I usually go backpacking with my husband and two boys (age 6 and 9), but I was really wanting to do a trip that would be a bit more challenging, so I convinced my husband to watch the boys while I headed out for a backpacking trip to the Goat Rocks Wilderness with adults. I managed to convince some friends to head off with me for some hiking up to Heart Lake and we left Portland Sunday morning and arrived to cloudy skies at the Lily Basin trailhead around lunchtime. Our family had tried to do a short backpacking trip in July near Goat Rocks and had been driven off by the mosquitoes, so I was a bit nervous about making a second attempt, but at least this time I was going with adults who would keep their suffering mostly to themselves.

As it turned out, I needn't have worried about the bugs, this time they had finally mostly gone and many of the I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of the flowers were still around. We hiked through clouds up the ridge of Lily Basin which kept us cool through the trek upwards. The ridge was long and after a while one of my friends was getting nervous enough to keep looking at the map wondering if I'd gotten us lost. Just as I was starting to thinking that he might be right to be worried, I encounter a couple of hikers who greeted me by saying "Hi. We're the Heart Lake Trail welcoming committee!". They were standing at the point where the Lily Basin intersected the user trail to Heart Lake. Though day had started out cloudy, the clouds graciously chose to burn off by nightfall which allowed us to view the Milky way and countless stars. The next day we headed up the ridge to take in some wonderful views and fields overflowing with flowers before packing back out. Sadly, we only saw the Mountain Goat very far off in the distance (white dots moving along the ridge). I guess that gives me a reason to go back again.

With the exception of a few black flies around lunchtime on Monday, the trip was mostly bug free and the weather was perfect. Oh and the huckleberries were ripening nicely. We managed to eat many handfuls both on the way in and out.

Thanks for the report and photos! That looks like one very happy dog.

That first shot is luscious! And the second to last shot is hugable! Great trip!

anna in boots

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Great report. I usually head to Goat Rocks over the 4th of July (before the crowds, but also when snowfields cover the emerging flowers). Heart Lake and Lilly Basin trail has been on my list. How was the road in? and the crowds?

Enjoy your next trip!

Keith

The road was fine except for one part which was a bit hard to get up. We had a Honda CRV and had no problems. I'm not sure if I'd want to take a car with low clearance though. I did see a sedan at the trailhead, so it is possible. I guess it depends how much you like your car. We hiked in on a Sunday and out on Monday. We encountered 6 other groups on the trail. There is only one good campsite near Heart Lake and a couple that arrived after us was disappointed to find out we had taken it. I generally avoid trails where I will encounter other people, so this was more crowded than I like, but from what I understand of the Goat Rocks area, it gets much busier on the weekends.

Wow you got some nice weather and views up there. I hiked at Goat Rocks a couple of days after you and it's been cold, windy and partly cloudy - the clouds allowed us to see the Goat Creek valley most of the time but Jordan Basin and Old Snowy were completely covered in clouds, and we couldn't see Adams or Rainier. It was surprising flowers are still there on upper slopes. Goat Lake completely melted off (it's probably on your 3rd photo from the end, though we only seen it from lake's shore angle), though its water is still freezing cold. There were lots of people (12 cars at Berry Patch TH and probably as much at Snowgrass TH) but zero black flies and almost zero mosquitoes. We've seen bear scat on a trail at Jordan Basin. I'll definitely come back next year or sooner, this place is similar to Glacier National Park (but alot closer to home).

Yes, the 3rd photo is Goat Lake. I should have put titles. The first one is Glacier Lake with Mount Rainier in the background, the other lake shot is Heart Lake where we camped. Sorry that you didn't get the great weather we did. It has been a cloudy August this year. I chose the Lily Basin Trail (as appose to the Berry Patch or Snowgrass because it is much less traveled. I think there were more people than I expected because of the road closure on FR 21.

I made it up last weekend and did the Lilly Basin hike during the beautiful weekend. You're right. It is a wonderful hike...did not see as many flowers as you...but had a real nice time!