Goose Creek Loop

[Dondo .]

Read my new trip report at Dondo Outdoors.

[Randy Martin]

Beautiful photos. On this trip you have the attitude that I am working to develop on my backpack trips. They should be fun without the grind of trying to "run". There is too much beautiful wilderness to enjoy without trying to hammer out mile after mile. I did that same loop last year (opposite way) in 2 days (roughly 13 mile days each) and I thought that was way too fast to properly enjoy it. 3 days is definitely a better pace. Though I will say for that particular loop the water options after Refrigerator Gulch fade pretty quickly as you start ascending the "Wall". Did you find much water? How much did you carry?

[Eugene Smith]

Dondo representing! Lovely and engaging as always. Thank you for the contribution to salvaging the quality content and resource of this site. You explore some wildly beautiful wilderness that I envy a bit.

Ok, I am two writeups behind, you've inspired me to get cracking and prioritize those pending projects in the coming week or so. Photographs are edited, but the words aren't there these days.

[t.darrah]

Nice TR with great pictures, thanks.

[Dondo .]

Thanks for all the positive comments, guys.

Randy, yeah, this is an area that you really want to slow down and savor. The water situation this year is lower than that of the other dozen or so times I’ve done the loop. Even so, I was able to hike it carrying no more than a liter at a time. Hikers will have no problem finding water on the eastern side of the loop, that is, along the Goose Creek Trail and the McCurdy Park trail. When you get over to the western side is when things get a little dicey. The group of hikers I mention in my story told me that they had come over the Lake Park trail and all they could find there was stagnant pond water. This may be a good year to try the alternate Brookside-McCurdy route. Not only do you avoid all the downed trees on the Lake Park trail, but you also have a source of flowing water from of branch of Hay Creek that crosses the trail just north of the intersection with the Lizard Rock Trail. There wasn’t much flow when I was there last week, but I was able to fill a 2L platy by using a scoop. The other source is also on the Brookside-McCurdy trail just north of the turn off to Lake Park. Again, it was just a trickle, but at least it was clean flowing water. With conditions being what they are, both of these sources could dry up quickly. So folks contemplating doing the loop should plan on doing it earlier rather than later.

Eugene, it’s exciting to hear that you have some trip reports in the pipeline. Knowing the quality of your photography and writing, I’m really looking forward to your posts.

[Randy Nelson]

Great TR, as usual, Dondo. Man, the water situation sounds like August, not June. Now all of Park County is on fire ban as well. Going to be a tough year for LCW and I still had a couple trips I wanted to do there. Bummer.

[Dondo .]

Randy,thanks. Yeah, it's pretty dry in there. I may do another trip or two in LCW this year but will end up carrying more water than I'd like to.

[Drew Smith]

Enjoyable as always, you have a fine appreciation for wilderness and a good trekking esthetic. Sometimes the writers on tis site seem a bit too obsessed with logging miles rather than experiences. Thanks for posting.

[Dondo .]

Thanks for that, Jonathan. I'm glad you're enjoying what I do. It seems to me that UL/LW backpacking is a pretty big tent, with plenty of room for adventure racers as well as those of us who like to slow down and pay attention to the details of the wilderness experience.

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