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Kendall Katwalk

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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.
Driving Directions:

From Seattle drive I-90 to exit 52 (signed for Snoqualmie Pass west). At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn left (north) and cross under the freeway. In about 100 yards, turn right onto a dirt road leading into the PCT trailhead.

Northwest Forest Pass required to park at trailhead.

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Recent Trip Reports

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There are 182 trip reports for this hike. See all trip reports for this hike.
Kendall Katwalk — Oct 12, 2012 — Marc
Day hike
Features: Fall foliage | Ripe berries
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This is a spectacular hike even on a day with fog and light rain. We hiked to Ridge Lake - about 1 m...
This is a spectacular hike even on a day with fog and light rain. We hiked to Ridge Lake - about 1 mile past the end of the Katwalk. About 13 miles roundtrip from trailhead. Took us 2.5 hours to the Katwalk with steady pace. Low clouds and mist rolled in by the time we made the Katwalk as you can see in photos. This is about as late in the season as I'd want to do this hike. Light rain and breeze at Ridge Lake made for a cold lunch that kept us moving after 15 minutes resting to warm back up. Highly recommend this hike. Forest, rocks, ridges, alpine lakes, incredible views. It has it all.
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Kendall Katwalk, Park Lakes, Little Kachess, Gravel Lake - Ridge Lake — Oct 12, 2012 — Nathaniel
Day hike
Features: Fall foliage
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Now that I have been able to get myself to walk the 5ft from my bed to my computer... Here is the tr...
Now that I have been able to get myself to walk the 5ft from my bed to my computer... Here is the trip report :)

The trail to Kendall Katwalk was quite pleasant and was actually a lot easier than we had anticipated. Saw a lovely rainbow that was touching a well lit peak (picture will be uploaded). No blow downs left from last year- excellent trail. Made it to Kendall Katwalk and I must say... I had expected more. Saw a large bear at the bottom of the cliff eating what looked like an animal that had fallen from the cliff. We continued onward with a longing for the bear spray that I left in my car (decided we wouldn't see a bear... oops!)

Ridge Lake was quite nice despite the rain- lots of clean water here for us to refill with. The trail was still excellent to here and I will be back on a better day to appreciate the beauty with the sun shining.

The trail from Ridge Lake to Park lakes was uneventful- just lots of rocks and minor ups and downs. It got tiring and made me wish we had gone on a day that wasn't totally full of fog/clouds and rain. As we got closer to park lakes- the foliage was AMAZING. I have never seen such beautiful fall foliage and took a few pictures. This is the only part that I had wished for my good camera (I took one of me less expensive ones ad I figured it would be dead at the end due to the rain)

This is when it got exciting- Mineral Creek trail was just as big of a mess as I had remembered it. The rain soaked all of the brush so we were soaked from this- my waterproof boots were full of water at this point and I was not the most comfortable I have ever been in my life. I would recommend going on an incredibly dry day (just remember... the trail is full of brush etc.)Lots of blowdowns.

Little Kachess trail is what totally killed our spirits. All of our maps showed a fairly straight trail with minimal ups and downs. We found that to be wrong- we were zig zagging through the woods and climbing like crazy. What we had anticipated taking us 2 hours to travel through ended up being 4 hours. The cliffs were also impressively concerning at night- the trail has a few washouts and narrow areas right next to the drop offs. We considered setting up our tent on the hillside for the night but we couldn't find a good area where we didn't have the security of knowing that we wouldn't roll off the hill in the middle of the night. I did not like this trail and I don't want to go on it again- especially after a long day if hiking haha.

