Hiked in on Thursday September 19th for an overnight adventure.
Parking is at the end of the asphalt road on Mountain Loop Hwy. I was able to park in the Barlow Pass lot, which is up to the left off the road. Otherwise you can park along the road where permitted. Trail starts on the Monte Cristo trail.
Started hiking at 5:00 pm. Got up to Foggy Lake at 7:20pm.
This trail is definitely a leg burner. First 1.8 miles is easy and about 200’-300’ of elevation. After that it is about 2,300’ of elevation in less than 3 miles. This trail will definitely test your physical and mental strength. But it is worth the trek.
I got up to the top at 7:20 and immediately set up camp after a few minutes of wandering to find the “perfect” spot! Got set up right in time as it got dark enough for a headlamp at 8pm. The only other people up at Foggy Lake staying the night was actually the WTA crew! Was pretty cool knowing I was sharing the area with the trail crew. Major shout out to WTA trail crew members and all their hard work!
It was rather windy throughout the night which made it difficult to sleep.
Woke up early the next morning and watched the “sun come up”. All I could see was fog! As expected considering the area and the name of the lake! Still enjoyed the morning watching the fog roll in and out for a couple hours.
Watched the trail crew get up and assemble. Did their morning stretches and got ready to work on the trail some more. We all (WTA crew and myself) left Foggy Lake around 9am. I passed them on the way down as they stopped about 1/2 mile from the top to do some work!
I got back to the car in less than 2 hours.
Overall it was a great time and worth the struggle.
Cheers,
Ryan
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