Distance: 14 mi.
Elevation Gain: 4900 ft.
Craig and I hadn’t been on a backpacking trip together since August 2020 on the Bailey Range Traverse, so it was time to get our feet wet post-baby. Our friend Nancy was kind enough to watch the kiddo so that we could get out. We had a hankering for some solitude, so Craig pointed us toward Goat Lake in the Buckhorn Wilderness, which wouldn’t require camping permits and was well away from recent wildfire smoke. After leaving Seattle at about 7AM we reached the Upper Dungeness TH (NW Forest Pass required) around 10AM. It was a quick jaunt up the gentle Dungeness Trail until we reached the Camp Handy trail split, where we turned right. It would be tricky to navigate this next portion without a GPS track. We crossed the Dungeness River just to the northeast of Camp Handy by walking over a fallen log, although it would have been easy to ford. From here we briefly bushwhacked through some tangled brush until we reached a clearing with a nice campsite where we ate lunch.
After the break we continued west toward the obvious climber’s trail that goes slightly south until reaching the edge of a steep creek drainage. This climbed very steeply on dusty, rocky trail but was easy to follow pretty much the whole way. There were about 10 people on the climber’s trail, one other overnight party and the rest day hikers. We reached Goat Lake around 2:30PM and then quickly set up camp before continuing on. There were at least 5 nice sites around the lake but no privy.
We returned to the climber’s trail and continued west toward the pass between the Petunia Peaks. Beyond the lake there wasn’t much of a climber’s trail so a GPS track was useful. We climbed to the notch between Petunia and North Petunia Peak and then turned left (south) to sidehill on a steep scree field toward the summit of Petunia Peak (just west of the north ridge). This wasn’t my favorite way to travel, but there was very little exposure although we did wear helmets to avoid kicking rocks on each other. This was 2nd class with maybe a couple 3rd class moves to the top. We signed the summit register and enjoyed the summit for a few moments before heading back down the steep scree, being sure to stay out of each others’ fall lines.
There was one small snow field remaining and we decided to use it for our descent more for the sake of adventure than any big time savings. But considering we didn’t have ice axes we probably should have just stuck to the river and lakes rocks and boulders we were used to. After returning to the notch we followed the easy ridge toward North Petunia Peak. This ridge was mostly scree with a little bit of a noticeable track and was pretty enjoyable (much better than the other peak). If you had to choose just one of the peaks, definitely do the higher North Petunia.
We retraced our steps back down the ridge and mostly followed our previous track back down to the lake. We were back by 6:30 and relaxed for a little while before making dinner. Craig tried to fish but didn’t really have any luck despite some really big splashes out in the lake. We enjoyed the relative solitude and chance to relax without the kid.
The following morning we took our time with breakfast and packing up camp but were still on our way shortly after 8 am. We followed the dusty trail back down, crossed the creek and made our way mostly back out to the car before taking a short break to relax by Dungeness River and dip the feet. We were back at the car a little after 12 and boogied back toward Seattle to try to avoid a horrible ferry wait. Even doing so, we had to avoid the Kingston-Edmonds route and headed to Bainbridge Island. We treated ourselves to a Paseo sandwich on our way home before reuniting with the kiddo. It felt good to get out in the mountains overnight again.
(Download the free Gaia GPS app on your phone to view tracks and then get a Gaia GPS membership if you want offline access. Discount below!)
Recommended brew: Fort George Cavatica Stout
Gear:
- Backpacking tent
- Bear canister
- Fishing pole
- GPS
- Helmet
- Overnight pack
- Sleeping pad
- Summer sleeping bag
- Stove
- Trail runners
- Trekking poles
- Water drops/filter
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