Day 1: Packwood Lake trailhead to Lost Lake
On Friday morning we started by dropping dogs and cats and driving to exit trailhead were we left Mark’s car. From there, we drove to the entry point at Packwood Lake trailhead. We thought the parking lot would be nearly empty but were surprised to find many cars and people heading up the same way we were. Luckily most were just staying at Packwood Lake, not doing the loop we were doing. As with most multiday routes, the first couple of miles are uneventful as you are just “approaching”. We went thru some pretty quiet, green and lush forests and a bit of ups and downs until we got to Packwood Lake. There we got our first peek at what was ahead, snow covered peaks and ridges. From there we continued around the lake just for a bit and then started climbing towards the ridge and then Lost Lake. As we were climbing we thought we would get more views… that didn’t happen. The forest was beautiful but there were no expansive vistas. By mid afternoon we got to the junction with the trail that descends to Lost Lake and headed that way. Not long after that we found the lake tucked in the forest and completely empty. The scenery was beautiful and strange as the hill on the opposite side of the lake had a band of dead trees halfway up the mountain.
Lost Lake
At first we looked for campsites on the south shore of the lake but then, after exploring around for a bit, we found some beautiful and big campsites on the west shore. The rest of the evening flew by as Carole, Val and Mark made dinner while Brian and I spent over an hour trying to get a good food hang for the night.
Day 2: The most beautiful day - Lost Lake to somewhere near Old Snowy
From the four days we spent in Goat Rocks, the second was probably the one with the most variety and beauty. After a hefty breakfast and packing our gear, we hiked back to the junction and headed south traversing the mountains as we gained elevation and got closer to Chimney Rock. Flowers started to appear everywhere but still it was just a teaser of what we would get later. By mid morning we passed Beaver Creek, the second option we had in the possible places to stay the first night. It had a very descent campsite and a good water source but it was occupied. We lucked out. From there we pushed up a bit more to a point where the trail makes a left turn and the whole north view of Goat Rocks opens in front of you. It was one of those wow moments were you have to just stand and take your time taking in the scenery.
Old Snowy from the trail
The trail continued skirting the mountain going thru beautiful, wildflower covered meadows and little streams towards Chimney Rock. On one side we had the views of the Upper Lake Creek valley and the other Old Snowy. Finally, after passing Chimney Rock, we got to the ridge and that just opened even more views to the North. From that point, we could see a long portion of the trail as it follows the ridgeline all the way to Old Snowy. We took a short break to grab lunch at that spot and while doing so Brian told us he was having feet trouble. He decided at that point to turn around and hike back to either Beaver Creek or Lost Lake and then make it back to the car to meet with us on Monday. It was a hard call but, as we would learn later, probably a good choice under the conditions we would find later.
View from the Saddle after Chimney Rock
Then the fun started. From that point on, most of the trail just followed the ridgeline which is always fun and offers the best views. Also, you can see pretty much the entire trail which, sometimes can seem a bit daunting. On the way we passed some incredible flower covered meadows with enough lupine to hurt the eyes. The mix of purple, green and blue and the snow on the mountains was just magical.
Val on the trail
As we gained elevation, we left the tall trees and forests behind. The views changed completely to snowy mountains and ridges and plenty of wildflowers but that just lasted until we got to the junction with the PCT. At that point, all the green was left behind. The view ahead of us was both beautiful and daunting as we could see our route as it climbed up, followed the ridge and cross near the top of Old Snowy. By then we were all pretty tired but we still had a while to go. Without taking a break and keeping a steady pace we continued up. As we climbed it was impossible not to stop, look up and also turn around to see what was behind. It’s hard to say which view was better and certainly pictures don’t do it justice here.
Mark and Carole on the trail
At some point we got high enough that it was difficult to understand where we were. It seemed that we were as high as we would get so it was time to start climbing down. But then, we realized it was only perspective. Before the last push up, the trail snakes around the jagged rocks on the ridgeline passing from front to back and to front again. As you do that, you lose sight of Old Snowy and reference of the trail but then, you are greeted with a view of the last portion of the trail up. A winding route that seems almost impossible to walk on.
