Several weeks ago we went on a hike with another couple up Poodle Dog Pass to Silver Lake, a rather grueling 15 mile round-trip hike with an elevation gain of about 2000 feet over three miles.

I have no idea why the pass has the name "Poodle Dog," though someone suggested that a poodle fell to its death along the trail and thus the name. Sounds more like a gruesome joke, though.

The first four miles of the trail follow an old road that is closed to traffic due to a washed out bridge and other sections of the road. The last three miles climb steeply to the pass.

At the end of the road and the beginning of the trail to the pass lies the old silver-mining ghost town of Monte Cristo. This creek, part of the headwaters of the Sauk River, runs through the town.

The creek and the gulch through which it runs are named for the first mining claim staked in the area, the "Independence of 1776," established in the 1870's.

The town itself, which flourished for about 20 years before the gold and silver gave out, was named by the first prospectors for Dumas' count whose wealth they hoped to emulate.

The town itself is now a heritage site and worth exploring by those who do not wish to hike further. The old buildings, or what is left of them are closed, however.

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