Last Monday was the last day of my mini vacation and wanted to knock out a new challenging hike. We selected Gothic Basin off of Mountain Loop Highway (starting elevation 2840 feet - ending elevation 5200 feet - 9 miles round trip). This is a branch off of the same trail that leads to the Monte Cristo mining town site that we have visited within the last couple years.
Starting out, the hike was a steep climb but not the rapid switchbacks that are found on Mount Dickerman. In many ways, this is a more challenging hike but I didn't feel as drained after completing todays journey. 
There were numerous waterfalls and the view is pretty spectacular all the way up. This might be why I wasn't so tired because I took in frequent breaks to let Bogie enjoy the waterfalls and for myself to enjoy the view. 
Here you can see Bogie taking a cooling off dip in the meadows before the final push to the basin. Also a self portrait shot just before we enter the basin proper.
The pictures do NOT do the basin proud! I thought it was a remarkable view with all the small clear pounds created by the melting snow. It was only a half mile to Foggy Lake but I decided not to go any further. It was already 3PM and we had been hiking since a little after 10 AM. In hindsight, I should have because we made remarkable time (for us) on the way back. Although Bogie was obviously getting tired. I have some movies that I'll upload later and you can actually see him nodding off as we stopped at the last big waterfall coming back. 
So we stayed, had lunch and enjoyed the basin view for about 30 minutes. Bogie gobbled down 4 good sized biscuits and even accepted some of the dried fruit I brought along for myself.
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