2 Day Bikepacking Trip: Goat Mountain Trail System Near Morton, Washington

A courageous but ultimately failed attempt was made last weekend to catch the waning sunshine of summer on a weekend warrior bikepacking trip. While the sunshine was fleeting to nonexistent in the latter portion of the weekend (think perma-thunder and rain for most of the evening and morning), the trail, and the riding and, most of all, the company, couldn’t have been better.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper bikepacking adventure without a few mishaps: wrong turns, some minor crashes (both by Brandon, both slow, and both completely innocuous, luckily), and on my end, leaving my entire bag of food at home (whoops), made for a more memorable trip. Fortunately, on the food end, Brandon and Dan were able to scrounge up some snack dregs for me to mooch for the weekend, which even included some instant coffee both Saturday and Sunday. What else do you need, really?

To recap, here’s a short video followed by a photo-dump narrative of the ride itself. Be warned, the Goat Mountain Trail system is full of torturous climbing throughout, but if your legs are prepared, it provides some of the most rewarding singletrack in the St. Helens area, in part because you may have the entire trail system to yourself. Enjoy!

Photo Dump Narrative

Nature showing off

Making our way to Deadman’s Lake

Deadman’s Lake: Basecamp for the Trip

Unloaded Ride Time

Where’d the Lake Go?

The Next Morning

Celebratory Survival Pics

And there you have it: the final installment of the 2019 bikepacking calendar is complete. Now it’s time to move on to the winter running season, with the Mollala River half-marathon trail run at the end of September, followed by the Silver Falls Marathon the first weekend in November. Time to train!

Categories: Oregon Bikepacking, Pedals and Packs

Tagged as: bikepacking, Canfield Riot, Chromag Doctahawk, Goat Creek Trailhead, Goat Mountain Trail System, mountain biking, MTB, Washington Bikepacking, Why Cycles, Why S7