Goat Mountain (Lake Philippa quad) loop (North Fork Snoqualmie)

Ian and I parked where the Lennox Creek Road (Road 57) is blocked by berms right before Bear Creek. We walked across the bridge and continued down the road for about 1.5 miles to where it turns sharply left, here we followed an abandoned trail on the right side of the road (shown on the Lake Philippa quad quad). The trail soon crosses Cougar Creek via a downed tree. We often lost the trail, partly because of the sporadic snow covering, and partly because nature is erasing the trail. After a bit of brush bashing we came upon the remains of the structure shown on the Lake Philippa quad quad.

At the structure we headed north up the side of the NE ridge of Goat Mountain (Lake Philippa quad), this was brushy but we only ran into a couple thick sections of brush. Once we reached the ridge-top we were able to travel on it all the way to the summit of Goat Mountain (Lake Philippa quad). The last couple hundred vertical feet of the ridge before the summit had some nice granite which could be scrambled/climbed or avoided.

The ridge and summit had excellent views. Mount Phelps in particular made an early impression on us. Across the valley Bare Mountain had a lot of red vegetation and looked like the trail was mostly snow-free. Most of the peaks between Goat Mountain (Lake Philippa quad) and Snoqualmie pass were visible, including Big Snow, Kaleetan Peak, Garfield Mountain, Preacher Mountain, and Bessemer Mountain.

We descended via the basin to the north of Goat Mountain (Lake Philippa quad). Around 3,400' we got on a small ridge running along the east side of a stream in section 20. The forest on the ridge had lot of brush, as I write this I have many thorns embedded in my body and welts from devil's club. The old growth forest we descended through had many incredibly beautiful sections full of deep moss, ferns, yew, and ancient cedars. This forest was the best and the worst part of the trip for me.

I forded Lennox Creek, Ian crossed on rocks I feared were too slippery. After fighting the forest's brush, walking the road back to the car was a relief.

Date:

2005/03/05

Elevation gain:

3,655 feet

Trip type:

scramble

USGS quads:

Mount Phelps, Lake Philippa

In:

North Fork Snoqualmie Drainage

Car-to-car:

8 hours 25 minutes

• 1 hour ascending from Bare Creek bridge to structure near Cougar Creek
• 4 hours 14 minutes ascending from structure near Cougar Creek to Goat Mountain summit
• 2 hours 27 minutes descending from Goat Mountain summit to back on Road 57
• 28 minutes descending from back on Road 57 to Bare Creek bridge

References

• Book: Cascade Alpine Guide: Climbing and High Routes: Vol 1 - Columbia River to Stevens Pass
• Trip reports: Goat Mountain

---

Copyright © 2024 Gabriel Deal.