Goat Lake Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Located just above Goat Lake at 6000 ft, accessable from Camp Handy on the Upper Dungeness Trail, in the Olympic National Forest.
BE ADVISED: Goat Lake Way Trail climbs 3000 ft in 2 1/2 miles!!!
Turn off Highway 101 onto Louella Rd at N48 02.313 W123 01.870, drive 1.1 miles.
Turn left on Palo Alto Rd (paved) at N48 02.029 W123 02.783, drive 5.5 miles (do not take the first FS road at 4.5 miles)
Turn right onto FSR 2880 (gravel) at N47 58.922 W123 06.029, drive 1.7 miles.
Bear left at junction with FSR 2870 at N47 57.910 W123 06.572, drive 2.4 miles.
Bear right at junction at N47 56.378 W123 05.990, drive 4.6 miles.
Bear left at N47 53.819 W123 07.345, drive 1.5 miles.
Large trail head parking lot at N47 52.698 W123 08.218.
Park at the Upper Dungeness Trailhead. Go to (visit link) for more information. A Northwest Forrest Pass is required or OTHER fees might be incurred.
At the junction with the Royal Lake Basin Trail, one mile in, hang a left, cross the foot bridge and continue another 2.2 miles to Camp Handy, located at N47°50.270 W123°09.350. I recommend spending the night here and doing Goat Lake on a day hike. If you do, remember to hang your bear bag.
Find your way across the river to N47°50.355 W123°09.391, the beginning of the Goat Lake Way Trail. If your balance is good, there is currrently a tree available for the task at N47°50.310 W123°09.330 .
In the beginning, the trail might be hard to find, but as long as you keep the creek/creek bed on your left and close, it will soon show itself in all it's glory. According to the GPS, the cache is about 1.5 miles away, but it will feel more like 10 or better. The trail inclines at about a 45° angle most of the way without switchbacks.
The cache is located under a rock, overlooking Goat Lake. I suggest viewing the spoiler pic, since you won't want to walk away from this one empty handed after clawing your way up to the lake.
Trail food and water is mandatory. There is a creek to filter from, but sometimes it is logistically inaccessable. I believe the lower half is seasonal too. Although the trail is intense, it's not unachievable. I took 8 Boy Scouts and 2 adults fishing here when I placed the cache. The boys ranged from 9 to 15, but I would not consider the 9 yr old average. Four other scouts headed back to camp half way up the trail. The fishing is excellent and worth a couple days stay. However, I wouldn't want to carry a full pack up this trail.
Since I watched four gentleman descend from the ridge to the west of the lake, I suppose it's accessable from Royal Lake Basin. However, I ended up knowing two of them from the Olympic College climbing class, and do not consider them average hikers. I don't recommend that approach based on what I saw them go thru.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre ebpx va fcbvyre cvp
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