Trail Report: Kendall Katwalk

Steep slopes, awesome views, and alpine meadows. What’s not to like about Kendall Katwalk?

Trail Stats: 2300 ft of elevation gain, 10-12 miles round trip depending on how far you go.

Directions: From Seattle, take I-90 east to exit 52. Take a left at the end of the off ramp. Approximately 100 yards after you go under the highway, take the road on the right to the trailhead. There is ample parking, but beware that this is a ‘high car prowl area’. So, don’t leave anything remotely valuable in your car.

Trail:

Kendal Katwalk is a scenic, albeit long day hike on the I-90 corridor. There are some pretty decent views early on in the hike, but the spectacular views start around 5 miles from the parking lot. They keep getting better the farther you go, but be sure that you’ll have enough energy for the hike back to the car.

The trail starts at the PCT parking lot to the left of the latrine. A Northwest Forest pass is required to park at the trailhead. Also, be sure to fill out a permit to enter the alpine lakes wilderness before you set off.

The trail starts off relatively flat for the first 1/2 mile or so as it winds through the woods. Once you come to the first switchback, it starts to gain a bit of elevation. Eventually you will break out of the trees and the views will start to open up. Ahead of you is the very aptly named red mountain, that you’ll be able to see for most of the hike.

At around 2 miles from the parking lot, the trail starts to drop a bit as you go through a field of boulders. Half a mile later, a stream crosses the trail. Early on in the season this stream can be moving very swiftly. We ended up turning around here on our first attempt at the Katwalk for this very reason.

Cross the stream and you’ll come to a fork in the trail about 5 minutes later. Keep to the right and continue the hike. At 3 miles from the parking lot, you’ll encounter a switchback and start heading south again. These are the last views you’ll have for another two miles as the trail heads back into the woods.

5 miles into the hike you will come back out of the woods to much more spectacular scenery. You’re much higher than you were before you entered the woods and there’s a lot more to see. Red mountain is still in front of you, but you can see many more peaks.

Continue on this path for another mile to reach the actual katwalk. As you continue down the trail, the slopes get steeper and the exposure gets a bit greater. However, the views also get better. Beware that snow tends to linger here well into the summer. So, you may encounter some unexpected snow traverses. When we hiked the katwalk in mid july, there were still some significant sections of snow to traverse on somewhat exposed ledges.

Once you’ve had your fill, turn around and start the long hike back to the car.