Total mileage was about 24.5mi with 5,563ft of gain. Total time 15 hours and 20 min. Not the best time but we had some leg problems that slowed us down incredibly at the end.
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Kendall Katwalk — Sep 30, 2012 — mountainbunny
Day hike
Features: Fall foliage
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This is still, by far, my favorite running trail! Of course it's great for hiking and backbacking as...
This is still, by far, my favorite running trail! Of course it's great for hiking and backbacking as well, considering it is part of the PCT. Whatever suits your fancy, it is the ideal incline and distance for a partial day hike or a several hour run. Starting out with a smooth, wide trail, the natural roots and rocks blend in for remainder of the hike. A good portion of the way is spent in the airy forest, and then it opens up to the talus slopes, now nicely decorated with fall colors. The switchbacks are relatively gentle, but do make you work, as you rise towards the ridge.
  Of course the ultimate is hitting the katwalk which is well worth the steady push up the sides and the scurry across the scree slopes. Looking one way into Western Washington and the other into Eastern Washington is quite the trip, and nicely exhilarating. Prior to this past month of heavy smoke from the fires, the mountain ridges extending into the distance were highly visibly. It has still remained beautiful but this last trot up the mountain gave way once again to brilliant blue skies. Take my word for it, hit this trail before the winter snows come. It is incredibly breathtaking and you will definitely be glad you didn't pass this one up. Way to go hikers/backpachers and trailrunners! Hope to see you other runners out there, maybe some other women!
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Kendall Katwalk — Sep 18, 2012 — austineats
Day hike
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I did this hike years ago and was shocked by the mileage. 20+ miles out and back. This time we took ...
I did this hike years ago and was shocked by the mileage. 20+ miles out and back. This time we took the old trail towards Commonwealth Basin before connecting to the PCT to shave a mile or so each way. We also shaved a lot of distance by going cross country at the beginning of the avalanche slide. By staying to it's left and diagonaling up and left we hit the PCT about 1/3 of a mile before the catwalk. Serious mileage saver!

No fear though, the trial is all in excellent condition. No mud, ripe berries, and even a few flowers still out. The inversion layer of cold air held the smoke from all the eastside fires low all morning. By afternoon though the winds had changed and the air had cleared.

If you go to Thompson be sure to turn up towards the correct notch (Bumble Bee). It is above Alaska Lake, just after Ridge lake. The trail is right at the turn in the trail. It actually looks like a water drainage for the first 20' but quickly turns into a very steep trail up and over the notch.

The basin is easy enough to cross (if not by terrain at least by navigation). The trail up the East ridge goes up the gully that hits the ridge just to the left of the pointed tower on the right. The heather slopes above are crisscrossed by climbers trails but all go the same place. The only place of difficulty is nearly at the top towards the left side of the ridge. A 3rd class chimney goes about 20' before easing off. Most will want to rappel down this from the trees. A 40m piece of rope should do it. There is a piton in the chimney for those who want to lead this. A couple of small nuts could be used as well. Take helmets if you plan to use a rope, otherwise just get out of the way.
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Gravel Lake - Ridge Lake, Kendall Katwalk, Katwalk — Sep 15, 2012 — hiker
Overnight
Features: Wildflowers blooming | Fall foliage | Ripe berries
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Smoke in the air. Can't believe 2 groups were going to have camp fires at Ridge Lake, I stopped them...
Smoke in the air. Can't believe 2 groups were going to have camp fires at Ridge Lake, I stopped them. Then on the way out someone had a beer party and campfire about a mile up from the trail head. What is it with people don't they understand fire in a region without rain in months is not a good mix. Trail was great, no bugs, very few campers at the lakes. Parking lot was full both days but not too busy on trails. Berries are ripe, bears are happy.
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kendall.jpg
Hiker takes in the view on the PCT, just north of Kendall Katwalk. By LB
WTA worked here!
2011
Location
Kendall Katwalk (#2000)
Snoqualmie Pass -- Snoqualmie Pass
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Snoqualmie Ranger District, North Bend office
Statistics
Roundtrip 11.0 miles
Elevation Gain 2700 ft
Highest Point 5400 ft
Features
Fall foliage
Wildflowers/Meadows
Mountain views
Ridges/passes
User info
Dogs allowed on leash
May encounter pack animals
Northwest Forest Pass required
Guidebooks & Maps
Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Pass (Nelson & Bauer - Mountaineers Books)
Green Trails Snoqualmie Pass No. 207

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Note: the description and driving directions for this Mountaineers Books entry are copyrighted and can't be changed.

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Red MarkerKendall Katwalk
47.4287 -121.413433333
  • Trail Work 2011
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