Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Gothic Basin - Monte Cristo
Featured In:
Day Hiking: North Cascades,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Start by hiking the Monte Cristo Road. This 4-mile connection to the now-defunct mining town of Monte Cristo has been permanently closed to vehicles (but for a few landowners and others) since December 1980, when the South Fork Sauk River severed it. Volunteers have since restored the road, making it at least passable to bicycles and pedestrians. But the river hasn't given up trying to put the road to rest. After 1 mile of easy road rambling, reach the trailhead for Gothic Basin (Weden Creek Trail No. 724) just before the Twin Bridges (elev. 2350 ft). The trail takes off into old-growth timber paralleling the South Fork Sauk, coming to a tributary of Weden Creek (elev. 2450 ft) in about 0.6 mile. The crossing can be tricky in high water. From this point forward, the trail gets down to business, following much of the original miners route. Climbing steeply up a slope shrouded in scrappy forest, you gain elevation rapidly. After 1 mile of serious ascending, the trail breaks out onto a spectacular ledge complete with waterfall crashing down a cleft (elev. 3900 ft). In early summer, lingering snow can make crossing this cleft dangerous. With views opening up to the Monte Cristo melange of mountains, continue upward. Cross two more clefts complete with cataracts-two more potentially dangerous areas if snow-covered. Encountering rockier and brushier terrain, the way grows more difficult. Pause to admire some impressive yellow cedars including a "four-trunked"monster. More creek crossings and a few ledges requiring help from your hands stagger your pace. Pass ruins of the Consolidated Mine. Ore was transported to the valley floor via a tramway. Contemplate the tenacity of the hardscrabble folk who looked to this rugged environment for their paychecks. Make the final push to the basin over scoured rocks and ledges and through heathered meadows. Be sure to look back at the jagged skyline with prominent Mount Pugh and Sloan Peak standing out. At about 4 miles from Barlow Pass, the trail ends at a small tarn (elev. 4900 ft). Explorations, however, have only just begun. Following sketchy tread northwest to ledges and polished rock, you can make your way another 0.5 mile to Foggy Lake (elev. 5200 ft). Flanked by Gothic and Del Campo peaks and denuded of any shoreline vegetation, Foggy is a starkly beautiful alpine lake. Scout the nooks and knolls surrounding it. However, while this area is indeed a harsh environment, it is also fragile. Meadows can't withstand a constant onslaught of boots. Stick to ledge and rock in your wanderings as you're enjoying this wild landscape.
Driving Directions:
From Granite Falls follow the Mountain Loop Highway east for 31 miles to Barlow Pass and park there (elev. 2360 ft). Privy available. Recent Trip Reports
Hiked here recently?
Submit a trip report!
There are
147
trip reports for this hike.
See all trip reports for this hike.
Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
We hiked to the old mining town, flat terrain and weather in the low 50s. We did not have...
We hiked to the old mining town, flat terrain and weather in the low 50s. We did not have to wear snowshoes. The log across the stream was a challenge. we walked across in and scooted on our butts on the way out due to slippery conditions.
Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
A perfect day for a hike in the mountains. The sky was the right color blue. Some clouds,...
A perfect day for a hike in the mountains. The sky was the right color blue. Some clouds, but just enough to be pretty and not obscure anything. It was the first time up this trail so it was all an adventure. We were a little confused finding the trail. There is a wooden bridge that heads up into the woods to the right, away from the river. Don’t do that. It must be an old trail to detour around washouts or something. Stay on the road as it wends through slides and woods. You do eventually come to a clear trail head, but even then, the signage is a bit confusing. There is a substantial wooden sign that points the way to Monte Cristo and “trails”. To go to Gothic Basin, head to the right following a temporary sign for Weden Creek. I knew the trail to be steep, and I was chomping at the bit waiting for the workout to begin as the trail lazily follows a pretty level grade through the woods. The many raised wooden walkways were extremely slick with frost and wet, and as most of it was slanted some to right and left, it was sometimes difficult to take even a careful step without slipping. The elevation gains in earnest and becomes as a trail ought: direct and to the point. On the exposed ledges, the views are stunning and the footing fine. There were plenty of sections that were a bit icy, but with a little care, not an issue at all. About 3/4 of the way up, once the snow got to about ankle deep, we ran into a group of about 10 decked out and geared up hikers. They said it was too steep and icy to proceed. With their GPS, crampons and poles, they turned back. We proceeded to the end of that party’s boot prints into fresh snow. With a map and good eyesight, picked up the trail through the most beautiful, fluffy, powdery shin deep snow across the last open ledge until the top. All in all, only about 1/4 mile of trail blazing.
