Trail 246

June 15, 2018

What a fabulous mountain range we live under!  In under an hour we can escape the summer heat by driving to the top of highway 153 or Kent’s Lake Road to nearly 10,000’ where the temperature is commonly 20 degrees cooler.  The Kent’s Lake road, F.R. 137, is a great route to quickly venture into the hills and begin many types of adventures, from float tubing on LeBaron, to canoeing at Tushar Lakeside, or towing your second home up to Betenson Flat and sleeping in REAL comfort.  This week’s hike uses F.R. 137 to get up past Anderson Meadow Reservoir and any passenger car can drive this well maintained dirt road. Recently graded and treated with Mag-Chloride to lock down the dust and combat wash-boarding, this road is in great shape, but keep in mind it is still a steep mountain road, mostly one lane wide, with loose gravel and blind corners.  Please drive cautiously and anticipate oncoming traffic. Pack up a lunch, grab your boots and maybe a fishing pole, and head up Beaver Canyon for some cool times!!!

Trail #246 is a walk in the park, literally, for the first 1.2 miles, it is as flat as a pancake and the only hard thing about it is the thin air at 9800’!  But once this trail starts climbing at the end of the historic logging road that it is, it goes 600 feet STRAIGHT up. Why straight up you may ask? My best guess is that some hunter in the early 1900’s wanted to weed out the weak ones and get to his own spot high atop Birch Creek Mountain.  If you are strong enough to crest the summit at 10,480’, you can continue west\southwest to some neat flat areas in the Big Twist drainage. The modern day 246 trail stays out of Big Twist’s drainage bottom, keeping more towards the ridge to the south that divides it from Little Twist. You’d best have a jeep or four-wheeler waiting for you at the end of F.R. 140 if you decide to descend all the way down the west slope of Birch Creek Mtn. because you’d be crazy to return back to the top.  The western end of trail 246 can be reached by heading out the South Creek road from Beaver and turning left on F.R. 140. One Quarter mile east of the 066 intersection with the Big Twist Rd. is where to begin the long uphill battle if you want to attempt to do the 246 eastbound. Don’t do it man!

So in the interest of taking it easy and staying cool, go try just the first mile of the 246’s four miles and see how you feel.  Drive up Beaver Canyon to m.m. 10, turn right onto F.R. 137 and proceed 8 miles to Anderson Meadow C.G. 0.3 miles past And. Mdw. C.G. turn right onto F.R. 575 and drive for 1.1 miles.   Park here on the right which is the first large turnout after 575 does a big U-turn and heads south. Trail 246 heads west from here as and old logging road where you can enjoy cool fresh air, peace, and serenity.  Then, decide if you packed enough Power Bars to get you Into, Up, and Over the Tushars!