Looking for an easy dayhike last weekend, we decided on Crystal Lake in the Mission Mountains Wilderness. We'd never been there before, and the sky was clear of smoke, the trail fairly short and the water clear, indeed.
There's not much to the hike: From the trailhead, it rises to the south about one-third of a mile, turns southwest and enters the Mission Mountains Wilderness at about three-quarters of a mile, and drops to the lake at about 2 1/3 miles. Along the way, there are several stream/mud crossings, and just before the end there's a junction with a trail down to Lindbergh Lake.
At the Crystal Lake, we found a couple of loons cruising the surface, as well as stretches of gradually sloping grass and gravel shore - making for easy wading in August's heat!
The downhill walk was nice on the way in, but the uphill, south-facing trail was dusty and hot on the way out.
Here are more pictures from Crystal Lake.
Distance: 4 2/3 miles round trip.
Trailhead: About 19 miles north of Seeley Lake on Montana Highway 83, turn west on Lindbergh Lake Road, aka Forest Road 79. Follow it 12 miles uphill to the west to the trailhead, turning for Bunyan Lake at two intersections in the first three miles.
