Roman went backpacking August 25 to August 26, 2012 19 miles 3,500 feet gained 1 night
We did the hike as per attached nwhiker.com link; added a side trip to Twin Peaks (trail #1144) and to a butte just west of Shoe Lake. In short, going to Shoe Lake, from mile 5 on, the country is incredible - with open alpine views, fields of flowers, and probably the nicest lake in the Goat Rocks. The color of Shoe Lake is preternatural blue, the bottom is mostly white sand, the shores packed with flowers, and its water is not cold at all. Too bad they don't allow any camping in the lake basin (or maybe it's good thing, since horses would graze upon lupine meadows and trample the shore). The first 5 miles are through dense trees on dusty and sometimes rutted trail, trampled with horses. There are some nice small lakes/ponds in the forest, but otherwise the first part is that, the "approach" to a great alpine area around Hogsback. If you never done this hike I highly recommend it.
