May 13, 2020

By Tim Briese

10.4 miles, 1300’ elevation gain, 7:45 roundtrip time

My wife Teresa and I drove to the Goose Creek Trailhead on the east side of the Lost Creek Wilderness on a beautiful morning in May and embarked on the trail northward into the Lost Creek Wilderness. Hiking was our pandemic therapy this year and we were getting out as often as we could. We encountered quite a few backpackers on the trail today, and gave them a wide social distancing berth when we met them. We hiked up the Goose Creek Trail for over four miles, admiring rocky cliffs, towers, and formations along the way.

rocky scenery along the way

harmonica arch, at the right

Then we turned left onto a spur trail that led down to the remnants of historic old buildings in the drainage below.

We continued nearly a half mile up into an area of amazing rock formations until the trail faded out and further progress was not feasible.

a cool rock formation along the way

old machinery at the former proposed dam site

The Lost Creek Wilderness is named for rocky areas such as this where Lost Creek disappears under the rocks for a while before reappearing later. We turned back and sat on a massive rock slab for a while enjoying the experience. 

we sat here for a while gazing down the valley

interesting colors on a nearby granite face

Then we headed back down the trail as the afternoon waned.

an area near the trailhead where the hayman fire swept through in 2002