I hiked through Goat Rocks Wilderness today. The trail wrapped around the ridge we climbed yesterday and then up to a vantage of Gilbert Peak. I walked around the Cispus Riverhead and then began the climb up to Old Snowy Mountain. I made it to the summit with a bit of scrambling and took in 360° views of Southern Washington. The day ended with a long walk down a prominent ridge to camp. Today’s mileage was 11.5 miles, 18.6 km.

Straight out of camp, we were climbing up Nannie Ridge towards Cispus Pass. The trail gave us one last view of Mt Adams with morning light illuminating the nearest aspect. Before reaching the pass, the trail traversed above the Klikitat River with Gilbert Peak towering above. This section of trail passed under a rock formation, which looked very similar to Devils Postpile back in the Sierra.

Over Cispus Pass, we wrapped around the head of the Cispus River and began the long climb up towards Old Snowy Mountain. The climb here was sustained, and slightly steeper than the usual PCT grade; I was surprised with how much it took from me, and how long the ascent lasted.

On this climb, I saw the first really good view of Mt Rainier, which suddenly appeared between the bushes either side of trail. Slightly further up was the first patch of snow I’d crossed since the Sierra. I think it would have been good to have microspikes here, but I could still cross with caution.

I took a sidetrail up to the summit of Old Snowy Mountain, it was a very steep but surprisingly brief climb. Close to the top was a little rock scramble, maybe class 2 with a touch of class 3 (hands on rocks in places). The view from the top was incredible with Mt Adams, Mt Rainier and the whole knife edge descent before me.

The descent on the other side of Snowy was awesome, and was the kind of thing I’d honestly thought would be more common on this trail. It’s called the knife edge ridge, but there was never a moment where I felt at risk of falling, only breathtaking views on both sides of the trail.

I followed the ridge for several hours, constantly descending and in awe of the view the whole way down. The light began to change as I descended and I found myself stopping every few minutes to take photos. I made it to camp just in time to set up and cook before dark. Later, I was joined by Kewpie, Fanta & Aladdin who I last saw in NorCal, and Pretzel, who I last saw coming up from Walker Pass in the desert just before Kennedy Meadows South.