Hiker takes in the view on the PCT, just north of Kendall Katwalk. By LB

The Katwalk offers a remarkable hiking experience--striding on a narrow shelf hundreds of feet in the air. The trail, blasted into the cliff face by dynamite crews hanging suspended from ropes, is perfectly safe once the winter's snow has completely melted off. If snow lingers, don't attempt to cross--it's not the place to slip and fall. There is, of course, more to this hike than the just the Katwalk. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) climbs from Snoqualmie Pass through old-growth forests, dances through a log-littered avalanche slope (a perfect place to see just how powerful an avalanche can be), and traverses broad, steep-sloped wildflower meadows.

Climbing moderately for the first 2.5 miles, the trail runs through forests on the flank of Kendall Peak. At the junction with the Commonwealth Basin Trail, go right and continue up the PCT. Just past that junction, the trail steepens into a series of long switchbacks.

The forest thins as the trail gains elevation, and about 3.5 miles into the hike the forest starts to break up as small clearings and meadows appear. Soon, the trail angles across the open meadows below Kendall Ridge. Red Mountain fills the skyline ahead while wildflowers color the ground around your feet.

These wildflower fields--known to some as Kendall Gardens--continue as the trail crests the ridge and angles north through a jumble of boulders on the ridge top. Finally, at 5.5 miles, the gardens narrow to a mere path, and the path suddenly disappears onto a broad shelf on the east face of the ridge. This is the Katwalk. The timid can turn back on the near side, but most hikers prefer to cross the Katwalk before heading back to the gardens for a leisurely lunch and the return hike to the trailhead.