Crescent Lake — Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022

Went on a solo overnighter to Crescent Lake on Nason Ridge via the Merritt Lake (1588) and Nason Ridge (15830 trails. The Merritt Lake trail up to the junction with the western leg of the Nason Ridge trail is in good condition with two minor blow downs across the trail. The segment of the Nason Ridge trail from the Merritt Lake junction to Crescent Lake below Mt Howard has numerous blowdowns and is moderately to heavily overgrown in numerous sections. Although many of the blowdowns were simple step-overs, several required significant walk around or crawl over to navigate. There is a single established campsite near the outlet of the lake. Mosquitos were fairly heavy in the subalpine forest and even heavier at the lake. It rained early yesterday morning and the heavy overgrowth made for wet and squishy hiking conditions on the way out. Crescent is a beautiful spot with a large grassy flat along the shore and slopes leading up to the crags of Mt Howard.