On October 14-15, 1972 I backpacked with Dave Butler, Curt Sayer, Brian Twohey and George Brady on a nine mile round trip to Birch Lake in the John Muir Wilderness.
Infrequently traveled, Birch Lake trail is steep, rugged and un-maintained. At times it is difficult to locate. Be prepared to navigate with the aid of a topographic map. There is minimal water or shade along Birch Lake Trail. So, a pre-dawn start is recommended during the summer. The alpine lake at the end of the trail and various nearby peaks are popular with mountaineers. The dirt road to this trailhead is rocky and challenging even for high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicles.
We drove from San Diego to McMurry Meadow and camped Friday night. Couldn't find the trail Saturday morning so climbed the ridge on south side of Birch Creek. Made camp in valley at about 9,000 feet. Found trail and explored short distance up it.
On Sunday followed trail out and located beginning on a road that takes off the main road near the creek crossing - stay on north side of creek. Good trail once you find it. The turn off is 5.6 miles from the paved Big Pine Creek road. Road is rough but goes to about 7200 feet (in Section 9).
Birch Creek/Lake route map using train on topo map
