Goat Peak Trail 958C

 View of Mt Rainier from Chinook Pass as we drove across Hwy 410 to hike up to Goat Peak In the William O Douglas Wilderness.
There are 4 or 5 different trails that can be taken up to Goat Peak, we choose to do the Goat Peak Trail 958C. 6.5 miles round trip with 3,200 ft of gain. The trailhead is on Hwy 410 across from the Hells Crossing Campground.

 Nice to have a trail sign fore warning of a difficult trail, but I don't understand it saying the elevation gain in 2,600 ft, when the peak is at 6,473 ft and the trailhead is at 3,270 ft.

 This trail is mostly in the forest, but there are several areas where views can be seen. It is a steep trail with a couple of "flat" sections. The first part of the trail goes up the northern side of American Ridge

 One area where the trail is narrow on an eroding slope.

 The western larches were golden.

 There are some great rock formations along the trail.

This short section was probably the trickiest section of the trail, but was easily crossed.

As the trail gained elevation we had views of Mt Rainier to the west and Fifes Peak across Hwy 410.

 And higher up the trail, there were views of Mt Stuart to the northeast

 There were some sections of the trail that were covered in shallow snow and ice. Here the trail goes around the eastern end of American Ridge

 Trail heading up, getting closer to the peak, from here the trail winds around to the south and west.

 The last steep section up to the peak was snow free.

















Pano from Goat Peak to the west: Mt Adams, the Goat Rocks, Bumping Lake, Mt Rainier and Fifes Peak.

 Pano from Goat Peak to the North: Fifes Peak and in the far distance Cascade peaks and Mt Stuart

 Benchmark on Goat Peak

 zoom of the Cascade peaks to the north

 zoom of Mt Stuart and the peaks of the Enchantments

Mt Rainier and the ridges below with scattered golden western larches.













Mt Adams, the Goat Rocks and Bumping Lake

Hiking back down the trail on the eastern end of American Ridge.

enjoying the sun lit golden larches in the afternoon sun