Stats in Raw Text:
Difficulty: 9.5 (Expert)
Distance: 18.5km (11.5 miles)
Acsent: 1180m (3870 feet)
Terrain Difficulty: 10
Class: High 3
Path Finding: High
Snow Reports:
(2023) September 29th: Traces

Gothic Peak is a feat to summit for any hiker. This peak is usually summited by climbers, although, there is a certain path that is only a high class 3, not 4 or higher. This means it can be done by any hiker without climbing equipment. This hike involves lots of path finding comparatively to Foggy Lake or Gothic Basin, as the trail ends just after Foggy Lake. Don’t attempt this hike during winter months without gear to deal with the snow, since I went during late September, and there was already snow near the peak. If you're looking for an easier peak in the area I would recommend Vesper Peak. If you want a scramble, try heading to Del Campo; it's just north of Foggy Lake.
Gothic Peak is located along the Mountain Loop Highway, so access to the trailhead is halted during the winter. The trailhead is about 13 kilometres from the closing point of the road, so it is possible to hike to the trailhead from the closed road. Make sure you prep for a multi-day expedition if you decide to summit in the winter.
The trail is about 18.5 kilometres long, with an ascent of 1180 metres. It took me 8 hours to fully complete the hike, so make sure you dedicate a whole day to this hike, or you might get caught in the dark. You can also turn it into a backpacking trip, by hiking to either the second lake or foggy lake on the first day, then going to the peak and heading down on the second. I currently don’t rank multiple day hikes, so I can’t say how difficult it would be distance wise, but you can probably figure that out based off the single day statistics; it’s still not going to be easy.
The path to Gothic Peak is mostly the same as Gothic Basin. You start at the Gothic Basin Trailhead (also known as the Monte Cristo Trailhead), then walk the Monte Cristo Trail until you see a turn to the right. The hike then starts climbing without stoppage. Eventually, you will leave the trees and pass by many small waterfalls. The landscape here is beautiful, and it’s a great treat for your efforts so far. Eventually, you will reach the first lake. At this point, hike to the left of it, then up to the smaller lake at the top of the basin. There is no real trail to Foggy Lake, so just make your way up across the rocks to it.
Foggy Lake is its own hike, although, for Gothic Peak you will have to continue from here. This is also a great place to have lunch, since you have a long and tedious climb ahead of you. Continue to the left, following the trail marked by cairns. You will climb up above the lake on this trail, passing a small pond at the top. Eventually, the trail will suddenly end (marked by a purple marker on the map); from here on out, you’re on your own.
I would recommend following my north-most path on the way up and down, as it’s the easiest way. I fell into the trap of climbing up the flat stones to the south (left when looking straight at it), you must climb up the slate slide for it to be only class 3. The rocks to the left are easily class 4 (shown below in red), so you’ll need climbing equipment if you want to take this route. Although, this is a hiking website, so you’ll most likely want to take the slate path (shown below in yellow).

After making your way to the end of the slate rocks, look to the left. You will see a small ledge (shown in the image below) that you can climb up onto. From this point on, you will be climbing, so set down your bags and get ready.

The climb up is not bad at all, and I did it with ease without any equipment. As long as you take the proper route, and don't get lost on the way down, it should be easy (start of best route shown below).

Anyways, that's Gothic Peak! It's one of my favorite hikes I've done due to its difficulty, very low popularity, and scenic views.