12.25 miles of hiking • 3750' elevation gain •
I've heard about this hike but never have attempted it before. It is a workout. The hike begins at the Upper Dungeness River TH and is a nice, easy stroll along the river until you reach Camp Handy. From there you cross the Dungeness River and pick up the Goat Lake way trail. We had a little bit of trail finding at that point but if you keep the river heading down to the Dungeness to your left you will pu the trail. From there keeping that river to your left will help. A bit after crossing the Dungeness things really get down to business as you will climb around 3000' in just over 2 miles to reach the lake. The lake is situated a bit over 5900' and was still mostly frozen over.
Comments
nuizontann
hearts this trip.
Sarah Johnson
June 6, 2019
Goat Lake about killed me when I did it years ago. (Partly the mosquitoes, partly the unforgiving up without switchbacks.) Kinda curious how I would feel about it now. Would love to eventually do the traverse from Goat to Royal Basin.