The mileage to Silver Lake in the WTA description is spot-on: I clocked 2.25 miles from the last building at Monte Cristo to the lake shore. However, with a small amount of wandering around Monte Cristo my GPS told me that one-way to Monte Cristo from the trailhead was about 5 miles. I wandered about the site quite a bit, exploring as far out as the Ore Concentrator so my total trip was about 15.5 miles--a little more than the 11.0 the WTA description suggests.
Silver Lake is really pretty and I was the only person up there. Note that the trail to get there is nothing like the one to get to Monte Cristo. It's very rocky and gains about 1500' in its 2.25 miles.
Bugs were overly social, especially at the picnic areas in Monte Cristo. A little bug spray and problem solved. At Silver Lake I threw on a second coating.
Finally, this trailhead is sadly an area with a car prowling problem. I had no issues and didn't see anyone who did that day, but plan ahead and don't leave anything in sight when you hit the trail, and don't take anything valuable in the car in the first place that you're not planning on taking on the trail (like your work laptop that you always leave in the trunk). Don't reward the criminals and ruin your trip at the same time.
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