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This weekend we decided to tackle Mt. Willey (4302′), a short but steep hike. Unlike our last hike, we knew this one would climb right out of the parking lot – no warmup, and not much change in grade, just an efficient walk up the mountain followed by retracing our steps down.

We set off from the Mt. Willey Station parking area on the Ethan Pond trail, and then continued up the Willey Range Trail. We encountered the promised ladders on our way up!

Su on ladders going up Mt. Willey

We were met with nice views on a few lookouts on our way up, and a great view at the top of Mt. Washington (in the distance on the left) and the steep cliffs on the side of Mt. Webster.

View from Mt. Willey near summit

We enjoyed almost 30 minutes by ourselves at the top, plenty of time for a few more photos of the notch.

View of Crawford Notch from Mt. Willey

We also had a visit from a fearless bird who really wanted us to drop some of our lunch.

Bird on Mt. Willey

We chatted with another couple about running, hiking the 4000 footers and enjoying the beautiful day before continuing down the mountain – for some reason the ladders seemed a little tricker on the way down.

Su headed down the ladders on Mt. Willey

We dubbed this hike “the stairmaster” due to the steady grade and the well-cut steps in the trail. Except for maybe 100 yards of loose gravel, it was all rocky, rooty, soft trail steps – or of course the “treehouse ladders” – up and down.

Here’s our favorite shot from the day – we are happy hikers, and Brian only has 10 more peaks to go!

Beej and Su atop Mt. Willey