Elevation Profile for Thunder Mountain Trail
The trailhead is at the end of a very short spur on the right with a sign post at the head of it. The beginning of the trail has been reconstructed through a clearcut and can become brushy. Shortly you will be out of the brush and in virgin habitat to the summit. Skookum Lake can be visited by way of the Skookum Lake Trail 542 which joins near the summit. The mileage on the FS Info sheet is incorrect. The trail is approximately 1.55 miles each way (round trip is 3.1 miles).
ONE OF THUNDER MOUNTAIN’S VISTAS
Trail location is shown acurately on older topos but not the new one. For accurate trail location, refer to the Topo Map link above which has the track overlaid on a recent topo map.
The former lookout site at the summit remains fairly open and offers panoramic views. There is a “kinda” spring on the way up but don’t count on it. The grade is steady but moderate.
If you decide to descend towards Skookum Lake, a side trail leads towards the Baty Butte Trail 545 at the meadow area at the bottom of the descent below the rock field — left to Baty Butte, right to Skookum Lake. There is no apparent tread to the left across the small meadow but there is a blaze leading the way to the more obvious trail. This trail junction has a waypoint in the GPS track referenced on the Skookum Lake trail page.
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Hiked this trail today – trail is very brushy in spots but only a couple of downed logs on it. Road to the trailhead is in very good shape due to thinning projects in the area.
Hiked this trail today – Trail has recently been logged out and is in good to excellent shape. There are a couple of brushy spots but they are short and easy to traverse – most of the trail is in GREAT shape. The trail down to the lake is a bit rougher although all the logs are cut out – a few areas are really brushy but relatively easy to get thru as long as you pay attention.
Hiked this trail on 10/19/2024 – immediately after the Sandstone fire closure was lifted. The roads to the trailhead have been all brushed out which was nice and the trail had some work done to it. The normally brushy areas near the beginning (the Thimbleberry fields) had been cut back so you could actually see the trail. The trail was in really good shape.
The trail down to the lake suffered a bit of fire damage but was repaired which was nice to see. There were a few downed logs down to the lake but otherwise in pretty good shape other than the few brushy areas down lower.