Different seasons provide different hiking opportunities. Spring snow scrambles and desert flower shows. Summer high meadows. Fall colors and larch trees. One under appreciated opportunities comes just after larch season. The first snow provides easy bare dirt trails leading to high views of peaks dusted in the first white cover. Sometimes it ends in abject failure like a trip to Mt. Dickerman that ended with waist deep unconsolidated snow. Snowshoes were worthless. Often it makes for a memorable day in the mountains. Usually there is only a week or two each year around the start of November. I headed to Snoqualmie Pass and the Pacific Crest Trail for this year's try.

I reached the parking lot at 9:10 to find only about 5 cars. It was cold and damp but not raining. I had heard about the trees that fell last winter and there were plenty down and sawed out. All the ground cover is missing in a few places. this trail is so moderate in grade that it's easy to set a fast pace. It was cold enough to provide another incentive to keep moving. I passed two folks after the first switchback. I only saw two more all the way up. The waterfall was flowing strong. Poles were helpful to get across with dry feet. There are still some colorful leaves along the way. Guye Peak was in and out of the clouds. Red Mountain was lost in cloud cover. At about 4500' I began to see a little snow. The forest kept it to a minimum. Near the ridge top I met one hiker coming down already.

I popped out into the open below Kendall Peak and found a thin snow cover. Not enough to slow me down but it did provide nice contrast on the talus field. Snoqualmie Pass went in and out of the clouds. Red Mountain also peaked out occasionally. It was covered with a thin white coat of snow. High above I began to see some blue sky. Sucker holes became bigger. I hoped for a little sunshine before the day was over. Soon the trail was almost entirely snow covered but it was only a few inches. Exactly what I had hoped for.

At the junction with the climbers path to the summit of Kendall Peak I met several folks who had just come down from the top. It looked a little slippery and they concurred. I chose to continue on. soon the route crossed over to the north side. The snow was not ice and was still easy to walk on. Good thing as the trail is narrow here the drop off is steep and long. The tarns at the bottom were frozen over. I stopped at the ridge. I hoped to see Alta Mountain and other peaks to the east. I saw clouds. No distant views. Oh well...

The trail drops down then climbs back up to the ridge at the Kendall Katwalk. I popped out of the trees to find sunshine. Almost warm sunshine. It was above freezing but still chilly. The gloves were not coming off this day. No rain so far and no indication of any so all was well. The Katwalk had a thin snow cover and half a dozen sets of footprints. Very nice. I could see a little of Chikamin Peak to the north but nothing to the east. It was just before noon and time for lunch. After that I decided to keep going. No ice on the Katwalk and so it was easy to cross.

Some footprints kept going and so did I. Bright sun on snow and yellow leaves made for nice color. Hard to photograph but still nice. It's about 1 1/4 miles to Ridge and Gravel Lakes. It went by pretty quickly. Chikamin Peak opened up as the clouds drifted away. There was enough snow to cover everything but not enough to slow down hiking very much. The fresh snow really spruced up the views. I stopped at Ridge Lake. The footprints stopped there too. Time for part two of my lunch. At 1:00 pm I headed back. A little uphill then easy traversing. Near the Katwalk I met another hiker coming in. Only the 7th person seen all day. Not like the crowds this trail had most all summer.

The Katwalk was partly bare as the sun quickly melted the thin coating. The tracks on the north side of Kendall Peak were now icy and I did stop to put on Yaktrax before starting across. Not too difficult without them but the drop is enormous and I had them so I used them. Once around the corner and beyond the narrow blasted trail they came off. I lingered on the open talus field. Much of the snow had melted there too. I hated to go back into the dark and cold forest.

I sped up and made good time from there to the trailhead. I chose not to take the short cut through Commonwealth Basin. It had rained/snowed all night and the brush was still soaked. The PCT is longer but the tread is so smooth and gentle that it goes by fast. The last few miles I passed several groups heading up. I was surprised to see them heading up so late in the afternoon. I made it back to the start at 4:15 pm and it was cold. No sun reaches this parking lot this time of year. At hone I checked my report on 11-02-02. Nine years earlier I started at the same time, reached the Katwalk at nearly the same time, reached Ridge Lake at nearly the same time, and arrived back at the start 18 minutes earlier. Am I that consistent or is that just a weird coincident?

This hike turned out to be exactly what I had hoped for. No rain, some sun, and just enough snow to really highlight the scenery both near and far. There were very few folks out on the trail too. Soon the snow will be deep and snowshoes will be needed. I really enjoy a fall hike with just enough snow. Hopefully next year will be just as good.

I have posted 42 annotated photos on my website at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips - 2011" on the left margin.

