View Monte Cristo, WA in a larger map
Cyber tour http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9604
This is a mostly a reformatting of Karen Sykes' article for the Seattle PI http://www.seattlepi.com/getaways/4931_hike09.shtml
Additional data from http://2drx.com/2003/MountainLoop/ and http://www.seattlepi.com/getaways/092597/mont25b.html
0 miles: Set odometer to 0 at the turn onto Mountain Loop Highway. Sections of the road follow the route of the Everett and Monte Cristo Railroad grade of the 1890s. Note the sign for Monte Cristo (34 miles).
1.7 miles Granite Falls Fishway ... downstream from the highway bridge. A short path leads to the falls.
7 miles Monte Cristo Railroad hike. At about a mile and a half, there is a section where part of a retaining wall crosses the river above a steep dirt gully. This is a good place to stop, as a fall could be fatal. (does this hike start near Bower's Lake?)
11 miles Verlot Public Service Center (built by the CCC) and Turlo Campground. Across the road is a display of a mining car and a tree cross section with growth rings dating to the 1500s.
12 miles Blue Bridge
13 miles (approx) trailhead for Lake 22. 1.9 miles each way
13.5 miles Gold Basin Campground was the site of a small town with a school, post office and store. Most of its residents worked at the Gold Basin Lumber and Shingle Mill, a historical site maintained by the Forest Service. Look for the Gold Basin Mill Pond across from the campground. A short interpretative trail tells the area's story
15 miles (just past) "Shoofly Curve" (also known as the "mud tunnel"), site of the sharpest turn on the railroad grade. Railroad workers attempted to build a tunnel to bypass the curve, but the soil proved to be so unstable that they refused to continue working on the project.
15.7 miles Schweitzer Road turns right. A section of railroad grade can be found on the east side of the road near the highway (also the site of a railroad stop and ranger station).
16.8 miles Boardman Creek was named for E.A. Boardman, a trainmaster. Old pilings at the mouth of the stream hint of a former railroad trestle across the creek.
18 miles Just past "Red Bridge", three-mile Forest Service Road No. 4037 leads along the river and passes the Long Creek Research Natural Area, land set aside to preserve a virgin stand of evergreens. Also just past the Red Bridge, on the left is an adit for the Black Chief Prospect (1900-1926) ... never revealed any ore. 80 feet.
18.5 miles The accessible Youth-on-Age-Trail (named for a plant) interpretative loop is .3 mile long and in good condition, though a section of pavement has eroded at the river. The two paved ends are presently connected by a short gravel path.
19.2 miles The infamous "Sinkhole" is well signed. Old pilings can be seen, the remains of a railroad trestle. This section was an ongoing problem for the railroad, and highway maintenance crews today, as the glacial clay slumps into the river.
20 miles Silverton Ranger Station, whichwas also a Forest Service nursery in the early 1900s.
20.5 miles Marten Creek Trail, the original route between the Silverton Ranger Station and Darrington.
21 miles (just past) Sperry-Iverson mine created in 1895 by miners A.D. "Dick" Sperry and Andrew Iverson. The adit is a few feet back from the sign. A rough trail leads uphill to the remains of a cabin and intersects a trail that once ran down the valley from Silverton (sections of the trail exist today).
21.5 miles Sign for Marble Pass described by Majors, the site of an aerial tramway that brought ore from Marble Pass to a Silverton mill in the early 1900s.
22.3 miles The town of Silverton is less than a mile beyond. A bridge crosses the river to the townsite, but most of the land is privately owned and tourists are not made welcome. On other side of the highway are homes, a small store, and an emergency radio. Limited parking is available near the bridge. Silverton was at its peak in 1897 with a population of 3,000.
23.3 miles Deer Creek Road is where the snowplow stops in winter. (Deer Creek is a popular winter recreation area).
25.5 miles Big Four Picnic Area and Ice Caves Trail. This is the site of the Big Four Inn, which burned in 1949. All that remains are the chimney and sidewalks. In 1930, flood damage brought the railroad to a halt and the inn was closed. Beyond Big Four, the Coal Creek Road, Perry Creek Road and the Sunrise Mine Road lead to many popular hikes and scrambles.
30.4 miles Barlow Pass (2,349 feet) named for J.Q. Barlow who surveyed a route up the South Fork of the Stillaguamish for the Everett and Monte Cristo Railroad in 1891-92. The parking lot was the site of the Barlow Pass Ranger/Guard Station. There is a pit toilet up the hill on the left side of the road. Just beyond the parking lot, on the right side, is the gated road/trail to Monte Cristo townsite (4 miles each way, only 400' elevation gain)
Granite Falls Museum?
Sperry Gold Mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOX6cgC1O98&feature=related
day-use camp named for Sperry across the street.
Exploring Mt Loop
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBBL3SflyQc&feature=related
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfDqpwUmfIA&feature=related lake twentytwo
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N-d-Rormuo&feature=related Big 4, Ice Caves and ?
See also: Robe Canyon, Monte Cristo