Hike to Kendall Katwalk

Kendall Katwalk is a 12-mile-roundtrip hike located near Snoqualmie Pass. The Hike has an elevation gain of 2600 ft and a highest point of 5400 ft.. Kendall Katwalk is part of the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail). You start at the PCT parking lot and hike your way up. The trail is nearly flat the whole time with some locations where there is a slight incline. The hike starts through the forest for a stretch of about 2 and a quarter miles and you reach a small waterfall. Occasionally, if it’s rained a lot, the trail where the waterfall is can be hard to walk over, without getting your shoes wet (it might be wise to bring some flip flops or sandals to walk over this portion of the trail if your hiking shoes aren’t waterproof but it its too much to walk through, it would be safer turn around and head back). Continue hiking through forest for a little more and you’ll come to a small meadow-like area surrounded by trees with a rock formation where there’s a sharp turn right to continue onto the trail. The view of the field is beautiful, especially in the early morning (the time Ella and I went) with the light shining through the trees. You can find a little stream which flows over the trail in this general area. A little after 4 miles you can find an open area with a bunch of old growth and fallen trees.

The trail will open up, revealing a slope hillside where you can find wildflowers growing and marmots hopping around. You can hear the marmots call echo as you hike up the trail here. If you look to the left (somewhat behind you), on a clear day you will see a beautiful view of Mount Rainier. The trail will continue further up along the hillside where the white rocks under your feet will soon start to turn a rusty-red color with wildflowers growing along the edges of the trail. The trail will start to thin out a bit so it's wise to use caution when you’re in this area. You can find Red Mountain along this trail too as you gain elevation.

Soon the trail wraps around the hill to the east and you are at the entrance of Kendall Katwalk: a thin trail along a rocky wall with a steep drop off along the other side. You get a gorgeous view of the mountains surrounding a valley below you. This hike is amazing and although it's 12 miles roundtrip it can be done in a total of 4 or 5 hours (but time varies from hiker to hiker so it may be different for you) and with a total elevation gain of 2600 ft which is stretched along 6 miles, the hike is fairly flat in most locations. This is one of my favorite hikes with such a unique view.​