It starts out fairly easy and, at first, has great views back down to Los Cruzeros and across the mountains.
The road in the middleground winding down the hill is the Mahoney Meadows Road that I just descended from Poverty Flat Road to Los Cruzeros.
"Dreaded climb?" Well, this is the third time that I'm climbing Willow Ridge Trail. The trail rises about 1200 feet in 1.6 miles. The 10-ton bike (or is it a dead horse?) must be dragged upward most of that distance, little by little, which gives the body quite a work-out, for which it is not yet ready on just day two of a bikepacking trip.