Though not the most spectacular place I've ever been, this was a really enjoyable hike! The lake was pretty and peaceful and we really had the place to ourselves. There were a few challenges to navigating the trail, though.
As was probably noted in previous trip reports, the road was decent except for some pretty deep potholes that were challenging for our low-clearance car right at the bridge into the parking area for Garfield Ledges.
The trail was pretty easy to follow, but there were a couple of challenging spots near washouts/stream crossings after the trail branches off to the left. The first one involves climbing down a steep muddy slope left by a washout near a stream crossing (pictured). There is a rope looped around a tree that was helpful in climbing down and then up again on the way back. A second stream crossing was less difficult, but involved some steep sections of trail that were a little muddy/icy to get to the crossing and and some slick rocks and I was glad for my trekking poles. The trail eventually was completely under snow and then seemed to end completely (or at least we couldn't see any evidence of it, and our map showed the trail ending) about 3/4 mile before we reached the lake. We were able to get to the lake by just heading straight ahead-ish, keeping the creek to our left and the ridge to our right.
The snow was deep, but firm enough that we didn't need snowshoes. Microspikes were helpful. It was pretty unevenly distributed and we saw some very deep holes around tree wells and logs. It seemed worth watching footing carefully!
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