Gothic Basin
Trip Date: October 13, 2018
Distance: 14.43 miles
Elevation Gain: 2980 ft
Fees/Permits: Northwest Forest Pass
GPX: View my Gaia GPS track here
It’s been awhile since I’ve been on a hike where I didn’t have a timeline that I needed to make and I seem to have forgotten what leisurely hikes are like. Luckily for me, Lucas and I were able to get to Gothic Basin this weekend and it was everything everyone had hyped it up to be. Honestly I don’t have much to say about this hike except that it was so lovely and beautiful and that I still cannot believe I get to live in such close proximity to places like these!
The trail is pretty straightforward and well maintained, albeit a little rocky in some sections. There were a couple of slightly icy sections in the morning that melted out into a muddy slush by the afternoon descent. It’s a moderate, steady uphill for much of the second half of the hike, but as you near the basin, you turn a corner and are greeted by whimsical views of a meadow dotted with towering rock faces, brooks and streams, small ponds, large lakes, and fall colors.