Goat Rocks Region

1. Nannie Ridge Trail (To Sheep Lake)
2. Walupt Creek Trail (to Pacific Crest Trail)
3. Walupt Lake Cave Scramble
4. Navigator and Pathfinder Peak Scramble (above Walupt Lake Cave)

Nannie Ridge Trail (to Sheep Lake)

Length (RT): 12.0 mi Diff. Level: mod/stren Elev. Gain: 2300 ft Season: July-October

The way begins on the Walupt Creek Trail for a few hundred feet. Then you will reach a registration box and the Nannie Ridge Trail on your left. For the first 2 miles or so, the trail winds up through forest and then opens up. At about 3 miles the ridge top is reached (5600 ft). Here one could take a side trip via an old trail that leads 1/2 mile to the top of Nannie Peak (6106 ft). I really recommend this on a beautiful day! There are good views of Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and surrounding country.

Back at the ridge top, the main trail goes down a few hundred feet (bypassing cliffs) to a small pond and eventually regains the ridge top. From here on it's easy walking through meadow country to 5710-foot Sheep Lake . There are nice camps here, and an excellent view of Mt. Adams, though I have never been here when it was sunny and clear. One could do a loop trip by going on the PCT at the north end of the lake to the Walupt Creek Trail junction and return to Walupt Lake campground (14-mile loop). If you do this one in late July/August, some good huckleberry picking can be had.

Update: We climbed Nannie Peak this year on a beautiful day! Here is shot of me at the Goatrocks side (40.0 KB) of Nannie Ridge. Mount Adams side photos didn't turn out so maybe next year!

How to get there:

Take US 12 east past Randle (about 13 miles) and turn right on Rd 21 (Johnson Creek) which is 2.5 miles west of Packwood. Go up this road for about 16 miles and turn left on Rd 2160 which will take you 4 miles directly to Walupt Lake Campground. Alternately, you could take Rd 23 from Randle (19 miles) and turn left onto Rd 21 (same one connects 23 and US 12) and follow signs to Walupt. The trailhead is located by the picnic area of the campground and there is trailhead parking.

Hike List

Navigation

Walupt Creek Trail (to Pacific Crest Trail)

Length (RT): 8.0 mi Diff. Level: easy/mod Elev. Gain: 1050 ft Season: June-October

For many summers, we camped up at the Walupt campground and this particular hike was a favorite, especially up to Walupt Creek bridge crossing at 2 miles. This first stretch is an excellent trail for families with small children. The first mile parallels and side trails lead down to the water. In June, one may spot wild rainbow trout spawning in the stream at the bridge crossing. Some of these fish may push 20 inches or so. Please note that the stream is absolutely closed to fishing. I should point out that in some years the bridge is washed out. However, the stream is usually easily crossed, except early in the season during snow melt.

From here, the way gets steeper, gaining 600 feet in a short, switchbacking mile. After that the grade moderates and about 3.5 miles, grand alpine meadow country is reached. In 1991, I saw a herd of elk up here (at least 30-40). Some good camps up here, including Short Trail Camp (about 3.75 miles) situated along a small stream. The trail reaches the Crest trail at 4 miles, after passing a small lake. This is the farthest I've gone. From here, one could turn left up the Crest trail and go to Sheep Lake and return to Walupt Campground via Nannie Ridge Trail (14-mile loop and 1800 ft elevation gain). I plan on doing this loop this summer.

Update: Yes, I did do the loop. The Crest trail stretch was rather easy with some great views of Mt. Adams, Lakeview Mountain (it's the one with the obvious volcanic cone), and even Lake Walupt can be seen. Lots of bear sign encountered. Much of this stretch is in woods with partial clearings. Lots of huckleberries. After the Walupt Creek crossing, the terrain opens up some and soon, Sheep lake and Nannie Ridge Trail junction is reached. Turn left and head back to the Walupt Lake campground via this trail. Next project will be to climb Lakeview Mountain next summer.

How to get there:

Same as Nannie Ridge Trail.

