Kendall Katwalk

Last Wednesday I hiked to the Kendall Katwalk, part of the Pacific Crest Trail a few miles south of Snoqualmie Pass. Apparently, this is a relatively new stretch of the PCT, and the Katwalk was blasted out of the side of a rocky cliff sometime in the 1970s. The hike is about 11 miles (17.7 km) roundtrip with 2600 feet (792 meters) of elevation gain, a bit more strenuous than most hikes I sign up for.

The trailhead is near the Alpental downhill ski area and the hike starts through a typically dense westside forest of Douglas Fir and Western Cedar with lots of Deer Fern, Wood Fern, and Sword Fern. After a while we came to a clearing with a nice view of Guye Peak, a mountain I have noticed all my life during the drive over Snoqualmie. In fact, throughout most of the hike we could hear the traffic noise of Interstate 90.

Guye Peak

 A few minutes later, I turned around and noticed Mount Rainier looming on the horizon behind us.

Mount Rainier in the distance

 We continued hiking upwards on a good trail (most of the time) with long switchbacks,  big steps over tree roots, and some rocky areas along talus slopes. After about three hours we reached the Katwalk.

Kendall Peak (toward the left) as seen from near the Katwalk

The Katwalk itself, as you can see below, is not particularly dangerous when it is not covered in snow, and I felt perfectly secure walking on it, in spite of trail descriptions advising the timid to turn back without crossing. So I guess I'm not terribly timid.

Kendall Katwalk

 Unfortunately, a photograph does not really reflect the feeling of looking over a cliff, but below is the view over the precipice.

Looking down the mountain from the Katwalk

 After crossing, we continued for a short distance and found some comfortable rocks to sit on for lunch.

Lunchtime view

We were visited by various insects as we ate, and the beauty below hung around for quite a while.

Northwestern Fritillari (Speyeria hesperis) on my hiking pole

The same Northwestern Fritillari (Speyeria hesperis) resting on a fellow hiker's Coconut Revolution (whatever that is)

We started back and I noticed this nicely framed view of the aptly named Red Mountain, whose color, I assume, is a result of an unusual amount of iron in the rock.

Red Mounrain as seen from just west of the Katwalk

 As we headed down, one of my knees started to pain me. Luckily, our hike leader had some of that miracle drug, Alleve, and a few minutes later, I was ready to bound on down the trail. On the way down, the Mountain made another appearance.

Rainier floats serenely in the distance

A good day if fatiguing.  On to Hurricane Ridge on Sunday with Anna and Pierce!