Crescent Saddle Cabin

Beautiful cabin in a stunning location! If arriving from Carter lake trailhead, plan to cross some dubious water depending on the time of the year!

Beautiful cabin in a stunning location! If arriving from Carter lake trailhead, plan to cross some dubious water depending on the time of the year!

Trail a little muddy and some slides to traverse but otherwise awesome!

Trail a little muddy and some slides to traverse but otherwise awesome!

The hike in is beautiful, slightly challenging and absolutely worth it. The cabin was very new and clean and the boat was in excellent shape. I've been to several FS cabins and this one was one of my favorites for the scenery. We didn't see any bears, but saw a dall sheep across the lake and some loons.

The hike in is beautiful, slightly challenging and absolutely worth it. The cabin was very new and clean and the boat was in excellent shape. I've been to several FS cabins and this one was one of my favorites for the scenery. We didn't see any bears, but saw a dall sheep across the lake and some loons.

Went in mid-September and had a great time at Crescent Saddle cabin. We took the Carter Lake trail to the Crescent Lake trail, which ended up being close to 7.5 mi total. The first 1.5 mi had a pretty steep elevation gain of about 1,000 ft. Once you branch off from the Carter Lake trail, the going gets a little rough. Because of the time of year, the bushes and tall grass got us soaked since the trail was very overgrown and it had rained earlier. There were also two spots were you cross streams that were a little too deep for normal hiking boots and our feet got wet. An arduous trail but the views were worth it. The cabin itself was cute, previous occupants had left some wood under the woodshed to dry, which was fantastic. Wish we had waterproofed a bit better before going but other than that, a great trip.

Went in mid-September and had a great time at Crescent Saddle cabin. We took the Carter Lake trail to the Crescent Lake trail, which ended up being close to 7.5 mi total. The first 1.5 mi had a pretty steep elevation gain of about 1,000 ft. Once you branch off from the Carter Lake trail, the going gets a little rough. Because of the time of year, the bushes and tall grass got us soaked since the trail was very overgrown and it had rained earlier. There were also two spots were you cross streams that were a little too deep for normal hiking boots and our feet got wet. An arduous trail but the views were worth it. The cabin itself was cute, previous occupants had left some wood under the woodshed to dry, which was fantastic. Wish we had waterproofed a bit better before going but other than that, a great trip.

A word to the wise on this one: time the season perfectly if wanting to avoid snow. We came last few days of May, and the snow was the perfect combination of depth and slushiness to make travel (even if we had snow shoes) impossible over through Carter Lake to the cabin. We had to change plans and take a plane to a break in the ice on the lake. From what many in the cabin log wrote, July and later have such tall grass and devils club that the trail takes twice as long with lots of losing the trail.

That said, the location of this cabin is absolutely gorgeous. We didnt see any animals, but plenty of evidence of moose, brown bear, and sheep or goats from the snow prints. Lots of wood around and someone who had clearly brought a chainsaw left a bunch of wood rounds to chop. Cabin is tiny but that means its easy to heat on the small stove.

Gear: there are two hacksaws, one handsaw, a maul, a broom, oars, but don't look for the boat. From the cabin log, the boat went missing a couple years ago (maybe at the bottom of the lake).

A word to the wise on this one: time the season perfectly if wanting to avoid snow. We came last few days of May, and the snow was the perfect combination of depth and slushiness to make travel (even if we had snow shoes) impossible over through Carter Lake to the cabin. We had to change plans and take a plane to a break in the ice on the lake. From what many in the cabin log wrote, July and later have such tall grass and devils club that the trail takes twice as long with lots of losing the trail.

That said, the location of this cabin is absolutely gorgeous. We didnt see any animals, but plenty of evidence of moose, brown bear, and sheep or goats from the snow prints. Lots of wood around and someone who had clearly brought a chainsaw left a bunch of wood rounds to chop. Cabin is tiny but that means its easy to heat on the small stove.

Gear: there are two hacksaws, one handsaw, a maul, a broom, oars, but don't look for the boat. From the cabin log, the boat went missing a couple years ago (maybe at the bottom of the lake).