The day started with a cool forest walk beside a rushing creek reflecting the recent rain and the glacial meltwater. A few places saw the trail under water from water overflowing the banks. Further up at the headwall there was an impressive waterfall which none who had been there before could recall, probably because it is usually a trickle:


Old Goat waterfall

Also the usual step across the creek was not an attractive option with the raging water. Fortunately a little upstream there was still a bridge of avalanche debris over the stream which provided a handy alternative:

Barbara crossing snow bridge on Old Goat Creek

After ascending the headwall and its scurrying marmots we climbed one of the old moraines that had soft vegetation that provided a comfortable lunch spot. After that we headed up the moraine to the glacier head: view looking north, down the moraine:

Old Goat moraine, view north

From there, there were neat views of the patches of sun & shade moving across the upper glacier:

Sun & cloud on Old Goat Glacier

The current glacier looks so puny it makes one realize how big it must have been to have carved out the steep walls of its valley. The group posed for a team shot:

Old Goat Glacier group

Standing L to R: David, Jim & Arma. Seated L to R: Janice, Elizabeth, Barbara, Jim, Melissa, Marianne, Jennifer, Ron & France

As we started down the clouds rolled in and we had some graupel, but that turned to rain for the steepest part of the descent. However the requirement for rain gear was short lived and the sun came out for a pleasant walk on the feet friendly forest trail back to the cars. A coffee stop at Beamers made a nice finish to the day. Thanks to Jennifer for coordinating and Dave for mentoring the trip:

Mentor David & new coordinator Jennifer at Old Goat Glacier