F-day on Kendall Catwalk

Went to do a conditioning hike up Kendall Catwalk, part of the Pacific Crest Trail, on Father's Day. The trailhead starts right off the Alpental turn off on Snoqualimie Pass. There was too much snow to make the last mile 1/2. If I had poles or an ice axe and something other than my trail running shoes, it probably would have went.

This was one of the waterfall crossings you were warned about at the trailhead. I was a pansy and took my shoes off and waded through the icy-cold water. As I was drying my feet on the other side, this guy about my size just hops across the water, smiles and walks on. Loser!

You'll see a notch in the picture on the right. That's the Kendall Catwalk crossing. It's about 5 miles to the catwalk and I probably made 3 1/2 miles. Red Mountain is on the left side of this shot. There was a suprising amount of snow on the trail as shown in thes shot below. I did get a bit lost on the Kendall ridge, then finally found the trail that traverses the west side of the mountain. Too much snow and it was running a bit late in the day.

Just as I started hiking the trail, the deep whirl of helicopter rotors cut tranquil trail. A rescue was happening on Lundin Peak, just left of Red Mountain. I later found out it was a Mountaineers' student who had peeled off some rock and sustain head and leg injuries. Knowing the helicopters were performing a rescue, I thought not to take any chances on doing something lame and stupid like slipping on a snow field with no way to self-arrest.

I typically don't do the nature shots, but all the snow melt was giving way to some beautiful spring growth.