There is a small but prominent peak that sits a short distance south of the third Kendall Peak Lakes. It’s dubbed Kendall Knob #4 in Peakbagger’s database. Hiking buddies, Matt, Gary, and I, snowshoed up there on 4/23, had a lunch break on the summit, then looped down and visited each of the three lakes, taking great delight in their stillness and snow-bound beauty.
Here is a conditions report. We parked along the shoulder of the road at Gold Creek SnoPark, the first vehicle there. I had expected some plowed parking area off the road, but there was none. We left our SnoPark permit on the dash anyway and headed up the forest road/trail. Snow on the ground began immediately and my friends opted for snowshoes while I stuck to hiking boots. The faint boot track was perfectly firm in the early morning and supported my weight just fine. If I stepped of the track, however, I sunk in.
Just before the turnoff to the first lake, I put snowshoes on and the three of us made the short trip up to a ridge southwest of the knob. The snow in this area was softer but we didn’t sink in too much. Breaking trail was still taxing and we took turns taking the lead. Though our route was in the trees, passage was easy through open forest. The final climb to the summit was steeper but we were able to kick steps in the snow. The trees blocked the view towards the north and west but views from east to south were amazing.
After this, we descended to the third lake by taking the direct north ridge. We encountered one section along the ridge that was cliffy so we dropped down on the right side, traversing the hillside until reaching a saddle. From that point, the descent was straightforward on soft but supportive snow.
The third lake is about 350’ higher than the first lake so we continued to descend as we passed by each of the lakes. The second and third lakes are still frozen over and can support a body’s weight. The first lake showed signs of melting out. Once on the established boot track, the warm day had made the snow slushy. We kept our snowshoes on all the way to the trailhead and saw just two other vehicles there. Our round-trip distance was 7.5 miles, with 2427’ elevation gain.
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