I'll preface this by saying this is potentially one of the most beautiful I-90 hikes available - both Melakwa and Kaleetan are totally worth your while!
We got to the trailhead around 8am and there was ample parking available. Fair amount of people heading up to Franklin Falls. Head past the gate and follow signs for Denny Creek Trailhead. There is no explicit signage for Melakwa Lake or Kaleetan Peak.
The climb up to Melakwa is healthy and requires some sure footing with rocks and roots. Overall trail is in great shape thanks to recent work done. Melakwa is easily one of the prettiest lakes around. After reaching Melakwa at the 4.5 mile, 2k elevation mark, we continued up to Kaleetan.
The path is directly behind the main viewing area - if you get to a pit toilet you've gone to far. Veer off to the right and start huffing it up the mountain. The path is easy enough to follow but definitely very steep in a lot of sections, requiring scrambling and is pretty slow going. You will follow a ridge for a while and then drop back down before climbing up again - that section is a heartbreaker, be prepared!
The summit climb looks daunting from further away but isn't bad up close. You will need to do some class 2-3 scrambling for a few hundred feet - helmet recommended but it is not horribly exposed. Summit was incredible. We had clocked in at 6 miles and 4.5k feet elevation gain at that point. 360 degree views all the way out to the Olympics (with Seattle and Si in the foreground). We saw Rainier, Baker, Glacier, Adams, Stuart all poking their heads up at us! Tons of pristine lakes to take in as well.
The descent was hard on the knees and tiring. Round trip was 12 miles and 5k ascent and descent on the dot, which we covered in 6.5 hours at a consistent pace (we are young 30s in decent trail running shape, so your time may vary).
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