Leave the trailhead and follow the trail for a couple hundred feet to a trail junction -
1. Turn right and follow the Willow Creek trail into the forest and across 2 small streams. After a short distance, exit the forest, turn left, and continue up through a clearing -
2. Follow the solid trail back into the forest and up a bunch of large switchbacks. After over 1.25 miles from the trailhead, exit the forest on a small hill (9,900') where much of the remaining route can be seen to the east -
3.
Descend a bit, continue through semi-open terrain, and then follow the trail east back into the forest. Above 10,000', there are several areas of switchbacks -
4. Keep grinding east and northeast up through the forest to 10,400' where the trail begins to curve right (southeast) and crosses some rock slabs -
5. Taken from this general location,
6 looks southeast at the headwall you must ascend to reach the upper basin and Willow Lake. Near 10,900', cross the Willow Creek stream (
7) and follow the trail as it switchbacks southeast up the headwall. Exit the trees near 11,100' and climb the final switchbacks (
8) to reach the top of the headwall -
9.
On flatter terrain (
10), pass a small boulder field and re-enter the forest. Hike a short distance to reach another stream crossing -
11. Cross back to the north side of the creek and continue on the trail toward Willow Lake. From the stream crossing, it's approximately 3/4 mile to the lake -
12. Potential camp sites start to appear within the last 1/2 mile to the lake, but most are closer. Just prior to the lake, pass a waterfall (
13) and hike up a short, steep section of rock near some large boulders -
14. Continue a short distance to reach Willow Lake -
15. If you intend to climb Challenger and/or Kit Carson, it's best to locate the main trail and where it passes the lake, in daylight.