Backpack - Lily Basin, Snowgrass Flat, Cispus Basin & Elk Pass

Berry Patch trailhead at 9am.   NW Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Interagency Pass required for parking

NOTE: My recommendation is to meet me at Chambers Lake where there is dispersed camp ground and it is right by the trailheads.  I will car camp there the night before (8/24).  This is the nearest camping to the trailhead and it will make the following morning much easier since we start hiking at 9am.

Drive US highway 12 to 3 miles south of Packwood. Turn east onto Forest Road 21, continue 13 miles, and turn left at the Snowgrass Trail/Chamber Lake sign. Drive 1 mile and turn left at the fork onto the unsigned Forest Road 2150. In 2 miles, turn right at the sign pointing to Snowgrass Flat Trail. This is a loop. Continue 0.3 miles to the Snowgrass Flat trailhead and then go 0.6 miles further to the Berry Patch trailhead.

ROUTE:  Day #1 will start at the Berry Patch trailhead and we will first walk the short .6 miles down the road to the Snowgrass Flat trailhead.  Then follow the Snowgrass Flat trail to the Bypass trail and the PCT which takes us to our first nights camp at Cispus Basin.  We will arrive early enough to have time to explore the surrounding areas, Cispus Pass and beyond.  6.8 miles total for this day not including any day hiking.

Day #2 we pack up and backtrack to the Bypass trail junction and then head north on the PCT to the camps that are north of Snowgrass Flat for a distance of 2.6 miles.  We will set up camp there, eat lunch and then set off on an amazing day hike for the afternoon.  We will hike due north on the PCT for a distance of possibly 4 miles if we go all the way to Elk Pass.  This is a section of trail never to be forgotten as we traverse along the side of Old Snowy and enjoy the spectacular views in all directions off the knife edge of the PCT.  The turnaround point is not important as it is all good.  We then return the same way back to camp for a total distance of 8 miles.  Assuming we day hike the full 8 miles, the total distance for the day will be 10.6 miles (2.6 miles with a full pack and 8 miles with a day pack).

Day #3 after breaking camp we take the Snowgrass Flat trail to work our way over to the Lilly Basin trail which takes us to Goat Lake where we can admire it while having lunch.  The afternoon will have us hiking down the Goat Ridge trail to the Berry Patch trailhead and our cars.  One possible side trip which may be of interest soon after leaving Goat Lake will be a 2 mile round trip to see the view at Hawkeye Point.  Total miles for this day will be 8.7 miles (10.7 miles with the side trip). 

https://www.gaiagps.com/public/YD605QbCObz9CwIIo8KJgTZJ

As already mentioned this is a leader permission trip.  Send me a leader permission request addressing the following two issues:

1.  What other multi-night backpack trips you have done this summer demonstrating that you are prepared for this one.

2.  Confirm that you are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

And finally, if the weather forecast is for a significant precipitation front to move in this trip will be rescheduled or canceled.  The same applies if we are in a period of poor air quality resulting from forest fire smoke.