Trail 208 - North West Trail

This trail is really Forest Service Road 208, the same road that takes you to the Thompson Creek Trailhead on the west side of the wilderness and to the FS208 trailhead on the east side of the wilderness. Note that these roads are in good condition but are gravel and take a long time to travel as they aren’t straight. The trail is closed to vehicles, but open to horses and hikers. As an old road it isn't very impressive, it does wind down and beside Braziel Creek but even that section isn't particularly pretty. This trail provides access to TR223, TR224, and TR210. The trail is 6.7 - 6.8 miles long. The trail is described from west to east.

Starting at the Thompson Creek Trailhead the trail climbs up to a ridge and follows the ridge to the junction of TR223, about 2 miles. The trail then goes about half a mile to where TR224 branches off to the south. The trail passes a horse camp and continues to wind along a ridge top and then descend to Braziel Creek. The trail is somewhat more interesting as it follows the creek, but the creek is fairly brushy and low in this section. It crosses the creek on a bridge and climbs up a small hill and beside some neat cliffs. Just before crossing the creek on another bridge TR210 branches off to the north. You will really have to look to find this trail as it is not readily apparent. After the bridge the trail winds up to the top of the ridge beside some more interesting rocks. At some point TR210 branches off to the south here and follows Braziel Creek down to the intersection of Borden Creek and the FS224 trailhead. The trail follows the top of the ridge for a short distance to the trailhead. The Carto-Craft map indicates another trail going south from here, I did see evidence of this trail. This trail isn't real interesting for hikers, but isn't so bad to use as a connector trail. I give it a two star rating, and it is easy to moderate in a few sections.

The Sipsey Wilderness  

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Last Updated: April 2003

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