Gothic Basin and Foggy Lake were gorgeous today! Trailhead at 8, only a couple cars in the area. Still plenty of space upon return at 3:45. Road is pretty standard, nice compared to some of the other ones out there. Toilet is in good condition, but lacks toilet paper.
Road walk is lovely, very gentle and wide. Kicks up a little as you step in the forest walk section of the hike, and then again as you come around the corner. After several miles of comfy trail (sometimes brushy), it becomes a little rocky at higher elevations. Might go with hiking boots next time up, but tennis shoes served alright this time around. There are two large logs down, but very easy to go around without leaving the trail too much. As it opens up, lovely ridge views can be seen to the West and South. The morning fog lifted with us, which afforded excellent sights in almost all directions at the mouth of the basin. Had lunch just past the first pit toilet, this one is much less exposed than the other but can still be seen from the trail so take care. Just like the trailhead, would benefit from bringing a little TP yourself.
Moved up to Foggy Lake after lunch, some rocky terrain to get there but definitely worth it. The sun came out just in time for us to hit the lake, which meant we obviously had to jump in since we came all this way! Very refreshing, definitely worth it. Lake itself is a beautiful blue green color and very much worthy of the hike. Headed back down and caught the last of the sunlight before clouds moved in again, with some thunder from the south. Lots of birds around, several pikas and squirrels, and plenty of frogs and tadpoles at the alpine tarns. As far as bugs go, there were only a couple on the walk up, one or two mosquitoes at lunch, and a horsefly that follow us weirdly far on the walk back down. Very manageable, didn't even use bug juice. One tiny section of snow near the top, extremely easy to cross. Poles were more helpful for the elevation gain than on the snow.
Garmin logged 10.8 miles and 3800 feet of elevation gain. Saw 26 people on the trail but it never felt crowded, great area to explore!
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