Just about 1/2 mile south of Moffat, you’ll see the left turn signed for Crestone. There's a defunct new-age crystal shop on the corner there that's pretty hard to miss. Crestone itself is 12.5 miles further east. As you enter Crestone, the road swings north, and you'll turn right (east) on Galena St. (just after the new post office). From there, the edge of town is about 100 feet, the forest boundary is about 1 mile, and the trailhead is at about 2.3 miles. The last mile is pretty rough, but it seems that some maintenance has been done, as the massive washouts I remembered from a year ago weren’t quite so bad. Any solid car or truck can make it without much difficulty, and turnouts are plentiful if you see something you'd rather not drive across.

After the 4-hour drive, we found ourselves at the Willow Creek trailhead at about 7pm on Friday evening. A few thunderstorms were rapidly dissipating, creating a spectacular sunset and a clear, starry evening. While there were about a dozen other vehicles at the trailhead, most of these folks had hiked up to Willow Lake, so we pretty much had the trailhead area to ourselves. The night was warm enough for a tentless bivvy, and we hit the sack early in anticipation of an early morning.

So, at 3:00 my alarm went off (see, I said it would be early) and we gathered ourselves together and ate a quick breakfast (bagels, peanut butter, bananas) under a bright full moon. By 3:30, we were on our way, headlamps blazing. The plan was to try to make Kit Carson by noon and get down before any potential weather kicked in. The forecast was mostly dry, but it’s been an unsettled and wet summer here in Colorado, and we weren’t sure what to expect. Based on the ’03 attempt, we knew it would be about 3 hours to Willow Lake, and that’s almost exactly what it turned out to be – at 6:30 we rounded the north side of the lake while watching a warm alpenglow sunrise on the Kit Carson summit block. The ~5 miles from the trailhead to the lake are very straightforward, along an excellent trail in great shape, and (for those sane people who hike in daylight) spectacular views of the jagged Sangre peaks and the gorgeous valleys along the way. Willow Lake itself is breathtaking – huge mountain views one way, San Luis valley disappearing into the distance the other. The hike to Willow Lake it worth the trip all by itself!

The second phase of the trip is much less mellow. Once you’ve rounded Willow Lake and hiked to the east end of the lake, the next step is to climb to the ridge almost directly to the south. The mellow hike is over, as it’s time to climb almost 2000’ feet in one mile! While the trail splits off into any number of possible routes, the most solid climb trends towards the climber’s right – the high-altitude tundra alternates with solid rock – aim for the most prominent bump on the ridge (not quite all the way to the right side) and attain the ridge just to the right of this bump (and a couple Class II+ maneuvers). During winter conditions, other variations that trend to the left work well, but in dry conditions the rock becomes looser and smaller until your trying to scramble up step after step of loose (and really annoying) scree).

Once you get to the ridge top, the next goal is Challenger Point, the 14,081’ sub-peak of Kit Carson, just about 1/3 mile along the ridge. You can either stick to the ridge-top (rock-hopping with a little exposure), or use the trail that drops down on the south (climber’s right) side of the ridge for a little ways, then alternates to the north (climber’s left) side. Both options work great, but the ridge-top is recommended if there’s any snow/ice.

Challenger Point is almost a little anti-climatic…merely the highest point along this ridgeline, which continues on towards Kit Carson (you can’t possibly miss the Kit Carson summit block as it looms ever larger to the east). At the summit of Challenger Point you’ll see a small brass plaque, commemorating the astronauts of the space shuttle that gives the summit its’ name. On this day, a small American flag had been left on the summit also, adding a solemn underscore to this monument to our fallen astronauts. I felt a lump climb up my throat as I read the plaque for the second time in a year, and silently reflected.

To get to Challenger Point from Willow Lake took us right about 2 hours (nearly an hour less than last fall, thanks to a lack of snow cover!). Unlike the ’03 attempt, the conditions were dry and there were no signs of any gathering storm activity, so it was time for the main event – the 0.8 miles to the summit of Kit Carson!

The trip from Challenger to the KC summit is really a breeze, and quite enjoyable. We continued east from Challenger Point, descending to a 13,800’ saddle point where we picked up Kit Carson Avenue. This obvious ledge system avoids all the steep and scary-looking faces on the summit block. From the 13,800’ saddle, start along the ledge system, which ascends counter-clockwise to a 13,940’ saddle point and then does a descending traverse to the east side of the summit block. Once you get to the east side, Kit Carson Avenue peters out, but there’s no confusion about where to go – a large gulley between Kit Carson and its subpeak “Kat Carson” is the last obstacle. Some guidebooks call this a Class III climb, but following the faint trail we never had the difficulty exceed Class II. This trail switchbacks up the left side of the gulley and angles you right to the summit – which is smaller than you might think! The summit is along a somewhat narrow ridge where there’s room for 3~4 people.

And just like the Crestones, the views are eye-popping! Crestone Peak is obvious to the southeast, and Crestone Needle stands just behind. Humboldt is the 14,000’ mound to the east. Beyond that, the Blanca massif is farther south and the Great Sand Dunes make for fascinating viewing at the base of Blanca. To the west, the wide, flat expanse of the San Luis valley, with the town of Crestone visible in the foreground at the base of the mountains, with Alamosa in the hazy distance. Off on the western horizon, the San Juan range of mountains. North is the rest of the Sangre de Cristo range, and Pikes Peak was plainly visible to the northeast.

We made the summit right at 9:30, making for a 6-hour hike from the trailhead, and we had the summit to ourselves, at least for a few minutes. A number of people were evident on nearby Challenger Point, making their way towards us. After a few minutes of sucking down some food and drink, we signed the register and started down, just as a guy with his dog were coming up to the summit. I felt great to have #43 under my belt, especially after the first two failed attempts!

The hike down was where things started to get grueling – it had been a long morning of hiking, and now the day was starting to heat up and fatigue was becoming a factor. We descended the gulley and traversed along Kit Carson Avenue until we were on our way back towards Challenger Point. Rather than stick on the ridge, decided to avoid too much extra altitude gain and basically traversed straight across, below the ridgeline, which saved a good deal of unnecessary up-and-down. Descending to Willow Lake was probably the toughest part of the day. The steep descent was hard on the quads and knees, and by the time we made it back to the lake, an extended break was in order to soak our tired feet in the alpine water!

Luckily, from the lake to the trailhead was a piece of cake, along the nice mellow trail. The only thing that made the last few miles a little oppressive was the building heat that comes with the lower altitudes. Still, when we hit the trailhead at 2:30 (making for an 11-hour round trip), we felt pretty good, all in all. And now it was time for the 4-hour drive home, with occasional stops for food and heavily caffeinated beverages!

I can’t say enough good things about this hike. The trek to Willow Lake is an excellent trip all by itself, and the finish to Kit Carson is spectacular while not being overly tricky or exposed. Of course, the more sane way to climb Kit Carson is to actually camp at the lake first, which would make for a fantastic weekend 14er adventure!