Having been alerted in a recent WTA trail report that the Forest Service was about to start construction on a haul road to Monte Cristo as the first step in mine remediation, the Hike-of-the-Week Club decided to make a quick trip to see the town site before it reverted back to the roaring metropolis it was in the 1890’s. The day was too misty and cloudy to see the mountain tops, so we focused on trying to figure out when the road/trail was on the old railroad bed and when it was not. A washout that had occurred since the last time the Club had been to Monte Cristo 5 years ago provided convincing evidence that the trail was indeed right on top of the old rail line – see photo. The engine turntable still turns, although a little more stiffly than in years past, but that is true for most of us as well.
For those of you that have not been to Monte Cristo in a few years, here are a couple of trail tips:
* There is no longer any need to take the bypass trail up and over the clay slide at about 3/4 miles in as there is a very wide path now through the clay slide. It’s easy to find – just walk right past the very large “EXTREME DANGER – DO NOT ENTER” sign posted by Snohomish County.
* The log to cross the river at about 1 mile is upstream of the now useless road bridge. There is a pretty fine trail to it, just go a tiny way on the Gothic Basin trail, then take the side path that goes down to the river. The approach over the root pan has been tamed in that most of the roots have been cut off , and little steps have been notched into what remains of the root pan to make it much easier to get onto the log.
* The detours through the woods that were required previously in several spots due to road washouts beyond the river crossing have all been widened and filled in with river gravel.
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