I was finally able to get a free weekend this summer and decided to head to the east side of Goat Rocks, to the valley and upper basin glaciers that feed the South Fork of the Tieton River. It was a great day on Sunday, but the driving was maybe a little bit too far from Portland for an overnighter, about 4 hours each way.
Saturday was a straight-forward hike through Conrad Meadows (a HUGE meadow; the trailhead is at a very large camp area with lots of horse-trailers) and then up a well-graded trail to Surprise Lake. It's a nice small wooded lake and I was surprised that on a dry July weekend night, it was only me at one end of the lake and a nice couple at the other end.
Sunday morning was a lazy start, then off to explore the upper basin on the east side of Gilbert Peak (tallest peak in Goat Rocks, visible straight east from Cispus Pass on the PCT) where Meade Glacier sits. I just spent half the day wandering around this area. I would definitely camp up here next time. I ran into a man named Robert, who had grown up in the area and it was fun watching him head up to a pass above Meade, which leads around to Conrad Glacier. Maybe next time. I finally headed back to the main loop trail from Surprise Lake and then back to my car.
First View of Gilbert Peak on the way up to Surprise Lake
Leaving Surprise Lake
Close up of Gilbert Peak
Gilbert Peak with Meade Glacier
The pass over to Conrad Glacier is at center, just right of the cloud. This is the base of Meade Glacier.
Marmots
I have a few more pics to post but I have to resize them first.
