Gobblers Knob Spring Hike from the Glacier View Trailhead

We weren't expecting views on this cloudy day, but decided we wanted to check out the trail to Gobbler's Knob in Mt Rainier National Park from the west, entering from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest east of Ashford off of FS Rd #59. We drove up to the end of FS road #59, about 9 miles, to the Glacier View Trailhead.  The hike from the Glacier View Trailhead to Gobbler's Knob and back was about 8.8 miles with an overall elevation gain of 2,080 ft (there is a lot of ups and downs). There were avalanche lilies in bloom at the trail head.

About 100 yes from the trailhead the trail splits. To the left is the Glacier View Trail and to the right is the Puyallup Trail (our route to Goat Lake and Gobbler's Knob).

 The trail immediately enters the Glacier View Wilderness, which is on the southwest boundary of Mt Rainier National Park.

 Soon, there is what appears to be a fork in the trail, but the path to the right, with the log over it, is not the trail. Keep to the left.

 We saw lots of these small bright yellow fungi.















About 0.5 miles from the beginning, the trail reaches the Beljica Meadows, keep to the left.

View of the Beljica Meadows from the north end.

 There was a small stream to cross over today.

 The trail along the meadows was very enjoyable as there were lots of plants and flowers to enjoy. We weren't able to see Mt Beljica to the south because of the fog.

 Pussy willows in bloom

 Lots of glacier lilies and shooting stars in bloom at the meadows.

 About 1 mile into the hike, the Puyallup Trail is joined by the trail coming from Lake Christine to the south. Keep to the left toward Goat Lake.

 Here the trail goes along the end of a ridge line before descending down to Goat Lake.

View from the north end of Goat Lake.

 Campsites can be found along the shores of Goat Lake. The trail to Gobbler's Knob goes up hill from the north end of Goat Lake.
We continued to see avalanche lilies in bloom for over half of the trail today.

In 0.5 miles, the trail enters Mt Rainier National Park and the trail climbs steeply in the forest for another 0.6 miles before the spur trail to Gobbler's Knob.

When the trail began to open and we saw a large rocky ridge line above us, we tried to spot the lookout to Gobbler's Knob in vain.

 The trail descends less than 0.25 mile before joining the spur trail on the left to Gobbler's Knob. The trail to the right leads to Lake George and eventually the westside road. From here it is 0.4 miles to Gobbler's Knob.

 Switchbacks lead up toward the fire lookout tower perched on the rock above.

 As we continued to climb up the trail we saw a brief glimpse of Mt Rainier peeking through the clouds.

 On top of Gobbler's Knob, we had the briefest moment of seeing the top of Mt Rainier, before the clouds obscured the view for the rest of our time.

 On a clear day, I hear there are fabulous views of Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens, the Goat Rocks, and the lakes below. Today, we enjoyed being in the clouds and dreamt of returning on a clear day.














North side of the fire lookout tower, where we enjoyed our lunch break. We had the top to ourselves today.

 Some purplish cones starting to grow on the trees.

 More avalanche lilies near the top of Gobbler's Knob.


















There were only a couple of very small snow patches on the trail today, and we encountered 8 people on the trail.
Some of the wildflowers we saw in bloom today: