Name: Middle Boulder Trail #5577
Rating: 3.0

“A good trail with some steep pitches leading to Middle Boulder Lake.”

— Bruce Hope

Features Lake · Swimming · Wildflowers

This trail is enters the Trinity Alps Wilderness and the usual federal wilderness area regulations and restrictions apply here; practice Leave No Trace (LNT) backcountry skills and ethics, camp 100 feet from fragile areas, bury human waste at least 200 feet from water, trails, and campsites. This trail is usually closed by snow between November and May. Expect to encounter cows during the summer.

Description

This trail starts at the Middle Boulder Trailhead on Forest Road 40N17 and follows along the east side of West Boulder Creek for about 1.2 miles to a junction with the Telephone Lake Trail #5576. From here it continues on upslope parallel to, but not near, an unnamed branch of the creek. At about 2.2 miles from the trailhead, it crosses a moist meadow area north of Middle Boulder Lake. If you want to visit the lake, leave the trail here and go cross-country over a small rise to the lake.

If you're continuing on, you'll pass a poorly signed junction with the Boulder Tie Trail #5582 at about 2.5 miles from the trailhead. Past here, the #5577 leaves the trees behind and makes a sweeping climb over open ground to end at its junction with the Pacific Crest Trail on the crest of the Scott Mountains.