Goat Rocks Backpack 4-5 Sept 2015

So, the weather report was iffy, but it looked like  maybe it would improve by Saturday so we planned to go to Goat Rocks and do a 30-ish mile 4 day loop. We stayed the night in Packwood at the Mountain View Hotel (nice large room with a kitchen) so we could get on the trail by 10a. The Berry Patch TH was about an hour from Hwy 12 on a gravel road. The road wasn't bad, just 20 mi long. We planned to make a car drop so we could exit at Walupt Lake, so leaving the extra car also took time. We were on the trail by 10:30 with sunny, pleasantly warm conditions.  We (ha ha) thought, this is great!  By afternoon, at the campsite in Goat Meadows, the conditions had deteriorated, clouds had arrived, covered the mountains, and it had started snowing. We pitched the tents and headed out to check out Goat lake anyway. Before leaving we spied about 27 mountain goats above us on the hillside. Visibility got worse and worse and the snow began to stick. Our glimpse of Goat Lake was slim and no views of the valley or mountains. We headed back and found our tents covered in snow. It was pretty but I was too cold to appreciate it all. Got dinner going and the snow stopped and the clouds lifted, eventually clearing up all together! Too bad it was so late - we could have seen Goat Lake for sure. The next morning (after a hard night of trying to sleep when our bodies were so cold - temps around 30 but we were damp and chilled from the day), I looked out to see we had about 10 ft visibility. We hung out in the tents till around 9a then gave up and headed out anyway. Met some people with weather reports of rain on Sat and new weather on Sunday so we decided to head out the Snowgrass Flat trail. On the way down we met a TON of people coming up wearing all manner of clothing: short shorts, jeans, tennis shoes; people with goats, dogs, baby, kids...(the people with the baby turned around, wisely). I pitied them the cold, damp night they would have. When we arrived at the TH it started to pour! Decided to head to warmer climes...see the next report.  Goat Rocks will have to wait till next year!
RT map (some of it is driving)

starting out in sunny woods

views of Old Snowy open up

looks like fall!

clouds are coming

love these ridge trails

Jordan Creek basin

now it is snowing

mountain goats!

we camped by this dry tarn

Goat Lake

back at camp the clouds are lifting

sunset from our camp

morning view from my tent

we set out anyway

this grouse didn't want to fly because it was too cold

hmmmm

at Snowgrass flat the clouds lifted a bit

pretty water feature

the intrepid trio will have to do Goats on another day!