Hike List

Navigation

Walupt Lake Cave Scramble

Length (RT): 3.0 mi Diff. Level: very strenuous Elev. Gain: about 1400 ft Season: July-October

In July 1993, I  had just returned from an early morning hike to the Crest trail via Walupt Creek Trail, when Jason noted that he was "...thinking about going up to the cave...want to come along?" He didn't have to ask me twice! I'm a glutton for exercise and lots of it. For years we had speculated about climbing up to it, but never did. The cave, visible from the Walupt Campground (21.6 KB), is located high up on a prominent mountain just below its craggy, rocky crown.

From the campground, walk across the Cispus river bridge and down Road 2160 for 3/10 of a mile or so until you see an old, overgrown road on your left. Go up this old road to a fork. Keep left and follow road to its end in an open area. This is where the fun starts. There is no trail. Actually, one could get up to the cave any number of ways from the lake, but this is the way we went. Turn to your left and start climbing, keeping to the lake side of the mountain. Much of the way is fighting brush, logs, etc. as you climb steeply. Eventually, after 45 minutes or so, we reached the more open areas of the mountain and could see the cave closer, but still a lot of work left. The last couple hundred feet were pure hell as they were very, very steep. Don't try this in snow or in wet weather. Finally, we got to the cave! Wow!!!! The views were awesome. There's a shot of me reaching the cave (21.3 KB) and Jason at the mouth of the cave-my favorite photo (9.5 KB). On the way back, we literally bushwacked straight down, and returned to camp via a primitive lakeside trail that meets the road just by the bridge. I definitely recommend this scramble!

Update: We took this scramble again this summer, but followed the ridge up to almost cave level and traversed across. Don't do this! It was very precarious in some stretches where one slip meant a ticket to the grave or at least crippling injuries. The slope is very, very steep with loose dirt and rocks. It is better to take the route we took the first time by keeping lower and gradually climbing up. It's still dangerous but definitely better than the route I took this August with Jason and his brother Tay. The photos are in!

Let me explain that these shots were actually taken on two separate scrambles during a weekend in August. Tay, Jason, and I scrambled to the cave. We also made it to the ridge above the cave-named it "Planetary Ridge", which will be explained in the new scramble below. Jason and I then took another scramble just two days later. Ben Baenen, Jas' cousin from Wisconsin, went along with us. On that day, we successfully conquered "Pathfinder" and "Navigator" peaks.

How to get there:

Same directions as Nannie Ridge, but walk back down 2160 as described above.

Hike List

Navigation

Navigator and Pathfinder Peak Scramble (above Walupt Lake Cave)

Length (RT): 3.0 mi Diff. Level: very strenuous Elev. Gain: about 1800 ft Season: July-October

From the campground, walk across the Cispus river bridge and down Road 2160 for 3/10 of a mile or so until you see an old, overgrown road on your left. Go up this old road to a fork. Keep left and follow road to it's end in an open area. So far this is same as the cave route, but now you will head up the ridge itself. The best way to do this is to enter straight into the woods at the end of the old road. We cut in, maybe 50 yards or so, then began to head straight up. Initially, the route is rather open, but it gets brushy for a while before open terrain is reached. From here on, the ridge gets narrower and rockier.

The route is easy to follow, but requires some scrambling over lose rock and dirt. Finally, the ridge crest is obtained. Notice the "rippled" reddish-tan sandstone. It looks like a martian landscape. We agreed that it should be named Planetary Ridge. The sandstone was very surprising to us because the surrounding rock in the area is volcanic by nature. The rock below the sandstone is volcanic. My old geology professor, from Shoreline CC, would love this spot.

Ok, back to climbing to the summits. Note the high peak just ahead. We named this Pathfinder Peak. Navigator Peak is the next one over, but not visible yet. Climb further up the ridge to the base of the peak. Cut through brush and trees for 50 yards or so to an avalanche gully. Head straight up this open, brushy area to the "saddle" between the peaks. Take short left to Pathfinder and then easily access the other peak via heather-covered terrain. The summit of Navigator is actually a series of huge boulders. There are great views up here!

How to get there:

Same directions as Nannie Ridge, but walk back down 2160 as described above.

Hike List