Beautiful hike. About 75 minutes up and 90 down but lots of stops for huckleberry picking.  Even our dog was grazing and eating the berries.   They are abundant after about 20 minutes into the hike and are there all the way to the top.  The cable at the top was useful for getting the last 20 feet up to the Rocky tip top.  

There's not too much to say about this hike as it's very short and sweet. I'd love to tell you there were amazing views.....but I had subpar weather and no views at the summit which I was pretty sure I was going to get anyway.

Took me about 1.5hrs round trip to hike 3 miles with 1177 ft of elevation gain according to Gaia. If you're up for a challenge, I'd pair this with another hike in the area as this one is simply too easy for seasoned hikers but offers, based on other pictures, great views. 

Got to the parking lot at 9am and didn't have any issues finding a spot (possibly due to the weather). I will say that there were some folks who didn't know how to park so leave your self a bit of extra room in case you encounter something similar. Shoutout to the woman in the subaru who parked in front of me because if it wasn't for you already being at your car, I'm not sure I would have been able to leave until that stupid Prius moved.

No photos sadly because there wasn't anything to see at the summit.

Totally socked in on top, but a nice after work hike. Couple folks out picking berries. No bugs thanks to the cool rainy conditions. Scramble to the top is not bad at all.

I just hiked this trail and the gravel road in isn't that bad; you encounter one hairpin turn before you know it, but there's plenty of room. Bugs weren't bad, but I was slathered in repellant. And at the top, you could see Mt. Rainier in the haze, so the views are pretty good despite the smoke. This is a lovely hike; just right for a Sunday afternoon workout. I counted 17 switchbacks before reaching the ridgeline at which point you're only halfway there! (You know when you've reached that point when you see a patch of magenta fireweed.) The ridge gives you a nice view of the ski area and then you ascend a steep knoll with worse switchbacks. The last 20 feet fortunately has a steel cable to help folks up (and you will need it). Apparently the top is a well-known rock climbing spot, as there were plenty of steel spikes in the ground to hold ropes. I shot some photos of one couple that was trying to teach their 4-year-old how to go down the sheer wall. It's a wonderful summit worth spending some time there gazing at Keechelus Lake below. 

i had been wanting to hike the Mount Catherine Trail #1348 for some time. However, i had been "diccouraged" from doing so because of the need to drive on the FS 9070. After reading the nice Reports by Drawntohighplaces, Seattle_Wayne, and few from others - i decided that i should give this Trial a try this (14jul2021 WED) morning.

W.r.t. my driving on FS_9070000, the "Hair Pin" turn is not as bad as i had over-imagined. And the ~4 miles of NF 9070000 ( Gravel Road) to the #1348 TH is in a reasonably good driving condition (even for my non-HIgh Clearance little-CUV). Yes, there were some small potholes, but these were easily passable - i drove at a slow and safe speed. Also, as i found out later, the Mount Catherine Trail #1348 is in good condition; and seemed reasonably well-maintained .. Thank y'all NFS !! 👍👍👍

~06:15 i was the second to arrive at the #1348 TH parking. Got out from my vehicle - and almost immediately the mosquitoes came for me. i got back in to my vehicle, applied lots of Mosquitoes Repellent. Then, again, i got out of my vehicle, and the mosquitoes kept away from me. Feeling protected, i headed out to Mount Catherine .. though occasionally, there would be a few mosquitoes that would buzzed me. When i got to the "top" of Mount Catherine the mosquitoes were back with vengeance .. and i had to put on a fresh layer of Repellent to keep them away (from biting me). At the end of my "this" hike, i did receive a total of ~6 mosquitoes bites .. still not too bad .. 😅

Just as i was about to use the cable to climb the final ~20 ft to the top, Man-Hiker_#1 came down (from the top). We had a short friendly conversation. He was up at the "top" early this morning to see the sunrise. And he's the owner of the vehicle that i saw parked at the TH.

i had the "top" all to myself for ~15 minutes .. enjoying the views .. and taking photos. But i had to rush down because the mosquitoes were getting more tiresome for me ..

~10 minutes after i had descended from the "top", i encountered a Man-HIker_#2. We chatted for a bit, then he continued up to the "top", and me down to the TH. ~0.5 miles from the TH, i encountered 2 young Women-hikers who came up. We had a brief conversation, before we went our separate ways. i got back to the TH parking. Spent ~10 minutes there - just to enjoy the views (despite the annoying mosquitoes) .. And Man-HIker_#2 returned to the parking. Again, we chatted .. he's from E Washington, presently on holidays .. staying in his cabin in the Hyak area .. i have a feeling that he is a experienced outdoors person - he was helping me to identify the mountains/peaks that we were seeing. ~10 minutes later, a vehicle arrived at the parking; 2 woman. And my seeing that they would need a place to park, i bid goodbye to Man-HIker_#2 and i left.

Everyone of these people that i encountered this morning were very friendly and courteous .. And it was very nice to have met them.

Happy Trails Everyone! 😄