Rachel Lake & Alta Mountain

Our Hiking Time: 6h 40m
Total Ascent: 3800ft
Highest Point: 6151ft
Total Distance: 10 miles
Location: N 47° 26.4655, W 121° 19.8981
Difficulty: Hard



There’s always time for a scramble up the side of a mountain. So when we discovered that Alta Mountain wasn’t too far beyond our planned hike to Rachel Lake our interest was piqued. At 6,240’ Alta not only promised some long views into the Central Cascades, but all of our trail maps ended near the base of the mountain. Excited to do some exploring off the trail, we geared up and headed out beyond Snoqualmie Pass to the trailhead.

The Rachel Lake Trail #1313 has always been a rough one. The trailbed is more rock and root than actual packed earth, a tangled mess full of trips and tangles, loose rock and unstable footing. Over the years many an agency has tried in vain to find a better route to the lake, but thus far it has fallen to volunteer groups such as the Washington Trail Association to do their best to try and smooth out the path to the top. Despite their admirable efforts, the trail remains challenging to navigate.

The trail begins on a gentle grade, hugging Box Canyon Creek for the first three miles, crossing numerous streams and cascades as well as dozens of creekside cul-de-sacs, perfect for taking a break from the trail and clambering around on the rocks. Beneath a thin veneer of dust, stands of pine and cedar are surrounded by endless stretches of blue huckleberry, something of a contrast to the forests on the other side of the pass. The last mile to the lake contains most of the elevation gain, meandering around boulders and occasionally piggybacking on streambeds. As you get closer to the lake the trail begins to splinter, creating a network of interwoven side paths branching off to picnic nooks and secluded camp sites along the shore.

Pressing up toward Alta Mountain, pause on the exposed ridgeline to take in Rachel Lake, quietly nestled against Rampart Ridge with Box Canyon stretching out into the distance. At the saddle, the trail meets up with the Rampart Ridge Trail, which spans the entire length of the ridge from Rampart Lakes up to the top of Alta Mountain. Veer to the right through brush and meadows to another intersection where the trail splits leading up to Alta or continuing on to Lila Lake.

The trail up Alta Mountain is fairly well-defined at lower elevations, but as you trudge up the steep slope the path gets muddled on exposed rock. False summits abound on the way to the top; time and again we’d attain a ledge that we’d taken to be the end of the trail, only to find more mountain to climb. Marked with a gigantic cairn, the summit is breathtaking. The landscape unfolds in all directions. Alaska and Lila lakes can be seen to either side. Rampart Lakes shimmer in the distance to the south, just below Mt. Margaret. To the east the distinctive profile of Hibox grabs for your attention. To the north Chikamin Peak, Four Brothers and Mt. Thompson can me seen. As your eyes sweep west, Alaska Mountain stands above Alaska Lake and Red Mountain can be seen peeking up over Kendall Peak, then Snoqualmie Mountain in the distance with Denny Mountain just to the south.

Although the trail is challenging, making this hike feel more difficult than the elevation gains would suggest, the beauty and the view more than make up for effort. Rachel Lake and Rampart Ridge hold more than can be seen in a day, making this hike perfect for a short backpacking excursion.

To get there, take I-90 to Exit 62. Turn north and drive five miles to the Lake Kachess campground, then turn left for four miles on Box Canyon Road #4930, then left for again to the trailhead. Northwest Forest Pass required. - Nathan

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Snow Lake & Source Lake Overlook

Our Hiking Time: 4h
Total Ascent: 1600ft
Highest Point: 4400ft
Total Distance: 8.5 miles
Location: N 47° 27.8580, W 121° 26.7945
Difficulty: Moderate



We try to follow one simple rule when choosing a hike: avoid climbing a peak on a cloudy day. So, when sunshine did not seem to be in our future as we prepared ourselves for our hike this week, we headed toward Alpental and the hike to Snow Lake we had been hearing friends rave about for years.

