The Milk Lake trail is a short trail off of the FS1708 (Milk Creek Rd.) that is the access to the top of Manastash Ridge and joins the 4W307 and 4W694 trails. This is also one of the best ways to access Funny Rocks and Moon Rocks from Hwy 410. The trail starts off in an old clear cut and you will wind yourself around stumps and at times the trail is re-cut due to fallen trees. Entering a short forested area you will come to a small wood bridge. Much work has been done here to fight erosion and to fix deep mud holes in the trail (the pictures were taken before this). Please do not "mud bog" here, continuing to rip up the trail will only get it closed to all of us. Just past the bridge on the left and in the trees is the 4W686 trail that returns you back down hill to the FS1708 road.
Following the bridge, continue up hill and you will find yourself at the base of one long and steep hill climb. During the summer months this is a soft and dusty place. Lockers can come in handy, especially on the tracks to the right side that have a lot of loose rock in them. Be cautious not to get sideways, this hill has wrecked more than one Jeep in the past with spectacular and long roll overs. With a little moisture, even a light mist, this hill becomes a slippery mess.
Once at the top of the hill,
bear right and follow the trail, continuing up hill until get to the top
of the ridgeline. From this point you can turn left to pick up the Tripod
Flats Trail (4W307) or continue along the ridgeline to the south to
access Moon Rocks, Summit Trail(4W694) and the CJRs Hideout
Trail (4W644) |
