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Bridge Lake

Dramatic Setting Below Crow Mountain

Lake in Gallatin NF, Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Rocky Mountains near Pray, MT

10 mile hike (3,500 ft climb) to Bridge Lake from the Bridge Creek Trailhead on the East Boulder River just south of the Christikon Church Camp (42 miles south of Big Timber). The hike has a steep ascent at both ends of the well-worn path. At about the 2 or 3 mile mark, the trail passes just above an older miner’s cabin that sits next to Bridge Creek. The now deceased prospector, Uncle Charlie, mined for ore on War Eagle Mountain, building the cabin and adjacent wooden bridge by hand. The Forest Service is letting the cabin return to nature just as Uncle Charlie left it.

The trail to Bridge Lake ends about 1/2 mile below the lake in a tree and meadow area good for camping or parking your horses (you can also camp in the meadow near the lake, but please bed down at least 200 ft away from the lake’s edge to minimize your impact). To reach the lake from the end of the trail, continue up and to the left (south) of the creek, scrambling over the steep muddy/snowy edge to the lakeside. The 14 acre Bridge Lake is stocked with cutthroat trout (last stocking 2013, next stocking 2019).

The lake is surrounded by steep rock walls on three sides with a dramatic sheer rock wall and late summer snow at the far end of the lake below Crow Mountain. One can scramble up the south slope of the bowl around the lake, over the saddle, and up the backside to the top of Crow Mountain (10,727 ft). The peak offers incredible 360 degree views including Monument Peak (10,988 ft) and even Pilot Peak (11,699 ft) to the east-southeast on a really clear day. There was a climb registry under a rock marker at the summit in 1980s where you could leave your name and the date of your climb. Bring your own pen or pencil and maybe even some paper. Hopefully it’s still there.

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