July 1st marked our first hike of the year. It also marked a few special occasions. We had some of our best friends in town from the Midwest. It was also the 1 year anniversary of Penny's first knee surgery, and by far the longest hike we'd ever been on with the dogs.
Due to this past winter's snowpack and our marathon earlier in the week, we were looking for a good snow-free lowland option with not too much elevation gain, and chose Goat Lake.
What a beauty of a hike! While the destination is the lake, the entire journey was a beautiful, wonderfully muddy mix of evergreen and alder forest, all alongside the noisy roarings of the Elliott Creek.
We chose the Lower Elliott trail option, which more closely followed the creek.
Everyone's trail manners were excellent.
Big hollowed out trees are just begging for investigation.
What's in there, guys?
The light coming through the sections of alder forest was magical.
My little man was leading the way.
Closer to the lake, an old wagon trail led us off the main trail for views of McIntosh Falls.
McIntosh Falls
A collection of cairns led us across one of the last small creek crossings.
One last push through the switchbacks, and we reached Goat Lake, with Foggy Peak in the background. There were no goats at the lake, and the peak was far from foggy.
The water was far too cold for swimming, even for the big Canadian water dog.
The little one was content to balance on a log & watch the butterflies.
A little lunch, some rest & nature gazing at the lake, and Lewis & Clark were leading us back down the trail to return to the car.
Back at home, we were tired, happy, and incredibly muddy. What a fantastic season opener!
Distance- about 8 miles roundtrip to Goat Lake via the Lower Elliott Trail
You can read an official trail description from the Washington Trails Association here:
Happy Trails-
Tigerlily
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