Hike to Gobbler's Knob

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Distance: ~7-8 miles Round Trip

Elevation Gain: 1000 feet*

Highpoint: 5543 feet

Hike Difficulty Calculator: 13

Trail Notes: dogs OK, until you cross into the park :-(

Trailhead elevation: 4500 feet
Pass: Annual or day Mount Rainier pass or national park pass
Driving directions at bottom of post.

As always, click on the pictures for original size.

The four of us (Mike, Ron, Cheryl and Mike) arrived in the early dawn at the designated meeting spot so we could carpool over and back. Warm coffees were passed back and forth as we loaded our packs and gear. The false morning sky was indicating clear and crisp, with temperature in the high 20s to mid 30's.

My first hiking trip out of the Olympic Peninsula saw me turn over navigation duties to Cheryl and Ron as I steered the truck down the dark highways. A serene, morning drive with conversation and the occasional sharing of a snack to see us though. Winding through the curvy, single lane highway 7, a pit stop was made at the Copper Creek Inn. There was a small bungalow or two in the near vicinity, maybe some kind of weekend 'Heartbreak Hotel'. I ended up grabbing a warm sandwich to fuel up, and then turned the steering wheel over to Cheryl so I could eat and relax.

Even with the directions provided below, we missed the turn-off the first time. Take your time and look for one of those ~ 4ft high, slender posts that have only the forest road number at the top, (59). It was about 10-15 feet back from the state road. (GPS data for turn-off N 46.47.668 W 121.54.859) Continuing of the single-lane unpaved road, we caught glimpses of sunlight creeping its way into some of the valleys, hinting at the clear skies for todays hike.

Careful of the hunters that were up early with us, we made it to the trail head around 9:00am. (GPS data for trailhead N 46.47.780 W 121.56.864, elevation 4529 ft)

Piling out of the limousine, we stretch and rummage around with the packs, sorting the gear we would carry. Ron leads us in a review of the hiking ten essentials and includes an eleventh (see video). We arrive at the trail head to sign-in but the recent precipitation/moisture, coupled with freezing temperatures at this altitude, have caused all the sign-in sheets to clump together in one big, white, frozen blob of a mess. Should have got a picture of that. LOL

Geared up and all accounted for, we head into Glacier View Wilderness a little after 9:00am. Within a few minutes we run into our first fork and trail-marker. Take the Puyallup Trail # 248 and you will find yourself walking along of ridge of sorts, elevation falling to the left and right, with trees reluctantly yielding to the slowly rising sun.


Spirits high and packs light we meander our way through some light snow (no snowshoes necessary), jumped a running stream or two and found ourselves entering Beljica meadows. It was nice and quiet as we moved along the trail, catching glimpses of a rock outcropping and an occasional sunbeam. Very little animal activity, though deer prints were observed crossing some of the water sources.

After the meadows, the trail turned downward, for awhile. We kept second guessing ourselves. Is this the right trail, shouldn't we be gaining altitude, perhaps we are circling that outcrop and will be climbing up soon? You might even say we had 'Suspicious Minds'. Stick to the trail folks and you'll end up at Goat Lake. We did. :-) Our approach to Goat Lake was slightly behind the sun's. Maybe forty percent of the nights layering of ice had melted under the sun's rays, leaving a thin, cracked pane of crystal, cowering in the shadows.

Goat Lake is a good opportunity to shed the packs for a bit of exploring. Circling the lake, if you squint hard, one can see the look-out building on top of Gobbler's Knob. Several foot paths spider around the lake that lead to good views and small, but decent, campsites. Ron did his best to communicate with a couple of campers. Using his unique code of grunts, clicks, whistles and hand signals, he learned which trail we needed to follow to reach the Knob. It was a struggle to get Ron in gear as he was seemingly interested in pitching his tent in the current locale. But with a firm poke with a trekking pole and the allure of the summit toast we got the man moving. ;-)

So we loaded up and moved out again, rawhide. Past Goat Lake we started to gain elevation. Unconfirmed drop after the meadows into Goat Lake was guessed between 500-750 feet. Definitely enough to notice over a relatively short distance. Roughly a half mile past the lake, we entered Rainier National Park. Plenty of signage to tell you what you can't bring into the park. But tell me, how does a dog harm the trail? Kiwi definitely ain't no 'Hound Dog'.


Ok, so we're tramping uphill now, working our way onward. A couple of openings allow us to sneak peaks at the Knob. Managing the switchbacks, we snuck up on a rather large formation of rocks. We peered here and there, climb up some of them, trying to get the lay of the land, so to speak. Cheryl pioneered her way around the west side, and we tried to keep up. After a short, steep but fun scramble, obstructed views taught us we had taken the wrong turn by leaving the trail. An enjoying side excursion, but stick to the trail, even when it looks like it is taking a dip down back into the tree line.

About a half mile from our destination, we came across another fork in the trail. There were no grunts or whistles necessary to see which way we needed to follow. It was famously easy as if Elvis was standing there giving directions. "Go that way", he pointed. The sun was high and bright enough that the shining rays flashed down in a blinding, brilliant light, as Elvis left the trail with a, "Thank ya, thank ya very much".

With our patience becoming thin with the remaining switchbacks, the trail grudgingly allowed us to brake out on the summit of Gobbler's Knob. Under the forest canopy for practically the whole hike, we emerged onto a somewhat rocky knoll or 'knob' perhaps, that gave a dramatic view of Mount Rainier. The lookout on the knob was hit pretty hard by the storms this past November. Reconstruction had recently been in progress as evidenced by the material and staging laying around. The sky was blue, the sun warmed our faces, and the wind kept aloft a distant hawk on the swirling thermals while we took an hour long relaxing, summit siesta. Fed some of the camp robbers that quickly darted in and out amongst the people that reached the peak and generally had a great time. (Peak GPS data: N 47.47.661 N 121.54.857, 5543 ft)










Video of hike



Directions
Drive Highway 706 east towards Mount Rainier National Park and go through the town of Ashford. At 3.8 miles past Ashford, turn left on Copper Creek Road No. 59 just before Copper Creek Inn (GPS: N46 47.668 W121 54.859). Road 59 will take you to the trail head parking lot at 4500 feet, 9.1 miles from the highway.