Twin Lakes - Monte Cristo, Silver Lake - Monte Cristo — Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017

Left Barlow Pass on my mountain bike Saturday at 7a for Monte Cristo.  The abandoned road was easy and ride-able for the majority of the way.  Short section before and after the tree bridge across the river where riding with a heavy pack wasn't easy.  Got to Monte Cristo and checked out the town a bit.  Stashed the bike in the woods and started hiking up the trail to Poodle Dog Pass / Silver Lake.  Aside from some loose talus and a few easy hops over downed trees, this section was cake.  Gained the pass and was able to peer down at Silver Lake.  When I set out I was 50/50 on staying the night at either Silver Lake or Twin Lakes.  There was some avalanche runout floating in Silver Lake, which meant it was probably too cold to really enjoy jumping in, so I kept going to Twin Lakes.  The trail leaving from Poodle Dog Pass gets more overgrown and significantly rougher, with 1 to 2 foot step-ups, off-camber traverses with cliff exposure, and enough moondust to coat your legs from the knees down.  This section is also significantly exposed to direct sunlight.  There is one section that required letting go of the trekking poles and using both hands to scramble up a small rock face right above some significant exposure.  Piece of cake with a daypack, but a little sketchy with a heavy pack.  Lots of braided trails and dead ends on this ridgeline, stick to the more worn path and you should be fine.  The notch that starts the descent to Twin Lakes is very exposed slab.  I wouldn't try it if it's wet, pack or no pack.  This whole time I had 40% deet bug spray on, which seemed to be losing its effectiveness the closer I got to the lakes, even when reapplying.  Once I got down to the lake the bugs became insufferable so I broke out the 98% deet that makes your lips go numb.  Some of the biting flies and mosquitoes did not GAF, but the heavy duty bug dope did just enough to maintain my sanity.  I made the lake just before 1:30p. There's a little beach on the lake that had a nice rock table for cooking, etc, and a small-gravel wash that looked perfect to lay down a blanket, thermarest, and sleeping bag.  The lake depth drops immediately from the shore, and you can dive in directly from shore.  Down deep the water was very cold, but the 3-ish feet near the surface was surprisingly swimmable.  I broke out the floaty tube and beers that I paid dearly for weight-wise and hit the water.  Who needs a tent with the dry and hot weather we've had going for weeks?  The temperature gradient of the lake was astounding.  I tied a large rock to 60 feet of paracord and a mesh bag to my line right above the rock, and sent my beers 60 feet down to frigid water.  They were ice cold 30 min later.  The water here is so clear I could see straight down to my anchor.  I'd like to know how deep this lake gets, as the bottom seems to slope 45 degrees continuously.  I was less than 70 feet from shore and my 60 foot anchor was on the bottom.  Definitely bringing goggles next time.  A slight breeze and (probably) carcinogenic bug dope kept the bugs mostly at bay. Floated the lake a bit the next morning, which had lost some of its heat overnight, but the cold water felt nice.  Left the lake at 12:30p at a good pace.  Made Poodle Dog Pass at 2:30p and my car at 4:30p.  Lots of jealous hikers walking the road down from Monte Cristo. 10/10 would bring bike again.  

Key take-aways:  

The Monte Cristo basin has heavy metals from mining.  There is no reliable, filter-able water between Monte Cristo and Silver Lake, and between Silver Lake and Twin Lakes.  I burned through 4 liters on the way out, and 3.5 liters on the way back, part of this due to my heavily accessorized pack contents.

The bugs are horrendous, and this is coming from someone that's lived in Northern MN.  Bring plenty of bug dope.  A lot of this hike is in direct sunlight, so bear that in mind as well if you're white like me.

Trekking poles were necessary while carrying a heavy pack, both for assisting ascent and descent but also for stability on sketchy exposed sections.  Might not be needed for a day hike.

Twin Lakes had TONS of fish, some 8-10 inches long by my estimate, and they were very active all day long.  It was cool peering down and watching them from my tube.