Rating: 5 of 5 stars in the sun.  (3 of 5 stars in the fog/clouds.)
Opinion:  Gothic Basin to Foggy Lake is a difficult to very difficult hike.  Since the first 1.5 miles are flat, that means about 1000 ft gain per mile (for 3 miles).  It is steep, but doable.  A few tricky, short steep places…
It seemed harder to go down this trail because it was so steep…
Weather predicted fog, but afternoon sun, which thankfully happened.  No sun would have hampered the views and the enjoyment.  Beautiful when the fog started evaporating!  I am so glad fog to sun happened!  Breathtaking.
Bring poles.
Parking & Road Conditions:  Lots of parking on a Thursday at 9 am.  Only 2 cars.  Any car could make it!  Nice road all the way.
Snow:  None.
Bugs:  None.
Trail conditions:  Fine, but lots of boulders to climb.  Lots of mud.
There were a few places that I had to scramble up rocks.  Luckily someone drilled steps in a few rocks to get up.
Follow the white flags with the blue ribbon at the basin to get to the lake.
Bring poles.
Time:  10 hours (I’m 66), with about 45 minutes at Foggy Lake.
Views:  Nice views of Foggy Lake with Del Campo Mt reflecting in the lake.
Fall colors:  Pretty yellow leaves.

Disclaimers

Quick-and-dirty version

Access: Monte Cristo Trailhead @ Barlow Pass
Round Trip: 13.8 miles
Elevation Range: 2321'-5683′
Essential Gear: helmet, microspikes
Dog-Friendly: no

A reconnaissance outing to Weden Pass, south of Weden Lake Basin. It's been 11 years since visiting Foggy Lake in Gothic Basin.

THE ROAD: A smooth-sailing and quiet drive from Granite Falls to Barlow Pass. The only things missing since the dog and I visited two months earlier during the high season were the cars.

THE TRAIL: Zero debris and steeper than I remembered. I read that there used to be a spur off the main trail that went to Weden Lake. An old report noted a visible fork around 4200', but the path was no longer viable in getting into the lake basin.

• Muddy areas were mainly around the wooden walkways in the lower trail
• Increasingly rocky from the first water gully at mile 3.25 (3700') onward.

THE WATER: Plentiful.

• The first stream appeared past the first mile mark shortly after taking the Weden Creek Trail.
• Three more streams that followed were evenly spaced out along the flat trail, including the creek at the mile 2 clearing
• The next water wasn't until mile 3.25 in the first water gully
• More streams beyond the fifth water gully and up into the lake basin

My Route

1. Hike 4.5 miles to the first pond below Foggy Lake, and continue west on one of several flagged trails to the second, smaller pool.
2. Cross the outlet over Weden Creek to the end of the path before going cross-country.
3. Traverse south between 4800' and 5200' through steep taluses and heather for a tad over a mile to Weden Pass at 5120'.
4. From the south side, traverse west-southwest to the saddle between the middle and the north peaks of Sheep Gap Mountain.
5. Climb the middle peak via the northeast ridge and return to Weden Pass.
6. Climb the north peak via the east ridge and return to Gothic Basin to hike out.

Highlights

• Expansive vistas of Morning Star Natural Resources Conservation Area, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Wild Sky Wilderness, and Henry M. Jackson Wilderness
• The impressive main peak of Sheep Gap Mountain, Del Campo Peak, Gothic Peak, and Silver Tip Peak
• Late morning sunshine and solitude

Lowlights

• Morning fog lasted past 10 AM despite the sunny forecast

I’ve been living in Louisiana for the last 2 years and let’s just say my legs were NOT prepared for this elevation lol. 

TBH it wasn’t my favorite hike. It was pretty non-scenic on the way up and the lake was cool, kinda otherworldly, but IMO not worth the effort. It was a good workout for sure but I wouldn’t do it again. 

we had phenomenal weather though and that it made it more bearable. Super sunny up top. Definitely chilly with the wind in the basin. Trail is SUPER muddy at times - be careful going down. Highly recommend poles for that. 

