消失的村庄 - Monte Cristo

Length	4.0 miles one-way
Season of Use	Summer / Fall	Beginning Elevation	2349 feet
Visitor Use	Medium	Ending Elevation	2800 feet
Map(s)	Green Trails Sloan Peak - #111 Monte Cristo - #143	Level of Difficulty	Easy

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/recreation/activities/trails/monte_cristo.htm


Access:

From the Verlot Public Center (11 miles east of Granite Falls), travel east on the Mountain Loop Highway. 19.5 miles to Barlow Pass. Park here and proceed on foot past the gate on the Monte Cristo Road.

From the Darrington Ranger Station, travel south on the Mountain Loop Highway 23.4 miles to Barlow Pass.

Attractions & Considerations:

BARLOW PASS, with enormous mountains in every direction, is a stepping off place for the four-mile walk leading to the former townsite of Monte Cristo. Parking is available here at Barlow Pass. From there the road is gated but open for foot and other non-motorized travel. As you proceed past the gate on the Monte Cristo Road, please be aware that some land along the Sauk River between Barlow Pass and Monte Cristo is privately owned. It consists of several patented mining claims and numerous summer homes.

The road follows the original grade of the Everett and Monte Cristo Railroad. The scenery is spectacular as you see rugged, jagged peaks rising on both sides of the road. As the road skirts along a rocky cliff, views of Cadet Peak, Toad and Silvertip Mountains are seen in the distance. On the right, just before crossing the South Fork Sauk River, at approximately 1 mile, is the trailhead for Weden Creek (Gothic Basin), trail #724. This old miner’s trail climbs steeply across a slope, past historic mining remains, reaching an exceptionally beautiful but ice-bound basin, now managed within the Department of Natural Resources’ Natural Resource Conservation Area program. The first of the claims to be developed in this area was the Del Campo Group overlooking Weden Lake.

After crossing the river, views of Lewis Peak to the west and Del Campo Peak come into view to the southwest, with brief glimpses of Cadet Peak and Monte Cristo Peak ahead. At 1.7 miles was the site of the old Weden House Station for the Everett and Monte Cristo Railroad. The station served as headquarters and warehouse for several of the mines located in the Weden Creek drainage and Gothic Basin.

The stream at approximately 2.5 miles was know as Sylvan Creek (named after a mining claim in the area), but later it was changed to Pearsall Gulch.

Monte Cristo campground is on the left at 4.0 miles. Among the prolific vine maple under second growth timber, this small camp was once part of the Rattler Mining Claim and was acquired by the U.S. Forest Service in 1951. The campground currently has 6 sites with picnic tables, fire pits, barbecue grills and toilets, making for a nice overnight spot.

Standing amid spectacular alpine scenery at the end of the road is the remains of the mining town of Monte Cristo. Glaciers cling to the 7000 ft. plus peaks east of the Townsite. Gold was discovered here in 1889 by Frank Peabody and Joseph Pearsall who found their way over the mountains from Sultan through forests so dense that one could not see more than 100 ft. in any direction. In the 1890’s, the town boasted a population of 2,000, a 200-ton concentrator and direct rail service to Everett on a daily basis. The town’s history during the 1890’s and early years following 1900’s revolved around the varying success of the mines in the district. When mining activity declined in the 1920’s, the town came into it’s own as a famous resort for hunters, campers and sightseers. However, by 1933 it had joined the ranks of ghost towns.

While reports indicate that several million dollars of gold and silver ore were wrenched from the mountains, it is generally acknowledged that money spent for prospecting and development exceeded that amount. The old lodge, one of the last remaining buildings, burnt down in 1983.

In 1994, after years of effort by the Monte Cristo Preservation Association (MCPA) and The Rivers Network, Congress allotted Land and Water Conservation Fund money to purchase large portions of the former Townsite, including the recreation cabins built in the 1950s, and other private holdings in the area. However, portions of the former Townsite and many mines are still owned by private individuals and corporations, resulting in a mix of public and private ownership. The US Forest Service and the MCPA work together to manage this mix of lands.

The Henry M. Jackson Wilderness is comprised of 103,591 acres and was established in 1984. The wilderness is located in portions of the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie and Wenatchee National Forests and extends from the North Fork of the Sauk River south to Stevens Pass. With alpine meadows, spectacular rugged peaks and jagged ridges, parts of this unique wilderness borders Monte Cristo. There are several hikes that take-off from the former Townsite leading into the wilderness. .