The last push to Old Snowy
By then I was exhausted and almost out of water which is rare in me. So slowly but surely I continued up trying to save energy and keeping my breath. On the way up we met a solo female hiker doing the entire PCT that told us she was in the forward pack. She looked pretty tired so she continued on without a lot o extra conversation. As if the trail was not hard enough yet, we got then to a point where, instead of dirt and small rocks to walk on, we had big, thin and almost sharp layers of rock. Each step was an exercise in force and balance. Then the summit became visible and a lone PCT hiker taking a break up there. Finally at the highest point of the route we stopped to take a break and enjoy the views and a couple of stories from the PCTer. He was ahead of the pack and wanted to complete the entire thing in record time. He looked like he was going to make it. When his break was done, he grabbed his pack and disappeared, almost running, down the hill. We then continued down on the other side of Old Snowy, finally going down, as the sun was going down as well. Our plan was to continue much further for our second night stay but by then we knew it was unlikely we would be able to make that far with light. So as soon as we found water, we started looking for potential campsites. Surely enough, we found a couple of almost flat spots in a rock field where we pitched our tents. That night we only had time and energy to make dinner and go to bed not without enjoying the fabulous sunset
Sunset from our tent on the second night
Day 3: The real hard day – Campsite near Old Snowy to Heart Lake
On Sunday we woke up to a fantastic sunrise illuminating the hill side and a lone PCT hikers that was probably already very tired from his epic trip. As we started hiking, we commented on our luck finding those flat spots where we stayed and how long it would have taken us to get to where we had planned. Not even five minutes later, we found some pretty spectacular campsites… At least we now know for next time. As we hiked we contemplated following the original idea or taking a shorter way but using trail 96 to connect to Snowgrass Flats and cut a couple of miles from the trip. As we still had a lot of miles to cover we opted for that choice so as soon as we found the junction, we took it and started climbing down. Near Snowgrass Flats we were greeted, one more time, with a spectacular wildflower display. We were clearly in the peak of the flowering season
Flowers on trail 96
Once we joined with the Goat Lake trail we turn north and started skirting the mountain one more time towards the lake. The views along this trail extended from Goat Creek to Goat Ridge and beyond. There was a bit of haze, probably from nearby fires but the views were still beautiful. At around noon, we got to a completely frozen lake were we took a short break and got some glacier water. While eating we saw the inhabitants that give the name to this lake. Across from us, up in the hills, a small herd of goats were grazing and enjoying the sun. Then, we continued up towards the junction with the Jordan Creek trail that we reached after passing countless little streams and fields covered with wildflowers. Right after that fork is the fork with the side trail to Hawkeye Point, the second highest point in the wilderness. Mark, Val and I took our packs off and went for a peek. It was certainly a short hike up and very well worth it. The only problem we found was that it was a small circus. I think all the people we didn’t see during our first couple of days were all up there. After just a few minutes we climbed down, got out packs and continued on to the Lily Basin trail. From where we stood, it looked pretty easy as it circled the valley of the M Fork of Johnson Creek. In fact, although we couldn’t see the lake, we knew where it was. It was just a couple of miles away. Little did we knew that it would prove to be pretty hard to get there
View of the trail towards Lily Basin
So we started on the trail and not even 20 minutes into it, we got to a very steep snowfield. Expecting that, we all had microspikes that we put on before hitting the snow. The going was slow as we need to kick in the snow to make steps. Being mid afternoon, the top layer was pretty soft but the bottom layer was solid ice. As we traversed the ice field our steps got shallower as the hill got steeper. And then I lost my grip. One of my feet just slipped from under me and I fell. AS a slow movie goes, I saw myself tumbling and turning as I was rushing down aiming to a rock field. I tried with both my poles to self arrest but that was useless. As I saw the rocks getting near I braced for impact and tried to stop myself as best I could. I slammed hard on a rock, flew over it, and slid or the rocks for a while until finally all movement stopped. Everything was aching. Slowly I got up and checked and nothing was broken, I only had some pretty big scratches and some broken nails. I had all my gear with the exception of one trekking pole that I had left half way down the hill. Once I recovered, I looked up and saw as Val, Carole and Mark were still trying to cross the snow field. Then the movie replayed. As Mark was trying to get ahead, Val made a half turn and slipped. She felt and started slipping fast towards me and I saw she was going to hit the rocks hard. Out of pure instinct, I dropped my gear and started running up