Taking My Turn On The Katwalk, PCT/Kendall Katwalk, 6.20.15
So I guess I should preface this report with the fact that I am in training for an upcoming backpack trip that will most likely be the hardest trip I have ever attempted. The Cross The Cascades Tour ’15 will involve 7 days, 4 passes, over 60 miles, tons of elevation gain and loss and notoriously brushy stretches of trail chock full of bears. So why would I subject myself to such a grueling task? I have studied the Cascades for twenty four years and the area we are going may possibly be the wildest and most scenic area left in the lower 48. This trip has been number one on my list of must dos for many years and I always put it off waiting to get in better shape. Well that never happened and I ain’t gettin’ any younger so last winter I decided this would be the year. Which leads us back to my training.
I have been hiking almost every week since the fiasco with the leg cramps on Green Mountain and I have added distance an elevation gain as I get stronger. Yesterday Neighbor Greg and I went on a fifteen miler (round trip) and we did awesome. We started at the summit of Snoqualmie Pass and hopped on the incredible Pacific Crest Trail heading north. Actually, a few feet from the trailhead we cut off onto the abandoned old Crest trail which was steeper but had two advantages. One was that we saved about a mile of trail and the other was that on a Saturday there were virtually no other people as they all took the newer section of trail. The old section was lovely as it crossed Commonwealth Creek three times and eventually connected back to the main Crest trail at the 2.5 mile mark. From there we gently climbed in elevation on beautiful trail as we gained a ridge. As we traversed onto open talus slopes, Mount Rainier appeared as did many other peaks in the vicinity.
Mount Rainier in all her glory
Snoqualmie Mountain and Red Mountain (guess which is which)
Closeup of Snoqualmie Mountain and Red Mountain
Our trail worked its way around Kendall Peak and after 5.5 miles we came to the infamous Kendall Katwalk. The fear factor of the Kendall Katwalk is vastly over-hyped. It is plenty wide enough although I wouldn’t try it with snow on it. However, it is a pretty cool feature along the trail and good for a picture or two.
Talus slope we crossed on the way to Kendall Katwalk
The Kendall Katwalk
Once we got past the Katwalk my legs were still feeling pretty good so we opted to push on. After another 1.8 miles we reached the first campsites on this section of the Crest Trail. These were at a low saddle between two pretty lakes. One is called Gravel Lake and the other is Ridge Lake. As we were now at 7.3 miles with presumably a return of another 7.3 miles we decided to stop there and had our lunch. Surprisingly there were very few bugs and it was heavenly relaxing in the warm sunshine and snapping a few photos.
Gravel Lake (camps in the trees on left shoreline)
Ridge Lake (more camps around the shore of Ridge Lake)
We had made good time to the lakes so our return trip was relaxed and full of stops to gawk at the amazing scenery that is the North Cascades.
The Snoqualmie summits from Mt. Thompson to Alta Mountain
Lemah Mountain
Chickamin Peak
Alta Mountain across Gold Creek. This was the peak Bridgit and I climbed when we backpacked to Rampart Lakes.
Greg, taking his turn on the Katwalk
I will admit that my legs were like jelly after 15 miles of hiking but this morning I feel amazingly good and ready for my next training hike. Not only am I able to hike further and further but my recovery time is dramatically faster than it was a couple of months ago. The Cross The Cascades Tour ’15 will be the first week of August so hopefully I will get a lot more hikes in between now and then. Stay tuned!