All in all, not a bad hike, but it was more for the workout for me than the reward at the end. 

also recommend bringing more than 2L of water or a water filter, so many water sources but I ran out of water towards the end (not a huge deal but my lunch was salty) 

TL/DR: prob one of my least favorite hikes I’ve done, elevation is NOT for beginners, if it was warm I would’ve jumped in the lake 

Got an early start from Seattle today to spend the morning on the Mountain Loop and visit (and drop some snacks off with) a multi-day WTA work party at Gothic Basin!

THE ROAD / PARKING

I left Seattle a little before 6 to reach Barlow Pass right at 7:30. All of the space on the outer edge of the Barlow Pass parking lot was full, but there was space in the middle of the lot to park. Parking lot itself is in fine shape. There were already a few cars parked on the side of the highway. 

When I returned to the trailhead around 12:30, the trailhead parking lot was totally full, and there were at least a couple dozen cars parked on the side of the highway.

The vault toilet at the trailhead was in great shape — didn't smell and had plenty of toilet paper! BYO hand sanitizer, though. 

THE TRAIL

The trail is overall in great shape.

Trail is super easy and nice forest/dirt trail hiking for the first 1.5 miles or so, and if you're familiar with the trail, you know it gets pretty spicy from there. (The last time I did this trail was 6 years ago. I remembered it being incredibly steep. I'm not sure I remembered it being this steep.) 

Once the climb starts, the trail gets more rocky and rooty, but nothing is an issue, other than being hell on your calves. Closer to the basin, once you break out of the "main" forest, the rocky parts can be annoying to navigate, but they're not too bad, especially if you don't have a large pack on. 

There were a couple of water crossings — nothing problematic, easy rock hops. I didn't get my feet wet at all. 

Poles were very helpful for the way down! I didn't use them on my way up. 

TIMELINE

7:30 — Reached trailhead
7:40 — Left trailhead
10:05 — Reached Gothic Basin
10:20 — Left Gothic Basin
12:30 — Returned to parking lot (included spending some time with the WTA crew on the way back down)

MISC.

Starting before 8, I encountered very few hikers on the trail on my ascent. A couple of folks passed me as they were heading to Del Campo. Other than that, I passed a handful of hikers on my way up. Given how many folks I saw at the basin and the entries I saw for today at trail register when I started, I suspect I was one of the first few folks to reach the basin today (aside from those who were camped there)!

I passed at least a few dozen folks heading up on my way back down to the trailhead, especially in the second half of the hike, after you break out of the trees. I expected this though! 

I know this is a trail that gets a lot of discussion about its length and how it feels so long, so I tracked my route on the way down, and I got 4.3 miles one-way. 

The basin is quite lovely right now. I walked around a little and saw several campsites, although most of the ones I saw were taken (probably many by the WTA crew). 

Recent WTA work is apparent in the stairs in the rocky bit near the top. That rocky section is tough, but made easier by these rock stairs for sure. Thank you to the WTA volunteers, WTA staff, and any Forest Service/DNR crews that have helped make this trail so nice! 

this was one of my saved hikes I created in 2020 and I officially tackled it today.

the road was paved all the way there. There is no sign of gothic basin everywhere but there was Monte Cristo which is the same trail just had a little detour for gothic and other hike. 

From parking, you will enter a closed gate and walk a mile to reached the trail going up. The minute you enter this trail, it will be an incline all the way up. The trail is in good condition but some areas are muddy and slippery. The last 1.5 miles of the hike was really steep and will kick your butt. There were volunteers on the trail fixing it and creating us a better way to climb areas that are hard to navigate. Thank you volunteers!

the incline is never ending until you reach gothic nd from there, another 20 more minutes for another incline to reach foggy lake. 

lits of backpackers so you will never be alone on trails. This is a very beautiful place to see. Do bro g poles because it helps a lot heading down.