My dad and I took an overnight trip to Silver Lake right before Labor Day weekend started. We got a later start Thursday and arrived at the Barlow Pass trailhead around 2:30pm. The old road to Monte Cristo is pretty flat and easy going, about 4 miles. There were some very curious bees which kept buzzing us at different points on this trail.
The old mining town of Monte Cristo is really cool to see, with old buildings and some signs to tell you the history of the area. The railroad turntable is still there and works, and it was a nice spot to have a snack on the way up to Silver Lake. If you cross the bridge to the left, you can go up to where Dumas Street was and where some of the other buildings used to be.
We continued our journey up to Silver Lake after crossing the bridge on the right and skirting one of the old buildings and heading on the trail to the right. From here, the trail was much steeper and more rugged. The trail is in pretty good condition, but it is not the easiest of trails. We took it slow and made it up to the junction to Silver Lake where there is a backcountry toilet up the hill to the right. The trail to Twin Lakes is to the left, and we took the trail straight to go down to Silver Lake.
We arrived at Silver Lake at 7pm and saw that there was only one other tent (2 people) camped there. The couple was nice enough to let me use some bug spray (we had wristbands but the mosquitoes were starting to get to me anyway). My dad and I set up camp and made some dinner before it got too dark and then turned in to our tent for the night.
We did get rained on that night, but we stayed dry in our tent. The next morning was foggy and we stayed around the lake until about noon when the fog had mostly blown off. The trek down to Monte Cristo is not any easier than the trek up, with the steep, rugged trail. We took our time to be careful of our footing on the way down. We stopped and had lunch in Monte Cristo and explored the area a little more, then headed back to the parking lot. We got to our car around 5pm and headed home.
It was a great trip with great scenery and hardly any people. I was expecting a lot more being so close to Labor Day weekend.
Oh, and as you are trekking up the trail from Monte Cristo to Silver Lake, there are tons of blueberries! I though they tasted better the further up the trail we went.
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