The second route obstacle leads to the end of Little Willow Canyon, and the route enters the Lone Peak cirque.

The Eighth is the final Little Willow leg, and the most rewarding.  But the reward must be earned in one final boulder scramble.

At 10,000 feet elevation the valley floor is a relatively flat mixture of fir clusters, small clearings, and scattered boulders from the margins above.  Where the trees end, the change is dramatic.  The ridge forming the south edge of the valley bends to the North and ends in a striking half-dome.  Between the cliff face of the dome and the massive wall on the opposite side, an irregular bowl marks the top of the Little Willow cirque.

The bowl is a wall of huge granite blocks, and trees spring from almost every surface and crack.  Upon encountering this obvious obstacle, the effect is simeultaneously beautiful and daunting.  Now there are rock slides fed from every direction, and a boulder climb will be required to get higher.

Second Route Obstacle:  Class 2 boulder slope

The easiest way out of the canyon lies on the boulder slope nearest to the half-dome on the South edge.  Remember that rockfall slopes like this one are still moving, naturally unsorted, and capable of shifting.  Climbers should be wary of their footing and the potential for spall from above.

Some of the debris is quite large (as shown in the scale photo) and hands will be required to maneuver over the larger pieces.  No ropes are needed here, so we're rating the slope a Class 2.

A few sparsely-placed cairns direct climbing upward past the face of the half-dome, and the boulders thin out into small grassy slopes.

When rounding the shoulder of the dome, the summit will come into view for the first time on the route.  At the top of the headwall (the Utah County line) there are plenty of places to rest and uninterruped views of the summit and Lone Peak cirque.

The Little Willow Canyon route is now complete, and it merges with the main non-technical hiking route to the summit.

Scott:  Things leveled out a bit at 10,000 feet, but with over 1,200 feet to go and the peak not in sight, we were almost sure we weren't going to make it.  A beautiful granite ringed bowl was visible in front of us, with a few hundred more feet of visible elevation gain required.  Here we discovered stacked rocks, indicating that others had been this way and suggesting a path.  I soon found myself at the top, surprisingly standing on the top of the ridge, with an amazing view of the peak and upper cirque.  We were almost there!

Jeff:  Rocks and walls everywhere, and no way out but up!

Andrew:  Remember the guy who had to cut his own arm off after getting trapped by boulders in Southern Utah?  Never climb alone through a place like this.

Ryan:  It's possible to cut through your arm with a pocketknife, but first you must break the bones in your arm.