Trip Date: June 12th, 2021
Went for an exploration drive on a late spring Saturday morning, and ended up taking a spontaneous hike up the Round Mountain Trail (Tr. No. 1044) with Emma. While we did not hike all the way to the top of the mountain, we had a great time slowly walking up the trail, taking in the the sights and sounds of the Wenatchee National Forest. The trailhead starts at the end of Forest Road 530, on the west side of Clear Lake. After hiking about a mile and climbing a few hundred feet elevation, we crossed into the Goat Rocks Wilderness. We turned around today at around 4700 ft, after getting some great views of the Pinegrass Ridge standing on the opposite side of the North Fork Tieton River Valley below us.
After the hike we continued our exploration by driving around the back side of Rimrock Lake, checking out some of the campground and viewpoints along the way. At the east end of the lake lies Kloochman Rock and Goose Egg Mountain, two impressive geological features standing out amongst the river valley. These mountains are mostly bare rock, making for some impressive views, as mountains in the Cascade Range tend to be mostly covered with trees. We returned home back via Hwy 12, skirting along the north shore of Rimrock Lake, up and over White Pass and then along the east side of Mount Rainier National Park.
