Crystal Mill - June 9 2024

Alison and I had a relaxed hike to the mill in very nice early summer weather.  It was about 70 degrees, and mostly blue skies.  The stats:

Miles:  7.45 round trip from our parking at top of Daniels Hill

Time:  3 hours not counting 15 minutes at the mill

Pace:  2.8 mph

Effort:  relaxed

The road was mostly good, except for 2 or 3 sections where the river overflowed it's banks into the road itself.  A few spots looked questionable, but in reality were easy to walk through with the deepest parts being maybe 5 inches.  Alison was anxious, but was pleased to realize this wasn't a big deal, the water wasn't too uncomfortable, and walking in wet shoes isn't that bad.  Expanding her adventure abilities.

The trees were beautiful, with the fresh spring light green of the aspens blended in with the

darker green of the firs.  The waterfalls were at peak flows, making for dramatic scenes when crashing into the river.  The river was very off-color and loud, making it's way down stream.  

We also saw many dandelion patches and swarms of butterflies.  

Lizard Lake seemed a foot lower.  A ton of bugs but no fish rising.  The water shimmered as the sun reflected off the smallest of disruptions on the mostly glass like surface.

I think I should try to go fish Lizard Lake, given that the rivers are all un-fishable at the moment.