There's one thing that the WTA official description got wrong...

"The open area includes 3 creek crossings before the trail dives back into forest and continues climbing." - y'all, the first one is a TOWERING GORGEOUS STUNNING WATERFALL. And all three "creek crossings" were dope waterfalls! All highlights of the trip! :) 

Besides that, everything was as-advertised. Picked this hike due to recent reports of few bugs - confirmed! Two big blowdowns, both have little paths around them. Trail work is ongoing on some slide rocks that added steps - thank you! So good!

The mental markers from the official description like "this section is about to be straight up and be brutal" were helpful along the way for us. And honestly, after the slog through the forest's STEEP switchbacks, the post-waterfall climbing up was some amazing alpine hiking, those views kept us going (even thought it was pretty exposed and straight up haha).

We didn't even make it up to Foggy Lake! LOL - we chilled at one of the first small lakes we encountered in the basin. Explored the area on social trails (being careful of the gorgeous vegetation and blooming wildflowers) for about 45 minutes before heading back down.

Our timing:

• 7:40AM: Departed Barlow Pass parking lot (about a dozen cars there)
• 9:40AM: Arrived at the first creek crossing/waterfall after the forest switchbacks.
• 11AM: Arrived at the basin, explored, and enjoyed the scenery
• 11:45AM: Started down from the basin
• 12:40PM: First creek crossing / dunked our heads and hats in the waterfall to cool down haha
• 2:10PM: Back to trailhead (lot at capacity with about 40 cars + a dozen on the highway)

Lots of fun groups encountered on the trail throughout the day, about half day hikers and half campers. Shouts to the Chex Mix Girls and Gay Santa (our fav trail encounters of the day <3) - happy hiking!

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!

Arrived at the TH around 7:15a on a Sunday morning. There were lots of cars parked on the road but also about 3-4 spots in the parking lot. The toilet was getting a little ripe and there was no toilet paper.

On paper this hike looks like a moderate hike, but on foot I found it to be more difficult. The first 1.5 to 2 miles are fairly flat, so you gain all of the elevation in 3 miles. There are a couple of places where you will use your hands on the rocks. These 3 miles are very exposed, so be prepared if it is a sunny day.

The views are outstanding, even on a slightly cloudy day. 

We hiked to Foggy Lake. There is one small patch of snow right before Foggy Lake. It was easy to cross. It may be gone by next weekend.

Went up on Saturday, left on Sunday. Trail was filled with dayhikers and the camping spots were in short supply with the amount of people spending the night during the weekend. Seconded from previous reports, if you intend on staying the night make it to the top around noon/early afternoon to get your pick of the good camping spots.

From a previous report, the pit toilet is installed with great views. However..... it is a bit exposed (no trees for it to be nestled behind) and it is along the way to a couple of camp sites. If you're using it or intend to use it, it's probably best to make some noise so people know you're approaching/it's occupied.

Beautiful hike. We were able to get a parking spot in the upper lot at 9am. Cars were lined on the street. It was clouded over in the morning but backpackers coming from the overnight camping told us it was clear up top. Clouds started to clear as we went up and it was mostly clear by the time we reached the basin and foggy lake.

Trail: It is hard hike. It took us 4 hours to get to the foggy lake with some breaks for snacks and water. Most of the elevation packed in 3 miles. Later half is quite rocky so watch your step. The first big lake you see is not the foggy lake. We saw some people returning from there thinking that was foggy lake. You have to keep going following the blue and white little flags up the boulders, stones to get to the foggy lake. The last part was steep with 2 false summits so keep going. Absolutely beautiful and worth the hard work!