Lake Columbine

Drainage: Boulder
Approaches: Approximately 23 miles round trip from the Box Canyon trailhead, on Trail #27 then #28 then #128 up Columbine Creek, with roughly 2,850 feet of climbing. All on trail.
Elevation: 9,151 feet
Fish: No fish captured. Montana FWP.
Coordinates: 45.21762, -110.14352
Bugs: Mosquitoes, just bad enough to be annoying.

Getting there

Trail #27 up the East Fork of the Boulder from Box Canyon, then #28, then #128 up Columbine Creek. Trail the whole way, 11.5 miles and about 2,850 feet by FWP's reckoning.

It took us six hours and twenty-five minutes carrying nine days of food, which is the heaviest we have ever walked with. The first five miles to Lake Kathleen are easy and pretty. Past the Columbine junction it turns hard and slow, and it stays that way to the lake.

This is one of the hardest walks we have done.

FWP lists a second way in on the Upsidedown Creek trail at 15 miles with 4,800 up and 2,000 down.

The hike

Columbine is 5.3 acres and shallow, 10 feet at the deepest and 5 on average.

There is probably nothing in it. FWP set an overnight gill net here for thirteen hours in 2007 and caught nothing at all. Grayling were scheduled to go in back in 1984 and the plant was cancelled at the Forest Service's request, so nothing was ever stocked. Their note says the lake will likely only be surveyed again if that changes.

We camped here on the first night. Firewood is limited, which FWP says too.

Tips & safety

• Navigation: Trail #27, then #28, then #128 up Columbine Creek. On trail the whole way, no route-finding.

• Camping: We camped here. Firewood is limited.

• Fishing: FWP netted it overnight in 2007 and caught nothing. Never stocked.

• Bugs: Mosquitoes, annoying rather than bad.

• The climb: Easy to the Columbine junction, hard and slow after it.