Katwalk? More like CakeWalk, amiright?
(Narrator: He was NOT right)
TL;DR - Yes, there are still snowfields before the Katwalk.
Trailhead sign said 5.5mi. WTA says 6mi & 2600ft gain. I went a little past what I think the Katwalk is, and ended up at 13mi, 2900ft gain. Garmin said total time 6hr, moving time 5hr. I only took one long break and two short ones - and it definitely wasn't enough.
I started at 7:15. In this heat, I would strongly suggest that everyone start earlier than that. Uphill, I was in shade most of the way. But baked in the sun most of the way down.
#ProTip - There aren't a lot of shady spots with good places to sit. So when you find one, it's a good time to take a break.
Wildflowers are out - very pretty & smells great. And make sure to stop from time to time and take in the views (don't forget to look up).
Road to trailhead: Nothing to worry about (paved).
Trail: I have absolutely no idea what part of this trail is considered the Katwalk. I think it's the point with the tall walls on the left side, and sort of a platform/really wide portion of the trail on the right (see pic below - which sadly was taken with my back to the wall...not very helpful, I know).
Also not sure why they warn about the "narrowest" portion of it, or where that part was. The width of the trail changes frequently. I have a very low tolerance for risk. I assumed this "katwalk" was something where you had to very slowly & carefully walk alongside a cliff. It's not at all like that. Past the 4-ish mile point, no part of the trail itself worried me. I had my poles out to the side, and plenty of room to walk. There are significantly narrower sections in the first 3mi. They don't all have rocks on the downward slope, but if you fall, you're still going to have a very bad day, so I don't see a difference.
The thing I was more concerned with is the stream crossing @ mile 3. It's not exactly hard (except maybe a bit on the way back), but there's some risk here. (Also, this is the last spot to grab water)
Trail conditions: Great. ~2 weeks with no rain. A little mud around all stream crossings, and a few odd spots here & there with it.
As mentioned in other recent reports, multiple blowdowns across the trail. IIRC, they're both between the 4-5 mile part. I went over the first one, and under the second one. For the first one, there's already a groove wearing in the trail where people are planting their feet to step over it. So going over might not be a viable option much longer.
There ARE snowfields on the trail. The 3 in the pic below and I think one more are before what I described as the Katwalk. And at least one after it (that's where I turned around). I didn't bring microspikes, because I'd read that the snowfields were all gone before the Katwalk. For all of those, the fields seemed solid, and there was a good path across. Might posthole as you get near the edge of the snow. But some of them were in the sun, and the steps were already kinda squishy. I didn't want to go down to the lake & back - having to slow down & cross an unknown number of additional snowfields - take a break, and then hit these again in the late afternoon.
Wildflowers are out - very pretty & smells great. And make sure to stop from time to time and take in the views (don't forget to look up).
Road to trailhead: Nothing to worry about (paved).
Trail: I have absolutely no idea what part of this trail is considered the Katwalk. I think it's the point with the tall walls on the left side, and sort of a platform/really wide portion of the trail on the right (see pic below - which sadly was taken with my back to the wall...not very helpful, I know).
Also not sure why they warn about the "narrowest" portion of it, or where that part was. The width of the trail changes frequently. I have a very low tolerance for risk. I assumed this "katwalk" was something where you had to very slowly & carefully walk alongside a cliff. It's not at all like that. Past the 4-ish mile point, no part of the trail itself worried me. I had my poles out to the side, and plenty of room to walk. There are significantly narrower sections in the first 3mi. They don't all have rocks on the downward slope, but if you fall, you're still going to have a very bad day, so I don't see a difference.
The thing I was more concerned with is the stream crossing @ mile 3. It's not exactly hard (except maybe a bit on the way back), but there's some risk here. (Also, this is the last spot to grab water)
Trail conditions: Great. ~2 weeks with no rain. A little mud around all stream crossings, and a few odd spots here & there with it.
As mentioned in other recent reports, multiple blowdowns across the trail. IIRC, they're both between the 4-5 mile part. I went over the first one, and under the second one. For the first one, there's already a groove wearing in the trail where people are planting their feet to step over it. So going over might not be a viable option much longer.
There ARE snowfields on the trail. The 3 in the pic below and I think one more are before what I described as the Katwalk. And at least one after it (that's where I turned around). I didn't bring microspikes, because I'd read that the snowfields were all gone before the Katwalk. For all of those, the fields seemed solid, and there was a good path across. Might posthole as you get near the edge of the snow. But some of them were in the sun, and the steps were already kinda squishy. I didn't want to go down to the lake & back - having to slow down & cross an unknown number of additional snowfields - take a break, and then hit these again in the late afternoon.
Gear: To me, poles are a must for any water crossing unless you have tremendous balance. This trail has a few crossings (nothing deep). Might've been a few tall "stairs" where I needed the poles to give myself up. And if you're planning to go to the lake, you'll likely want microspikes for traction.
Bugs: They start out bad in the parking lot. For most of the trail, they weren't constantly buzzing around me, but you could see them in the air a few feet in front of you). When I stopped near the top for lunch, I had to use one hand to swat them away while eating with the other.
Comments
sandpiper on Kendall Katwalk
The katwalk is the roughly 0.25 mi section that was dynamited out of the eastward facing cliffs about 5.3 mi in from the TH.
Posted by:
sandpiper on Jul 13, 2024 11:28 AM
goingdowngametrails on Kendall Katwalk
You'd know if you were at the catwalk. There's a view with the cutout that faces towards snoqualmie it sounds like you stopped at. It's another 10 minutes past there.
Posted by:
goingdowngametrails on Jul 14, 2024 08:20 PM