This is the intersection of one of the 14 trails within the Goat Rocks Wilderness which lead up to the Pacific Crest Trail. Most of the wildernesses 105,600 acres are alpine terrain above timberline as shown in these photos. The PCT traverses 31.1 miles through the center of the wilderness.
I am on the PCT, taking a photo of it below after it circles around one mountain and then travels down the mountain on the left from far left-center to the trees in mid-photo where it crosses the snow field and water runoff and then climbs up the right mountain to Cispus Pass. Elevations range from 3000 feet to 8201 feet within the wilderness.
It is mid-July but dozens of snow fields must be carefully crossed. Here I am looking north at the majestic Mount Rainier which stands 14,410 feet tall. I made a cell phone call from this glorious vantage point to share the moment and the call actually went through! As I was crossing one of these snow fields, I spotted and watched 2 marmots in a nearby rock field standing on their back legs and wrestling with one another. I'd seen marmots many times before, but this was the first time I ever saw 2 of them intracting and putting on quite a show for 20 minutes. I also saw mountain goats and heard pika.