Hated this trail. Loved this hike. I can't believe that some folks take a full overnight pack up this ""trail"". I have hiked many a trails in my time, but this one was the worst. I know that it was made by miners over 100 years ago and that it is steep. That doesn't bother me, it's the dried up creek bed gullys that you scramble up after you get out of the trees. Too many rocks to climb over and slide down. I really didn't mind the part in the trees where it was very steep, but you could still hike it not navigate every step. Well enough of that. Me and Pops saw no other hikers on the trail. Spent a full eight and a half hours away from the car (with a short nap by the first pond). We were too pooped to continue any further than that. King Kongs Showerbath (pictured) was really cool. And the glacier smothed rocks on top were very camera freindly. The pass that you come over to enter the Basin (other picture) was my favorite part. I felt like I was on the Crest Trail. Well if I loose eighty pounds or so I might do this hike again, but if I do I will start out earlier so I have more time to wander. By the way bugs were bad on the way up and down. No bugs on top at all. There was a nice breeze up there the whole time so the bugs were non existence. I bet there is quite a few skeeters at night though.

The marine layer was heavy over the Puget Sound as we left for the trailhead, but by the time we reached the Verlot area we were in bright early morning sunshine. However, the weather was cooler and for that we were grateful as we had been told that this hike is a bit of a workout. Several cars were parked up at Barlow Pass by the Monte Cristo road but we saw few people all day, and most of them were coming down from a beautiful camping weekend up in the Basin. If you read the Spring and Manning guide book, the description of the trail is pretty accurate although most of the pain in mitigated by the beautiful creeks and falls that you cross over and the stunning views of peaks all around you as you climb higher and higher towards the Basin. If you get tired and hot, just stop by one of the several creeks splashing down the mountain and cool off a bit. King Kong's Showerbath is incredibly beautiful and is a nice resting spot before the final push. We encountered no snow either on the way up or in the Basin all the way up to Foggy Lake. There was still some left on Foggy Pass. The little tarn below Foggy Lake is delightfully cool--nice to dip the tired feet in or even take a little swim. The scramble up to Foggy Lake is not well-defined but it is up above the smaller tarn that you first come to. Just follow the path to the right of the little lake and then up the rubble slide, once you get past that, there are a boot trails and few cairns about that show the general way. Just keep going up to 5200 feet and you'll run into it eventually (about the time you're wondering where the heck the lake is). It's worth the scramble though. Although the stats on this hike make it moderate/strenuous, trail conditions definitely push it into the strenuous range. Plan all day to do this hike as once you get to the Basin it is so beautiful that you will want to spend a few hours soaking in the views and checking out the area. There are many wonderful camp sites and water is incredibly plentiful. This is one of the most beautiful hikes I have been on. We were sad to leave the area, but will definitely be back!

The trail to Gothic Basin is in very good condition for this time of year. There are a couple of trees to scramble under but they are no big deal. There's still some snow in the upper gulleys but only one of them presents any difficulty at all. An ice ax was useful but i suspect by next weekend you will be able to make it all the way across without any problem. The basin however is still in deep snow right from the beginning and the lower tarns and Foggy Lake are still frozen. The walking was easy as the snow is very consolidated. We headed up past Foggy Lake as we intended to climb Del Campo. It turned out to be a very easy climb as we ascended snow and occasional trail all the way to the upper gap. At that point it's a class 3 rock scramble to the summit. Very easy and fun. The downside was as soon as we got into the basin it was socked in with clouds and we hardly saw a thing the entire time we were up there.

Quiet day--only one other hiker encountered along the way. Patchy snow at trailhead and solid snow just before first set of waterfalls, otherwise trail is in fine shape. Falls are frozen over and extremely slippery. Made it about 1/2 mile beyond fourth waterfall (King Kong Shower) before turning around due to excess snow and ice on trail. Views great from first waterfall onward. Can't wait to return again in summer. The logs under the Stilly River bridge near the trailhead have been cleared, but the road (not for motorized vehicles) is pretty chopped up.

Looking for a weather ""window"" my hiking pal, Dangerous Dean, and I head off for the Mountain Loop before dawn on a foggy Monday. The road to Barlow Pass is down to one lane in several areas and there is too much evidence of last week's flooding everywhere. There were four vehicles parked at the ever-popular Monte Cristo trailhead in spite of the glowering sky. We covered the rocky trail to the basin in a little under three hours and rested at Foggy Lake. After a hasty lunch dodging the wind and drizzle we packed up and beat our retreat over the granite and down the steep boulder strewn trail. We were thankful for our light weight daypacks because the rain slickened rocks and roots required a nimble gate on our descent back to the river.