Gothic Basin, Foggy Lake/Foggy Pass

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)