Goat Rocks Wilderness

8/1/13

PCT mile 2277-2290 12 miles

Elev 5592-5000

Started hiking at 6:50 through forest and coming around a bend we can see spires of Goat Rocks like a portal we have to go through.

It's cloudy and smokey from the E Washington fire as well as overcast. Crazy Nuts passed us as well as a multi day hiker. We walked over a small snow field and into a huge circular valley that we can see across. Streams course down the steep sides and high ramparts of basalt and granite tower over us. We are walking along the sides of the slopes dotted with flowers and trees that are stunted growing in the limited summer. 

Over a saddle on a snow field we came to Cispus Pass elevation 6173.

Then drop into another huge bowl with grand views, we look hoping to see mountain goat, we can see their droppings and smell a barnyard odor but never see them! See the trail in the bottom if this photo.

These are some of my favorite flowers, the Western Pasqueflower.

Rounding a bend we leave these valleys for Snowgrass Meadow and the entrance to Packwood Glacier and Knife Edge which we must cross. 

This is Peggy crossing snowfields. 

It's starting to show signs of blowing clouds creeping up the lower valleys and into this high country even through this photo shows bright sunny skies.

We come to a precipice overlooking the glacier and try for higher ground to see if we can get around the snowfield.

We accidently climbed Old Snowy almost to the top and ended up looking down on the Knife Edge so we backed down through the rocks to the entrance where our trail was. This caused some lost time but we found the trail and started walking. We knew immediately this was the famed Knife Edge. A small trail along the spine of these mountain tops. See the clouds blowing over the edges?

By the time we were 1/4 way down the ledge clouds began pouring over the knife edge and we were in them, cold and blowing mist that soon became rain. Being afraid of heights Peggy knew she had to be careful and we had rehearsed how this particular part was going to be done.  When you are hiking as a team you take care of one another and this was the same team working together as when I hurt my back a week ago. We were in the storm for a long time, finally stopping on a ledge to put on our pack cover/ponchos  for protection. We met another hiker called Double Shot almost at the end.  Once we made it into the protection of trees we got water and walked as fast as possible off the mountain. We were exhausted to the point off being shaky on our legs.

We stopped by a small lake and set up camp, feeling bruised and buffeted and glad to have been spit out on the other side. We've decided to sleep in til 7 tomorrow and rest a bit. The clouds are still overhead and it may rain tonight.