The road turned trail is longer than i recall. It also needs some lopping again. The fire break is still steep as heck, before reaching the actual trail. Lots of snow melt run off across the trail. Did some boot heal trenching to unplug some of the drainage. Some of the flooded trail is drying out nicely now. The lake is just starting to thaw, plenty of snow around the edges. But there are some wildflowers starting to show in the early melt spots.

Once again I found myself at a loss for a hike when my aunt sent me a text wondering what trail the family should take. I sent back names of hikes I had read about and we decided on Meadow Mountain. After finding out the trail was 17.5 miles one way we decided to switch to Crystal Lake. The trail started out as a long road walk through overgrown alder trees and brush eventually changing to an even more overgrown road walk. Tantalizing views of Pugh and old growth trees made the long slog worthwhile as we hiked along. Around 3500 feet the trail became a muddy, mucky, mix of downed trees, brush, and snow but passing the first patches of snow we found the old fire line described by Ira Spring. A steep direct route to the lake only indicated by flagging (highly helpful until its abrupt disappearance) gained elevation quickly alongside waterfalls and a roaring creek. At the crest of the hill around 4500 feet we found a large amount of snow, but with some modest route finding we made it to the outlet of the lake and an excellent campsite, strangely bare among the snow and frozen lake. It was a great spot for lunch and reflection. It was also an awesome spot to view amphibians as local frogs were abundant among ponds of meltwater. Wildlife included garter snakes, several types of frogs, and grouse. The payoff of the hike was beautiful but for the long approach I would advise bringing a mountain bike along. The roads are in great shape at the trailhead and beg for a bicycle approach. Meadow mountain also looked pleasant from what we could see but the snow line was lower than expected. If solitude is the goal this trail fit the bill as the trail is largely overgrown and isolated. We were the only vehicle at the trailhead and asides from a woman and her dogs we did not see anyone hiking.

Trail is in good shape. No blowdowns and trail brushed out. No snow until right at the lake and higher. Lots of snow all around the lake. Some snow piles are 3 feet (?) deep. Bugs not that bad. Mosquitoes at trailhead. Aggressive flies down low on the old logging road in hot, sunny areas. Almost no bugs at the lake (too much snow). Trail muddy and wet in spots.

*IMPASSABLE DUE TO SLIDE ALDER* This trail starts on a road turned trail. The beginnig is not bad, the brush is just beginning to encroach. Beyond the interstection of Crystal Lake/Meadow Mtn. The brush gets worse, and eventually the road turned trail dissapears under Slide Alder, and becoming impassable.

At last a free day on the mainland! A chance to get away from the orca-seeking tourists, sea urchins and over-priced restaurants of Friday Harbor. I have been on almost every trail in the Darrington district at least once, but there was a bit of a blank spot I had been passing over for years – Meadow Mountain and Crystal Lake. I started on Meadow Mountain Trail #657 which begins with about 4.5 miles of recovering road bed. This portion of the trail is hot, exposed and underwhelming. It’s obvious when you hit the former trailhead. It’s marked by a downed sign prohibiting motorcycles and the trail turns narrow and begins switch-backing up. The switchbacks are well engineered. They are long, few in number and have very little drainage problems. In fact much of the area is quite dry. After two miles or so I reached a stream and the beginning of the meadows that have given this mountain its name. The area is really quite beautiful reminding me a bit of Huckleberry Mountain to the north. I’m looking forward to exploring this trail further to the east someday, but today I turned off onto the Meadow Lake Trail #657.1. A short, boggy .7 miles and some elevation loss takes you down to the lake. It’s quite a pretty lake and wasn’t too buggy for this time of year. I was rather un-enthusiastic about turning around and hiking the Meadow Mountain Trail all the way back so I took a look at my maps and noticed a pass a little to the northeast of the lake that would require just a few hundred feet elevation gain to cross over with Crystal Lake just on the other side. I poked around and was not surprised to find a rather nice boot-beat path taking me to where I wanted to go. Once over the pass I could barley glimpse Crystal Lake and knew I was on the right track. The way trail descended quickly down to the lake shore. On the way down I swear I heard a large growl that made my skin jump five feet to the side of me. I quickly pulled it back on and had a good look around, but saw nothing. I continued quietly. Once down to the lake I surprised a couple of ladies there who didn’t seem to be expecting a visitor from the far end of the lake. You might say I caught them with their pants down – well off actually. No further details needed. I had to mill around a bit to find the Crystal Lake Trail #638, but once on it, it was clear were I was going – down. This trail is a true fishermen’s trail – its’ steep and I’m glad I didn’t choose to go up it. Back to the road junction and I was out after 7 hours of walking for a nice loop trip.