spend a late November Saturday. I hadn't done any hiking since being in Hawaii a few weeks ago. A good warm up for better things to come. The trail to the lake was basically snow free with a few patches of nothing. A few short icy spots required care/detour (since we didn't want to pull out the microspikes for such a short area). An inch or two of snow maybe past the lake outlet in the more open areas. The "trail" past the outlet was stilll pretty easy to follow although you had to thwart avy alder or whatever it's called at times. Not a major headache but a little annoying. We cut a lot of that out to make a better path. Probably won't be able to get in there much longer as the mountain loop highway will close.

[iron]

[Backpacker Joe]

Very nice.