Crystal Lake: On Tuesday, May 27th, Skye and I hiked into Crystal Lake and then continued up trail #236 toward the state line until we reached the ridgeline. The lake is free of all ice and snow, but the water is definitely up. The trail itself to the lake is an old mining access road. It is an elevation gain of 1300 feet over 1.5 miles. It is another 700+ feet up to the ridge over a half a mile, so not an easy hike. We stayed overnight at the Cabin City Campground near DeBorgia. Cabin City is a Lolo National Forest campground with a camp host, 24 sites, potable water, vault toilets and garbage containers; it is a very nice and quite campground.
Hazel Lake: After a night at Cabin City CG, we hiked into Hazel Lake up Ward Creek and then a little bit further to the saddle between Hazel & Hub Lakes. It has been 3 weeks since I was up this way and the snow is almost gone on the trail to Hazel Lake, but not yet to Hub Lake. Hazel lake is free of ice and I even saw a couple risers while we where having lunch at the lake.
St. Regis Lakes: On Saturday, May 31st, Skye and I hiked into the St. Regis Lakes on the Montana side of Lookout Pass. I thought that there would be less snow than there was and I ended up parking at the gate that accesses the Eagle Peak portion of the ski area, so an additional mile of hiking to the lakes. On top of that, I forgot wading shoes/sandals so I had wet feet with the 3 creek crossing and all the snow for the day. There was still a substantial amount along the trail to the lakes with around 4-5 feet at the lakes. The lakes were just showing some water, but the ice will quickly melt now. I visited both lakes, took some pictures and Skye & I had lunch along the shore in the sun. The temperature was warm with lots of sunshine for the day.
