Saddle Lake-Goat Flats

2.8 (4) Mt. Baker National Forest-Snoqualmie, WA Moderate 1 trip report · 1 photo

Hikes near here

Round trip: 13 mi
Elevation gain: 3,850 ft
High point: 6,850 ft
Difficulty: Moderate +
Season: Jul – Jul
Pass: None
Dogs: Allowed usually

Trip report

July 29, 2007

by clbackus

Moderate + 8 hours Verdict: Great

Rocky trail
Bugs
Snow on trail
Muddy
Wildflowers
Views
Wildlife

★★★★★ 2.8 out of 5 from 4 votes · log in to vote

**Directions:

From Sea. take I-5 N. to Exit 194. Follow Highway 2 E. for 2.3 miles, stay in left lane, go to Lake Stevens Highway 204 East, in 2.2 miles take left (north) on Highway 9 to Lake Stevens, in 1.7 miles take right (east) on Highway 92 to Granite Falls, in 8.4 miles turn left (north) to Mountain Loop Highway, follow the Highway to milepost 7.1. Turn left to road #41 (look for Green Mountain Road sign). In 1.7 miles gravel road starts. Go strait through the junction. Follow the road. Look for trailhead on the left and parking on the right in 17.4 miles (from MLH).

TRAILHEAD Small parking, no campsites, no water (water is on the trail in about 0.5 mile), no toilet.
Trail Notes:**TRAIL Climbs gradually for 2.5 miles to Saddle Lake. Right before the lake there is a junction with Meadow Mountain Trail #715. The lake is not very big, but quite beautiful. Along the east side of the lake the trail leads to the shelter build by Everett Mountaineers back in 1970s. No camping is allowed within 200 feet of the lake. No campfires are allowed from Saddle Lake to Three Fingers. From the northeast side of the lake the trail continues on to Goat Flat (about 2.5 miles). It starts with a climb, enters meadows that offer views of surrounding mountains and continues to climb gradually. At Goat Flat near the remains of an old shelter there is a junction where left fork leads to campsites and backcountry toilet, and right one continues to Three Fingers (about 2 miles) through Tin Can Gap. From this point climbing gear and experience are needed. As you ascend from the ridge make sure you do not go up, but look for a trail going to the right and South side of the hill. The trail switchbacks through rocks and crosses several snow fields , climbs the ridge again and crosses onto Northwest slope where for some time it follows the glacier and present a challenge. Then it again crosses onto South slope over another snow field and switchbacks up to the last snow field going straight up. A last short climb up and a little left on the rock brings you to famous ladders. Use them to go up to the lookout. If you plan to stay in lookout for some time and you may need water, make sure you have it with you before going up the ladders, or you may end up returning just to climb up again.

Photos 1

Highest rated first

Reviews 3

fun!

★★★★★

Anonymous · Feb 23, 2010 · Easy

very easy great views and really nice mid afternoon day hike.

Sunny Day

★★★★★

Cindy O · Oct 4, 2009 · Strenuous

I think this hike, if done all in a day deserves a five-hiker rating and is a great hike. It is not for the timid. My friend, David, and I did it September 22, mid-week. The trail wasn't at all crowded, and it was a beautiful day for the hike. Since I'd been injured on Mt. Pugh in June, it took me longer to go up and down. Did it in about 11 hours. Average is 10-12. Unless you are in really good shape, I wouldn't expect to do it in 8 hours. John, you must be buff, dude. We only had one snow field to cross for about 200 yards. The rest was clear of snow. I used crampons and ice axe to traverse the snow field. We used the ropes that are already provided on part of the climb for the parts that needed extra assistance but didn't need to rope up with harnesses. The bit on the ladders is tough and very scary if you are short, as I am, so getting from Ladder 2 to Ladder 3 took all the guts I had and was very hard coming down since there is a gap with huge drop offs on either side at the bottom of Ladder 3.

I'm glad we did it, but I don't plan to do it again. Once is enough. At the lookout, since people stay there and there is no place else to go, the whole area around it is dense with the smell of urine. Someone even used the toilet on the trail with toilet paper left behind along with a pile we could smell for quite a distance. I think a port a potty would be the better option or eventually no one will be able to go up there due to the stench.

Couldn't find the trailhead from this description

★☆☆☆☆

Cindy O · Nov 23, 2007 · Strenuous

Literally, a friend and I spent six hours looking for the trailhead and never found it. We finally found Road #41, but there was not Green Mountain sign that we saw. There was a brick edifice on the right with the road on the left. Where are you calculating the 17.4 miles? We went much further than we thought it was but never found it. Can you help? I'd like to do this someday and go straight to the trailhead and get on my way. Thanks.