enough to jump up and tackle her so she wouldn’t hit the rocks. Being heavier, I was able to stop her a bit safer than how I stopped. She was ok. And she had managed to grab my pole on the way down! We thought the story would not repeat itself so we started hiking sideways on the rock field only to learn that what looked dry, was actually wet. We saw rivers of mud, dirt and rocks move down trying to carry us down. Mark and Carole continued on the snow. Just as Mark was about to get on solid ground, he also lost his footing and came flying down the snow slope. I don’t know how but I saw him hit a rock and fling himself over it and land on his feet. I was a bit beat up but not as much as Val and I. Then, the snow field was behind and Carole the only one who managed to traverse the whole thing without falling. At that point we knew we were bushwhacking. There was no point in trying to climb up to the trail or even follow it. Besides, from our viewpoint, it looked easier to go lower on the valley and climb on the other side than to follow the trail. We only needed to cross one or two waterfalls
The little valley we need to cross
From that point on, we tried to make our way as best as we could but the going was slow. Every ten of fifteen minutes, we had to stop and reassess our position and decide our route. Several times we had to backtrack a bit as we found ourselves cornered in front of a precipice. As we navigated thru the valley we cursed and complaint but we kept going. Needless to say, the views were amazingly beautiful so it was not all that bad. Late in the afternoon I realized, as I was trying to find a straight way to the lake that there was no way of doing it, but then, looking at the map, I realized we were just a couple hundred feet bellow the trail. So we decided to just shoot straight up until we found it. It was hard push but getting back on trail was a big relief. We still had about a mile to go so we continued as we enjoyed the views of the Heart Lake, our intended destination.
Heart Lake from the trail
From the information I had, I knew there was supposed to be user trail down to the lake and from our standpoint, we could see that people had camped there. We continued hiking but did not find the trail. We thought for a moment what had happened the night before, that just five more minutes would get us there but by then we were tired and wanted to eat and sleep. So we opted for the straight way down the slope. A short bushwhack took us quickly down to the lake were we stayed the night. That night we had a fabulous fire after taking our turn in a nearby creek to wash and bathe ourselves. It felt glorious to eat, rest and go to sleep that night.
Day 4: Spider webs – Heart Lake to Lily Basin trailhead
Monday started a bit later as we didn’t have a lot of distance to cover. By our estimate, we would be out early in the afternoon so there was no rush. The day was incredible with perfect blue skies and warm weather. It looked like it was going to be great day. After breakfast and packing our gear, we tried to find the user trail and as before, we found it. Not only that, once we hiked up and got back on the Lily Basin trail we found that the fork was just a couple hundred yards from where we turned around the previous night. Now we know… that we need to hike five more minutes!. The first part of the hike took us to the junction with the Angry Mountain trail where we turned and continued around Lily Basin. The scenery was a bit different that before with lots of wildflowers and green, lush forest. We were clearly loosing elevation. We found a couple of harder creek crossings but nothing major so the going was easy. That was until we got to the first challenge, a small creek with a snow field covering the trail. If the creek was not near a steep drop off, crossing would have been a piece of cake. So after thinking for a while I grabbed my trowel and started digging footholds. In the end, it took a bit of time but we were all in the other side safely. Then came the real challenge in what I believe was Glacier Creek. Part of the trail had been washed out so there was a small waterfall and a big ice field. No easy crossing. The first part required us to climb down on very loose dirt and rocks to the base of the waterfall. The second required climbing, on the waterfall, back to the trail. It was a pretty good challenge
Mark climbing the waterfall
From there it was finally more or less a walk in the park. The trail snaked in and out of the forest and then opened views of Mount Rainier and then Packwood Lake far below. It was really beautiful, and hot.
Mt Rainier and Packwood Lake
After the views, we finally enter the forest for the last couple of miles of our hike. As we did, weather got really hot to the point that it was really uncomfortable (at least for me). To make it worse, it seemed nobody had hiked that trail in at least over a week as there were spider webs everywhere. It was difficult to hike thru without eating them. But then, just when we were about to walk into the parking lot, we found what probably gave the name TO THIS TRAIL. We passed a small meadow completely covered with Avalanche lilies. It was a beautiful scene watching a green bed spotted all over with little white flowers. Once in the car we drove to the Packwood trailhead were we found Brian waiting for us.
You can check the pictures here
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