Elevation Gain: Roughly 400m to the back of the valley. The peaks above the cirque reach around 2000m.
I didn’t record the distance on this trip but I would guess it’s about less than 5km.
Difficulty: This route is funny because the difficulty is more to do with the rough bushwhack and rock-hopping in the stream. From treeline, it is very easy to navigate. It is a big open basin and you just work through low scrub until you reach your destination.
Access: Park at the Monkey Creek parking lot. There is no trail.
Description:
We originally had plans to use Monkey Creek as a means to access Charlton Peak. The route description was vague but we figured it would be relatively straightforward to work up the valley. We were also under the assumption that there was going to be some kind of trail to take us into the basin. We followed a vague track into the trees from the parking lot. From here, the track petered out and we were left to bushwhack. This is very dense growth. The creek also steepens into a series of waterfalls so using it to access the basin is not possible. We worked through the left side of the valley. This involved battling tons of rotten deadfall, head-high ferns, and wet, mossy rocks. It was incredibly humid and wet. It feels like this valley never really dries up.
After 45 minutes of battling the scrub and trees we eventually were able to meet the creek where it mellowed out. The creek is easy to navigate but the boulders are covered in a very slippery white moss/ algae? Eventually it mellows into a pebbly stream and the sides of the valley become easily walkable. From here you basically walk easily until you reach where you are going. If you are planning to head up to either Park Peak or Charlton Peak there is a specific waterfall near the back of the valley between the two peaks on the right side. It sticks out as it’s basically the only weakness in the bowl. From here, you will use a grassy ledge to reach the mellower tier of the mountain beneath the peaks. We turned around at the waterfall as it was too wet for our liking.
Working through the forest on the way back is much easier as you are moving with the vegetation.