Once over the ridge and into the basin, head off to the right, through deep snow, over the rocks to Foggy Lake. There are some dinky cairns to follow if you like. The lake is fine and all, but the real treat are the views back south and east to the snowy, craggy feast for the eyes. On the way down, again, with a little care, not an issue at all. There were some required pant seat slides over some steep icy sections all the while the surrounding mountains turning pink towards golden hour. As the trail was steep going up, it was short coming down and over before my knees knew to be cross about it. Do this hike before they close the road. Bring layers and plenty of warm clothes for the basin. Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Blowdowns | Clogged drainage | Overgrown | Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
I regret not saving this hike for better weather, but now I have an excuse to return to this amazing...
I regret not saving this hike for better weather, but now I have an excuse to return to this amazing hike. Really more an adventure than a hike, with several stream crossings, waterfalls, and steep stream bed ascents. The rain was pouring before we even had our boots on, and it never really let up for more than a few minutes here and there. Still, well worth the effort. The basin is beautiful even in heavy rain and low cloud cover, though again, I will have to come back here in the summer on a clear day. There are outstanding views (I assume) in addition to the Enchantments-esque terrain.
Aside from the rain, which was torrential, the temperatures were very mild even at the summit, with most of the snow on trail turned to slush in the deluge. Car to basin time of 3 hours. Return to car in 2 hours. No traction devices needed yet, but trekking poles extremely useful, especially coming down the stream beds and waterfalls. From the Barlow Pass trail head, walk back out of the parking lot to the end of the road and pass through the gate onto the Monte Cristo road. After about a mile of pancake hiking the road abruptly ends. To your left is the river, to the right there is a small muddy trail. This trail will soon take you to a privy and the Weeden Creek trail head. This is the trail head for both Gothic Basin and Monte Cristo town site hikes and is clearly marked which is which. From here the trail is never hard to follow, though once the snow settles in I can see route finding becoming an issue after the steep switch backs end and the stream bed ascent begins. Just a note here, the elevation gain on this hike is slightly misleading, as most of it reserved for the later half of the hike. This means steep switchbacks becoming even steeper, almost-scrambles up stream beds. Still, not an overly dificult hike, but definitely more strenuous than say Lake 22. Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
The trailhad was empty at dawn, and I saw only one other hiker the whole day. There was about...
The trailhad was empty at dawn, and I saw only one other hiker the whole day. There was about 2 inches of snow at the top, and some of the rocks on the way up were icy. I was glad I brought poles, but I didn't need to put on the YakTrax. Despite the snow, which started at about 4000ft, the trail wasn't too hard to follow. As others have said, the rocky trail is tough on the knees on the way down.
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
The trail up to Foggy Lake is more difficult than the 4.6 miles and 2840' elevation gain looks. I've hiked...
The trail up to Foggy Lake is more difficult than the 4.6 miles and 2840' elevation gain looks. I've hiked trails that are longer and with a lot more elevation gain that were way easier than this one. After the last waterfall, the trail is steep, rocky, brushy, slippery, muddy, making for slow going. Real views don't start until near the top, so much of the hike is spent in a slog to get to the basin. The return trip is a knee-mangler.
But the otherworldly basin is worth the difficult trip. It is the wildest, most remote feeling place I have been to this close to Seattle, with mirror-like little tarns amid the whorled rock formations and views over to snowy peaks. As mentioned in the previous trip report, there is a dusting of snow on Del Campo and Gothic peaks just down to the shore level. No snow on the trail yet. Although we saw no hunters on the trail, we met a hunter coming from the direction of Monte Cristo at the junction of the trail with the road. Another group of hunters was camped alongside the Monte Cristo road. |
Foggy Lake. Photo by Braincloud.
Map it
|
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
Forgot your
New user?
