Sylvan Creek area exposed tracks. Courtesy USFS exposed tracks east of Haps Hill

To purchase the Monte Cristo Picture CD, click here for more information
Please send a check for $20.00 payable to MCPA to:
MCPA c/o Kal Klass, 3815 E. Garfield St., Seattle, 98112

Retreating Cascade Mountain glaciers are presenting both problems and opportunities for the scientists who study them. The Seattle Times cover story linked here explains some of the issues involved at Mt. Rainier with increased debris flows caused by retreating ice. These include stream and river channel changes, threats to campgrounds and roads, and increased flooding. At our Winter Social Saturday March 6, Dr. Jon L. Riedel, a geomorphologist for the U.S. Park Service at Marblemount, will be our guest speaker, giving us informative background on this developing topic. You are most welcome to join us in hearing his presentation and sharing in our customary potluck dinner. It will be held at The Barn in Marysville's Jennings Park, starting at 5:30 p.m.

The Monte Cristo Campground shelter was destroyed by fire/vandalism. Hikers and campers that were planning on using the shelter will have to rely on tents. If you have any information about the vandalism please contact the Darrington Ranger District office @ 360 436-1155 (m-f) or email relevant facts to them at: rhuffman@fs.fed.us.

Monte Cristo became Washington state's most famous gold and silver mining town of the 1890s. Located in the rugged Cascade Mountains of Washington State in eastern Snohomish County, its mineral resources first were located in 1889. With investment in the mines by a New York syndicate backed by John D. Rockefeller, a railroad was constructed to bring down ore for smelting at the new city of Everett, also a Rockefeller development. Hit by financial disasters during the panics of 1893 and 1907, active mining ended shortly before World War I. In the years since, the site has become a popular destination for thousands of hikers, mountain bikers, climbers, and families fascinated both by the history of the town and its spectacular setting, surrounded by peaks up to 7000' high in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness area.

Monte Cristo is located 34 miles east of Granite Falls on the paved Mountain Loop Highway. We will be working on damage to the road, townsite, and campsites this summer and would appreciate both your assistance and financial support. Contact us for further details and mark the third Saturday of each month for work parties. Contributions to MCPA are tax deductible since we are a 501(c)3 under IRS rules.