[Bootpathguy]

I'll start this trip report with a appropriate image

2017-03-12_08-46-55

2017-03-12_08-47-40

I'll sacrifice a river hike over a view hike. Money Creek rivals the Icicle River in my opinion. It's beautiful when it's swollen with a spring thaw.

This is a great snowshoe and I imagine a excellent XC ski route to some fantastic backcountry. No snowmobilers. There was a established snowshoe trench for about 2 3/4 miles and then abruptly ended. I continued on and broke trail for the remainder of my trip.

My goal was to hike up the road as far as the foot of Goat Basin. I wanted to get a peek into it. My biggest concern was the wicked avalanche chutes that are on the southeast face of Crosby Mountain. They terminate right at the road I was traveling. Definition of a terrain trap. It was sprinkling and right around 50 degrees so it was a concern once I reached this point. I told ( promised myself ) that if I did not see a release that was fresh, I would not continue past that point. If I did see a fresh release, and if debris was negotiable, I would continue. I arrived at the spot where the road is washed out. I found a spot where it appeared I could ford the creek. I removed my snowshoes and quickly excavated a ramp to eliminate the 5 foot drop to the creek. No too complicated

I continued on. Watching my GPS location in relationship to the above mentioned hazard. I arrived and didn't see any sign of recent avalanche activity. That chute may be too steep to hold much snow, but I wasn't going to risk it. I turned around. Fine by me! My legs were tiring by the additional 3 pounds of mush on the toes of my snowshoes with every lift of my feet. This is right around mile 4.

2017-03-12_09-09-14

The winter mystery of Goat Basin, for me anyway, will remain. I plan on returning soon. I really want to see the winter glory up in that area. I didn't see anybody the entire day. The highlight of my trip? No annoying Sunday traffic on hwy 2 on my way home. It was a breeze. So hard to capture river beauty. Here are a few short video clips

[Just_Some_Hiker]

You're right, that is a very beautiful river.

[puzzlr]

That culvert hanging way out in the first video indicates a lot of erosion has been going on there. No road engineer would design it that way.

[Jimbo]

Thanks for the up date. Love that area. Have they installed the gate yet after the cement bridge ?

[mbravenboer]

Thanks for sharing! I was curious how the snow is at that elevation to understand general trailhead accessibility. Any idea what elevation the snow started on the road? edit: Just saw on WTA that even Boulder River (1000ft) is still not reachable, so that probably answers my question ...

[Jimbo]

Money creek camp ground snow on the ground.

[mbravenboer]

Thanks Bootpathguy & Jimbo!

[Type E]

Goat basin is a wonderful place to visit

[fourteen410]

Might be easier travel on snow. That road was gnawed up pretty bad when I hiked it last spring.

[Jimbo]

How far up the road was the signs ? I know GPAA has claims up there.

[Backpacker Joe]

Its always good to hear from Money Creek. Kinda old time Middle Forkin it there.......

[Roly Poly]

I had the same feeling about avalanches up there and turned around pretty much where you did. I found the road a bit of a slog, though.

[Sewellel]

Just as a random point of information: The mining claim associated with that sign was closed by the BLM as invalid in March of 2016. It was invalidated when BLM did their checks after initial filing, and the filing fee was refunded to the claim holder. The person who filed that claim lives out near Lake Pleasant, so who know if they will ever return too the area to take down their sign.