Start: Kendall Peak
Finish: Escondido Ridge
Daily Mileage: 25.1
PCT Mile: 2425.3
One of my best nights of sleep on trail. It can be hard to get out here since I’m a bad and light sleeper.
We continued uphill first thing and almost immediately had expansive views of the amazing surrounding mountains. After Snoqualmie Pass, the peaks have turned rocky and bare and we are completely surrounded by them. It was quite astounding, and I’m happy to see that we have evolved from the forest of Oregon and southern Washington to the dramatic peaks I was expecting for the state.
We shortly arrived at the Kendall Katwalk which I had heard of before the hike. It was supposed to be a sketchy section of trail carved from a mountain. The trail was definitely blasted into existence, but it was just like so many other places on the trail. It was neat how they made the path, but not entirely unique.
It did offer us views of the next sets or mountains since we flopped over a pass. Just as good as on the other side.
The trail followed the very rocky ridge it was on, winding around the mountains for quite some time at elevation. We passed several lakes and innumerable fantastic views. The trail was loaded with backpackers, but I understand why. This is probably one of the better stretches of trail so far, but I had never heard it called that.
We headed straight back uphill after the descent. The day was getting quite warm, in the 80s. The climb was half exposed, so it was warmer than I would like, but it was typical PCT grade so not that challenging. However, the trail was still rocky with ankle biters. That was how the trail was for most of the day, and it was starting to get tiring to have so much of it. Nothing that we couldn’t handle, but it was wearing us down faster than normal.
We circled below Escondido Ridge which had some nice rock and ponds, but the surrounding mountains were way more scenic with glaciers hanging off them.
We were getting tired, so we grabbed water at the last pond up top and headed on to the next campsite. We ended our day at 25 miles, but that was enough for the rocky terrain of the day. It was also nice to slow down a little bit and enjoy the fantastic surroundings here.
What a great day. Though the terrain took more work than normal, the mountains were well worth the effort with their bare jagged peaks and glaciers. I hope this keeps up as we continue north.