It's just over 4.5 miles to Navajo Lake. From the trailhead (
1), hike about 0.25 mile and pass the Groundhog trail junction -
2. Stay right and hike through some meadows (
3) before returning to the trees. At 9,500', cross a bridge that spans West Dolores River and continue up a steep hill -
4. Continue to 9,800' where the trail enters a large meadow (
5) and continue through trees and more small meadows -
6 and
7. Near 10,700', hike up through a meadow and ascend several switchbacks to reach 11,000' -
8 and
9. Traverse east across the hillside and back into the trees to reach a junction with the Woods Lake trail -
10. Stay right. Navajo Lake is about 0.5 mile from the Woods Lake trail junction. You now have a view of Gladstone Peak (13,913') to the east (
11) and El Diente Peak towers above to your right. Within 0.25 mile of the lake, campsites start to appear along the right side of the trail. Reach Navajo Lake at approximately 11,160' -
12 and
13.
From the Lake it's about 2 miles to the upper, east end of the basin and the remaining routes to Wilson Peak and Mt. Wilson. For El Diente Peak, it's 1.5 miles to the point where the El Diente route leaves the main Navajo trail. Pass the lake on the left and follow the trail through the bushes -
14. Nearly 0.5 mile east of the lake, leave the bushes and hike onto talus on the north side of the basin -
15 and
16. Continue up the left side of the basin as you approach the top of a headwall -
17. At 11,900' on top of the headwall, the terrain flattens out -
18 and
19.
If you're climbing the North Slopes route on El Diente Peak, your climb of El Diente starts off to the right. If continuing to Wilson Peak or Mt. Wilson, refer to those route descriptions. The Navajo trail continues all the way to 12,300' before turning left and ascending to the Rock of Ages saddle.