Del Campo - a photo TR

As an avid scrambler, I've had my eye on Del Campo Peak for several years now and I was finally able to make it up to the summit.  It did not disappoint!  Gothic Basin is beyond beautiful, and the scramble up Del Campo was everything I had hoped for.  This area is quite the drive for me so I set the alarm for 2:40am and hit the road by 3:20 for the 3+ hour drive to the trailhead.  I wanted to get an early start since it was supposed to be hot, and hot it was!  I got to the trailhead about 6:30 and it was already pretty warm.  I had brought a bike for the first mile on the old road which was nice.  After ditching the bike I hit the trail at a good pace and made it to Gothic Basin in a couple hours.  The place is stunning!

As you enter Gothic Basin approaching the pond, the terrain gets really rocky and slabby... I love it!  Some of my favorite terrain.  Foggy pond is fairly nice as well, and there was a group camping there but I didn't linger for pictures.  The real gem was just ahead!  Foggy Lake with Gothic and Del Campo Peaks!

These photos follow the route around Foggy Lake to the SE ridge of Del Campo Peak and part way up to the talus / boulder field.  From there route climbs some class 3 rock up a gully to the saddle where the final summit block is reached.  Some climbers can be seen here on descent at about 10 o'clock (upper left).

The views from the summit are stunning!

As I said, this trip was everything I had hoped for except the 90 degree heat.  I took my time on this one.  8+ hours round trip with multiple photo breaks, 45 minutes on the summit, 30+ minutes taking to other hikers, 30 minutes trying to fix my water filter which I FINALLY did saving me from dehydration on a hot hot day... I had planned to do Gothic the same day but after experiencing the beauty of Gothic Basin I decided to save it for later so I'd have an excuse to come back here in the near future.  I just love it up here!  One final photosphere from Foggy Lake.