Goat Rocks Wilderness, WA, hanging?

[Playapixie]

Goat Rocks Wilderness is at the top of my list for a longer backpack this summer (maybe next week if the snow is melted out enough) and I'm wondering if anyone has been there with a hammock. I know a lot of trails there are at or above tree line, so I'm trying to get a sense of if it's possible to do it with hammocks. I'm not adverse to hiking above the tree line by day and dropping down into the trees for nights if it's possible.

Anyone been there?

I'm particularly looking at the Snowgrass Flats, Goat Lake, Jordan Basin, Cispus Basin areas.

Thanks,
Dawn

[Oms]

Well I was there about 5 years ago in the later part of July. The high passes were not open yet and we had to pull out and do a different trail at a lower elevation. You will have no issues finding a place to hang. As a matter of fact, my brother-in-law had a much harder time finding level ground then we did finding a place to hang, especially at the upper elevations. My avatar is from that trip. So fear not, all will be fine. Check with the ranger station about trail openings. Good luck and have fun!

[Oms]

I don't remember which trails we took. I have been there twice in my life. Once many, many years ago. We liked it so much we took our sons there. So much to see.

[slugbait]

You're in for a treat- Goat Rocks is a special place. Snowgrass Flat- no problem hanging as there are plenty of trees. Goat Lake- the few trees I remember (I was t***ing that trip) were on the edge of a cliff. Haven't been to Jordan Basin. Cispus Basin has trees though few camp spots. You can get creative and make hanging work there too. Enjoy!

[Playapixie]

Thanks! Talked to the Rangers yesterday and it sounds like everything on the Goat Lake trail, Snowgrass Flats, and trail to Cispus Basin is snow free, with the snowline above 6000 feet. Woot! I'm pretty thrilled. I tried to go third weekend of July last year and there was still snow on all of that (ended up hiking on Mt. St. Helens instead.)

Thanks for the info. I was zooming around on google maps last night and was already leaning towards going for it with the hammocks. Now I'm convinced. :-)

[Playapixie]

Goat Rocks was awesome, and there were plenty of trees for hanging around Snowgrass Flats in the lower areas. We absolutely loved it. Trip report here: playapixie.org

[Montexan]

Thanks for the TR! People could have started the PCT a full month early this year.

I was hoping to ski Old Snowy this year, but was pretty sparse two months ago. A friend did two crummy chutes off Gilbert from the East, but there were something like 25 blow-downs along the 7-mile dry approach (also in May). So looks like West side is still better for hittin' the peaks.

How much snow on Gilbert? And from this (awesome) picture it looks like sun cup hell on the East faces.

[Oms]

It is a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing the pictures and the TR

[22hornet]

Goat Rocks are bad ***, I have been up to Packwood lake twice this spring and where you went is on my list. How long were your tree straps and was water available up there. Love the pics and report Jim

[Playapixie]

The trees were surprisingly large given the elevation; we used a combo of 6 and 8 foot straps but probably 6 was long enough. There were some trees bigger than what we used though.

There were multiple creek crossings below Snowgrass Flat. The main creek that crosses the trail at the junction of the goat lake trail and Snowgrass flat trail was running fine. Above that I saw less. A lot of the snow is gone, so I'm honestly not sure how long the creek will run. We had no shortage of water though.