The day started off foggy and cleared on the approach to the basin. There is patchy snow as you near the basin and around Foggy lake. The trail, as of today, is still easy to follow.

This hike really beat me up although I'm not sure if it was due to two weeks of inactivity, my general clumsiness, the trail conditions, or the fact that I ventured up to Foggy Pass via a very imprudent route. In any case, the trail features some giant, slippery, steep rocks that took me out 3-4 times on the way down, skinned my palms, scraped up my legs, and left me generally bruised and exhausted. Use caution and bring hiking poles! Those with limited range of motion and arthritis in their knees may find scrambling over the steep boulder portions on the upper trail very challenging.

The hike is only moderately strenuous until just before Gothic Basin, where ascending the upper trail becomes very hard work indeed. It takes just a little more effort to climb up to Foggy Lake via a somewhat indistinct trail that is marked with infrequent and inconspicuous little cairns. This is definitely worth doing though. If you want to continue on to Foggy Pass, don't do what I did, which was follow four hikers along the east (right-hand) shore of Foggy Lake. That way was absolutely treacherous, with sliding talus and shifting boulders, preceded by a lot of bush-whacking just to get to the talus field. My poor canine companion, Daphne, had to be carried over some of the larger boulders that were too far apart or too slanted for her to cross herself. The west shore (left side) is infinitely easier, though it still requires sure footing on spongy, moss-covered slabs, some of which are quite wet and slippery. There is no trail to the pass, so just stay mid-level along the west shore of the lake until you reach the snow fields. Poles are helpful on the snow field and a lonely cairn marks your arrival at the Pass. From here, one supposedly gets an impressive view of Morning Star Peak although today, Foggy Pass was, well...foggy.

Trail Notes: The walk (or bike) on the gated dirt road to Monte Cristo is blessedly short. There's a hiker's bypass just shy of the bridge, due to a past clay-slide that took out the road. A hiker's trail has been pounded through the clay-slide directly ahead, but I didn't chance it, heading up the bypass instead; it's short. Just past the Gothic Basin trail register, take the right-hand trail (do not follow the signs to Monte Cristo or the river crossing). Start an easy ascent through the forest, skirting around a mudslide you'll encounter about 40 minutes in (I'm basing these times on a moderately-slow pace). Shortly thereafter, you'll cross a creek and see a waterfall on your right. After this point, the trail starts to steeply climb, getting very steep about 75 minutes from the trailhead. Lots of blowdowns, one of which you'll have to crawl under. About 1 hr, 50 min into the hike (approx. 3738 ft elev.), the trail turns decidedly rootier and rockier. Sometimes you'll have to hoist yourself 2-3 ft up and over the tangled roots and large rocks that define the upper portion of the trail.

Sadly, the berries are all gone now. If you take your dog, make sure she/he is agile and sure-footed. There is plenty of water all along the trail, including several creeklets and a large cascade at 4045 ft. I didn't need to take any extra water along for Daphne, as there are several small pools for splashing in and once your reach the Basin, lots of little tarns.

To head up to Foggy Lake, stay on the main trail, angling northwest and passing between Gothic Peak on your left and Del Campo Peak on your right. En route, you'll pass two large tarns; neither of these is Foggy Lake. The lake, once you reach it, is surprisingly large and deep; there are some nice-sized trout swimming in its clear blue waters. At the north end of the lake, you'll see two large snow patches; the pass is just above.

DISTANCE TO/FROM GOTHIC BASIN: 9.4 miles
ADD'L DISTANCE TO FOGGY PASS: ? 0.7 miles
TIME IN TO GOTHIC BASIN: 3 hr
ADD'L TIME UP TO FOGGY PASS: 1 hr, 15 min (the hard way, following the east shore--not recommended)
TIME OUT FROM FOGGY LAKE: 3 hr
TOTAL ELEVATION: 2639 ft to the Basin (elev. 2361-5000 ft); add 250 feet to reach Foggy Lake (elev. 5250 ft) and another 250 ft to Foggy Pass (elev. 5500 ft)

Beautiful, warm Sunday hike up to Gothic Basin. The trail's in great shape, save a couple of smallish trees across the trail up high. Not many bugs, still a few flowers (purple gentian, asters, some other autumnal species), but the berries (vaccinium) were fantastic!

If you haven't hiked up to Gothic Basin before, be prepared for steep, rocky terrain. It is tough, with several places where you have to make a "move" on rock to get up the trail. If you hike with a dog, unless it's young and agile, you may end up having to help your canine friend up in several places.

But once you cross over into the Basin, all your cares about the hike's difficulties melt away. It truly is a wonderland of meadows, creeks, waterfalls, and smoothed granite spires. Be sure to take your time exploring the basin, being careful about stepping on the woody-stemmed plants in the meadows (they grow soooooo slowly, and are so easily damaged with just one bootstep, destroying maybe decades of plant growth!).

Gothic Basin is a beautiful, but difficult hike. The weather forecast scared off half our group, but it was perfect (cloudy during assents, then clearing at the top)

Blueberries were at varying stages of maturity particularly from about 4,000 feet and up.
We stopped for lunch at the small pond on the rim of the basin then proceeded another ¼ mile to Foggy Lake where we made our camp. There were only 4 parties in the basin for the night (one at the pond and 3 at the lake.) We spent the evening watching the fish jump and the fog roll in and out (5 or 6 times within 2 hours)

In the morning we were greeted by a quail hen and her 5 almost grown chicks. She watched us for a while then led her offspring right through our camp pecking bugs as they went. As we headed back down we were treated to astounding views of the peaks sticking up through the clouds into the pure blue sky. We descended into the fog which seemed to dissipate as we reached it. We returned home tired, but remembering a fantastic place.

This is a tough hike with roots rocks, and steep inclines enough for everyone. As for trail conditions there is no snow on the trail, little mud, few blowdowns, We found no problem getting through for those hearty enough for this kind of hike. As for us we went slowly 7 ½ hours up and 4 ½ hours down with full packs, photos, and rest stops both ways.