Goat Mountain Trail #135 - Cabinet Mtns, ID

Overview: Very steep, seldom used trail to the summit of Goat Mountain in the western Cabinet Mountains of Idaho. It is a difficult hike, one which I described as "character building."


Hike: The start of Goat Mountain #135 is marked with brown signs on the east side of Lightning Creek Road. There is no warmup on this hike, the uphill begins immediately. The trail immediately enters the forest and steeply switchbacks up the west side of Goat Mountain. As you climb, you can see the Lightning Creek drainage both behind you to the west, and off to your left looking north. Climb a little higher, and Lake Pend Oreille comes into your view to the west.The first 2 miles of the trail are in reasonably okay condition, not too overgrown, little deadfall, and mostly easy to follow. Mile 1.00 to 1.50 climbs an astonishing 840', which your knees will feel later on the descent. After about 2 miles, the deadfall increases, along with the vegetation, and the next half mile is a somewhat frustrating steep push through and over various obstacles, although the trail is still fairly easy to follow.

At about 2.50 miles, congratulate yourself because you have just ascended 3200' and the trail starts to become much less steep. To make up for that, the deadfall increases, and the trail is vague in many places. A half mile later, the summit of Goat Mountain comes into view, along with some great views to the north and east, and the trail drops about 100' before the final climb up to the summit. There's less deadfall in this final half-mile climb, but the trail is almost nonexistent these days, which doesn't matter, just head up through the path of least resistance. Nearing the summit, the terrain switches to mostly talus, but staying slightly to the north edge of the ridge avoids most of it.

At the summit, there are places to sit on the low rocks and enjoy the views. Scotchman Peak is easily visible nearby to the southeast, and from there, an impressive ridge of mountains is visible to the east, including Blacktop Mountain and Scotchman No 2. Enjoy your break at the summit, because it's a strenuous hike back downhill.

Warning: Be aware of potential encounters with typical northern Idaho wildlife, including black bears, grizzlies, moose, and mountain goats. There is no water along the Goat Mountain Trail, which probably helps reduce the likelihood of an encounter, but prepare accordingly.

2022-09-15 LindaAnn