With the probability of low clouds and rain, we figured we should save Vesper & Gothic for more promising weekends and checkout Monte Cristo. I am glad we did, since it looks like the valley might be closed to hiking for a couple of years, and permanently altered by a new access road.

We started out at 9am from Barlow Pass; there were just a few cars in the parking areas. We walked the pleasant four miles to town. At one mile in, the log to cross the Sauk is in good shape.

From the town site, the trail up to the Glacier Creek falls was easy to follow, though in many places the grass and ferns cover this lightly travelled path. We did not see anyone above the town site today.

After the falls, the route becomes much more of a scramble with plenty of easy hand holds. There are a couple of trees blocking the trail and just one patch of snow to cross.

Glacier Basin is lush and green. The towering spires faded into the clouds.

On our way down we were drenched by a series of showers and hail. The ferns scrubbed us like a car wash. No bugs today!

For more photos:
http://seattlewalks.blogspot.com/2011/09/glacier-basin.html

The weather was great, mostly sunny and nice temp for hiking. I brought my bike as the guide books suggested to take the first four miles to Monte Cristo. However the first mile was anything but conducive for a mountain bike. I carried my bike most of the way and the crossing of the river was not easily discernable as there were several side trails. I did come across fresh looking bear tracks along the river bank so I was hoping to see one near by but didn't come across one. Once one crosses the river on the large log, it's a straight forward bike ride up to the old mining town site. The hike up to the basin was not much fun, completely overgrown and at times very rocky so with the overgrowth I rarely saw my feet and what I was hiking on (and for the loose rock, it was not much fun not knowing what the heck you are stepping on and if it's stable). Glacier Falls was pretty impressive as were the various other falls coming down from up above.
Once I made it into the basin I had the hopes of trying to summit Cadet Peak, however the guides I brought with me made no mention as to the best means to cross the basin river that is formed from the many water falls coming down all over. And I didn't see the rocks "as big as houses" either unless the guides live in a small shippping container. Yes the rocks were huge but certainly not the size of a house. Once I did find a place to cross (clear at the south end of the basin across the snow field), the climb up the mountain side scrag field was extremely challenging. I only made it up to the top of the tail mining field. I looked up and said no way am I going to climb the rest of this rock field when everystep needed to be carefully calculated as there was no noticable trail up the rockfield. The treck down the rocks was not much fun either. So there I was on a beautifull sunny day stuck in the basin, bummer. I trekked out of the basin and back to Monte Cristo, biked back down to the river, hiked back to Barlow Pass and drove back to Seattle. I can't say I recommend this hike until someone does some major weed wacking to clear the trail a bit up to the basin.
Oh, the huckleberries and blue berries were quite good and probably the highlight of the hike

Beano and I had talked about doing this trip with a summit of Cadet Peak for awhile. He brought along B. the wonder dog, and we were set to go. The trip into Glacier Basin is interesting and fun, but a lot of work. Today, it was steaming hot and we needed to leave in the afternoon........during the hottest part of the day. We rode our bikes into the townsite which saved a lot of time. After setting up camp part way up Mystery Hill we had about enough time to eat dinner and go to bed. Next day we were bright and shiney and ready to scramble Cadet. The weather was clear and sunny, but sweltering by 10:00. We got a bit of a late start. The route up Cadet is straightforward according to Jeff Smoot's book, but certainly not easy. There is a straight up solid rock section which doesn't have enough hand and foot holds for someone my size. Once you negotiate that, you're into nasty, steep scree. You finally pop out into very steep meadow with a climber's trail. We continued on that a bit, but the heat finally got the better of us and we decided to head back down to camp. We still had spectacular views and a nice lunch spot in some trees perched right on the ridge. This is a very difficult trip with loose rock and solid stuff that's difficult to negotiate. Still, the views are very rewarding. Next day, Beano and I deided on some mellow exploring. We found several abandoned mines and loafed around a lot as well. It was still extremely hot and we meandered around with the little energy we had. Then, the quick bike ride out and dinner at Omega's!

Headed down the Monte Cristo road at 11am. When you get to the river where the bridge is out you can take a trail that cuts through up on dry land, else you can walk up the stream some to reconnect to the trail. After the next three miles down the road, we got to Monte Cristo campground. All the sites were taken except for the two group sites, so we took one of those which worked out well (we had four in our party). We headed for the Glacier Basin trailhead at 2:30 pm. The first Climb up the mountain and next to the falls was rough due to the hot sun beating down on us and an abundance of flies. I would not recommend this trail for little people as the brush gets thick and is four feet or so tall. Wild flowers blooming all around and the falls were beautiful. We ran into only two other groups on the way up. One of them turned back during the climb likely due to the heat. The area where the avalanche came through is easily passable - involves just getting around a downed tree which wasn't bad at all. Once to the top where the trail is less of a climb and heads south, there was a small snow field to cross. Poles came in handy here, but be very careful if you cross it. Got to the basin at 4:45. Stayed a bit, picked up water from the stream, and headed back around 5:15. Got back to the Monte Cristo town about 7:00. Flies will terrorize you until dusk, and then it's mosquitos until night - definitely consider bringing something to defend against them or else you'll be miserable. Overall though, great hike! The basin is beautiful right now!