Perfect overnight hike. At 8 AM left the trailhead at Snoqualmie Pass under beautiful clear skys. A little cool but it warmed up nicely by the time we arrived at Kendall Katwalk. No snow on Katwalk. Spectacular scenary of Red Mountain, Mt. Thompson and all peaks beyond. Continued on to Ridge and Gravel Lakes and found a nice camp spot on the far side of Ridge Lake. Casual hiked further north on to overlooks of Alaska, Edds and Joe Lakes and then returned back to our camp at Ridge Lake. Lots of fall color and with fresh snow on the peaks it made the scenary even better. A few places on the trail with a couple of inches of snow but it did not present any problems. Returned back to Snoqualmie Pass the following day.

Saturday brought us clear skies, beautiful fall colors, and warm temperatures! It felt like an August day instead of October. Of course the sunscreen was left at home! We were above the clouds once out of the woods which brought interesting views with peaks rising from the sea of clouds. The views crossing the Katwalk were perfectly clear with no cloud layer below. The colors are really starting to change with the peak probably not far off plus we were able to still find a few berries, and amazingly there are still a few wildflowers blooming! After setting up camp, refueling, and hydrating our bodies we headed off farther down the trail. The views,including the lakes of Alaska, Joe, and Ed, were beautiful especially with the sun glistening on the water. We traveled 3 - 4 miles to a small gap with 4 little tarns surrounded by gorgeous little meadows. The dogs got to cool off from the heat before we headed back to camp. The stars were out in full force for the first part of Saturday night until the clouds took over. There were occasional light sprinkles that lasted for only a bit which led to a dry morning to pack up. Yeah! The clouds came up from the valley and soon we were engulfed in them only to have them move again. Although the clouds were present a few peaks on the Katwalk side were visible on the hike out which created interesting views. It was a wonderful weekend and we were thankful for the nice October weather.

I was looking for an easy trip with good distance and elevation gain. No trail is easier to hike than the Pacific Crest Trail. Wide and easily graded for the most part. I headed up to Snoqualmie Pass and found only half a dozen cars in the lot at 8:30 am. I was soon on the trail. I also found that it was only 40 degrees. I quickly zipped the legs back on my pants. I made good time reaching the 4 km (2.5 mile) mark in only 52 minutes. Down low the flowers were almost done. I met a few hikers already heading down. The sky was clear and as the sun rose the temperature climbed. I was in shorts and short sleeves before leaving forest and traversing the talus field below Kendall Peak.

There were some clouds but there were some nice views from the open slopes. I motored up the switchbacks and reached the climbers trail to up Kendall. Since the weather was supposed to deteriorate throughout the day I chose to go to the summit first. I saw one person up above and he was sitting on the summit when I arrived. Really nice views from the top. I signed the register and spent half an hour enjoying the views. The highest crest peak to the north had a coat of fresh snow. I noticed some frozen ground on the way up. One benefit was a complete lack of bugs. Worth a little cold weather.

I was on top before 11:00 and had plenty of time for a little more hiking. I dropped down to the trail and headed uphill. When I reached the ridge top I passed a group that had gone by me while I was on Kendall. A few ups and downs and I reached the Kendall Katwalk. Nice views over to Hibox, Alta, and Three Queens. Mt. Stuart was in the distance. I still felt good so on I went. I hoped to find a few ripe blueberries though I have seen almost none the past month. This has not been a good season for berries in most places. In fact, the berries I found are tiny and green and have no chance of ripening.

The PCT north of the Katwalk is my favorite section along here. At this elevation there were still flowers in bloom. The lupine was going strong. The trail traverses flowered slopes and across talus fields. There were a few more clouds now but it was still mostly sunny and comfortably warm without being hot. I figured I would go on to Gravel and Ridge Lakes for more lunch and turn around there.

One group was camped near Gravel though I did not see anyone at Ridge. I had a seat near the lake and broke out more food. It was 12:45 when I packed up and headed back. The best berry spots only had tiny green berries. There is no chance any of them will ripen this year. Back near the Katwalk the crowds began. Lots of folks were arriving. I spent a little time at the Katwalk before beginning the long hike down.

The grade is gentle and the downhill is never difficult. I reached the turnoff to Commonwealth Creek where two groups were resting. Commonwealth is a nice shortcut and is easier than climbing back up the talus field. I was out for some distance this day and took the longer PCT route both ways. I passed half a dozen groups heading down and had two groups speed by me. The last mile and a half the road noise was really loud. Louder than I recall.

Several very long and gentle switchbacks brought me back to the trailhead. One new and strange addition is a big picnic table on the trail near the start. The outhouse is well in sight. The noise of the freeway is even louder than in the lot. Bring earplugs if you want to picnic there. It was only 3:20 when I finished and the parking lot was now full. I hiked 13 miles with 3600' of gain and it was still and easy hike. Just what I was looking for.

35 photos have been posted at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips-2010" on the left margin.