Eleven Mountaineers gathered at Barlow Pass in steady rain to begin the ascent to Gothic Basin. Hiking for The Mountaineers is not like baseball, where the game is called for rain. Four of us started up the trail with umbrellas, and we arrived at the top a lot dryier than our companions. The trail itself reminds me of times in my youth when my dad would take the family out for a drive and suddenly a paved road would become a bone-jarring, pothole-covered disaster. My dad would say, ""That's where the money ran out."" This trail is in wonderful condition after leaving the Monte Cristo road for the first two miles, until you reach where the money ran out. When hiking in the rain, you find yourself hiking up a rock filled stream bed for most of the last mile or so of the hike. We had lunch on the rock slabs up in the basin, and from what we could see it is a gorgoeous area. We didn't stay long as some of our soaked party were getting cold. We couldn't contiue the luxury of the umbrellas on the way down, since you need poles or free hands to negotiate your way down wet, slippery rocks, so we were all equally wet by the time we reached bottom, of the trail I mean. Of course, the rain stopped and the sun came out as soon as we hit the road on the way out. I will have to return sometime when the weather is good and take time to explore this place.

What a perfect day for a trek to Gothic Basin/Foggy Lake. Lots of other folks thought so too. Not a cloud in the sky, nor an insect in the air (killed off by last week's cold and rain). The trail was full of day hikers, summit scramblers and campers in the basin. The trail was about as good as it gets. After the waterfulls, the meadows were replete with gentians in full bloom. A few annoying blowdowns, easily circumvented. Near the bottom were some lucious looking chantarelles, scarfed up by the guys who preceded us.

Backpacked with my son, Darius for an overnighter. Didn't start until approx. 1:30PM. The 1 mile walk to the Weden Creek trailhead from the Monte Cristo road was a good warm up for us. The trailhead is on the right just before the bridge. The first mile or so is very gentle and has hiker-friendly boardwalks and turnpikes. The trail begins to steepen after this, but maintains its good shape for another 1/2 mile. After this point it gets rockier and steeper, with a few flatter sections for recovery. The last 3/4 to 1 mile are quite rocky and steep, remind us the typical miners' trail that it is. There are a few boulders to climb, which gets tough with a full pack, but the work was well rewarded. We arrived at 4 PM and set up camp below Foggy Lake. The weather was indecisive, mostly cloudy with fog moving in and out giving brief glimpses of the Sheep Gap Mountains and Silvertip Peak. It was a bit windy and became a little chilly as the evening drew closer. We enjoyed generous portions of Mountain Chili, changed clothes, and watched the clouds move around before going to bed. The next day was bright and sunny so we hiked to the lake, took some black/white and color photos of the mountains and flowers and ourselves, and goofed around. The heather and daisies were beautiful. There are lots of campsites below and at Foggy Lake. There were very few bugs. There were at least 10 tents when we went, but didn't feel crowded. The lake and the peaks (Gothic and Del Campo) were awesome. The return trip was long and hard on the feet and knee joints. The last mile to the car on the road was too long for our feet, but we rewarded ourselves with some greasy food on the way home.

Got to the Barlow Pass trailhead at 9:00 and, as expected, the throngs were out in full force. No worries though, since we knew most would be headed to Monte Cristo. After a mile on the MC road, and just before the first bridge, you reach the trail to the basin. The weather was cool and foggy. This is a steep trail, with few switchbacks. Very difficult stuff...make sure you're in shape or you'll head back like we saw a group do. A great test with great rewards. There is very little snow up to Gothic Basin until you continue on to Foggy Lake, which is about 90 percent iced but melting fast. The basin is great, filled with rock mounds to scamper up and play around on. Each has unique views that make it well worth it. The fog lifted eventually and provided views of Del Campo and Gothic Peak. I'd love to come back on a nice weekend and set up a base camp here...beautiful basin.