Follow the road past the locked gate at Tells Creek for one-half mile to the Y intersection. Take the road to the right to the end of the road. The trail continues at the end of the road. It has an easy grade of three to six percent for the first 1.3 miles but then begins to climb with a grade of twenty to twenty-five percent as the trail provides access to Lake Number 3, Lake Number 5, Lawrence Lake and Barrett Lake. There are excellent views of the Crystal Basin throughout the trail. The first 1.3 miles of the trail is outside of the wilderness. The last three to four miles are inside the boundary and will require a Desolation Wilderness permit.