Tucked on the slopes of Denny Mountain, Alpental is only the most recent resident to this area of Snoqualmie pass, having operated there since 1967. Various landlords have held fleeting ownership long before, including the mountain’s namesake, Authur Denny, who staked mining claims in the area while prospecting for iron ore back in 1869. Following in Denny’s wake, mining claims proliferated throughout the valley including parts of Snow Lake. As the years passed, these claims were sold or abandoned, slowly becoming either part of Alpental or what would become the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

The popular Snow Lake Trail #1013 begins mildly, cutting a long swath through fields of bracken fern and salmonberry before entering a forest of hemlock and fir. As you slowly gain elevation, navigate your way across talus fields and cascading streams. Enjoy the well-trod path, beaten down by tens of thousands of boots every year keeping it clear of debris and encroaching brush. At two miles, the trail meets up with the signed Snow Lake Trail #1013.2, the Source Lake Overlook trail, which served as the primary route to Snow Lake before washouts prompted the building of a more direct route over the cliffs. Follow the new route to the right, switchbacking steeply up the rocky ridge, entering the Alpine Lakes Wilderness at the top.

From the ridgeline, the trail descends to shores of Snow Lake. At a mile long, Snow Lake is large for its breed; placid waters wrap around Chair Peak obscuring its western reaches. Remnants of a cabin – chunks of low stone walls and the remains of a fireplace – crumble on the lakeshore, as they have since at least the 1960s, though sadly no one seems to know the story behind it. The vegetation around the lake is riddled with footpaths, lingering evidence of the multitudes struggling to find their own private slice of solace near the water.

On the hike back out, we decided to spend the extra time exploring the Source Lake Overlook and were well rewarded. Largely abandoned since the new route opened, the trail is rough and unmaintained, making it difficult to navigate at times. However, the path takes your through small alpine meadows, past tiny lakelets, and under a small waterfall, and it is far less crowded that the main trail. By the time Source Lake is in view, the trail improves greatly, mostly by virtue of the adventurous clambering up the scramble route to The Tooth and Chair Peak located here.

Snow Lake is not only beautiful, its very accessible – just three miles to the lake and most of that distance is relatively flat – which is likely what attracts so many hikers year after year. It should be noted that if solitude is your goal, this hike should be avoided. We hit the trail quite early on a weekend, and although we enjoyed some relative peace and quiet on the way up, we had to fight our way back down the trail, stopping every few minute to dance around groups heading up to the lake. If you do decide to brave the crowds, we highly recommend exploring the Source Lake Overlook for a respite from the throngs.

To get there, take I-90 to exit 52. From the exit, take a left onto Alpental Road for about two miles to a large gravel parking lot. The trailhead is across the road to the right. Northwest Forest Pass required. -Nathan

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Pacific Northwest Wildflowers

There's a narrow window of time in which wildflowers flourish: sometime between the receding snows and the scorching sun of high summer. At their height, wildflowers add a welcome wash of color to the familiar gray-green-brown palette found on the west side of the Cascades. Over the last few months we've managed to capture dozens of wildflowers on our hikes. Here's a few of the best.

We're not experts, so special thanks to www.pnwflowers.com for all the details.




Yellow Glacier Lilly (erythronium grandiflorum)

We found these lining the trail on our way to the top of McClellan Butte. A bit on the delicate side, they appear shortly after snowmelt and are quickly gone. They're usually found en masse, adding a bright swath of yellow to the trailside.









Red Columbine (aquilegia formosa)

We found this guy in the middle Mason Creek, just a few feet shy of the shore of Mason Lake, while on our way up to the summit of Mt. Defiance. The red-yellow combination is eye-catching as is the complex structure of the flower itself, seemingly all towers and crenelation.










Cliff Paintbrush (castilleja rupicola)

These sharp looking flowers were located in the crags along the Iron Horse trail. Snowmelt and rainwater were running down the mossy rock and the Cliff Paintbrush was having a fine time soaking it all up. We'd noticed them on the way up when we were hiking the Hall Point - Change Creek Trail, and made sure to get a couple of good shots on the way back down.







Fireweed (chamerion angustifolium)

Fireweed is fairly common. Most hikers have run across it at some point. It is often some of the first plantlife to recolonize a burn area after a forest fire, which is likely where it got its moniker. We find these on the eastern slope of Kendall Peak, and couldn't resist a shot with Mt. Rainier and Mt. Catherine in the background.












Columbia Lily a.k.a Tiger Lily (lilium columbianum)

This Tiger Lily was just off the trail in one of the vast alpine meadows that blanket the upper reaches of Mt. Defiance. Tiger Lilies are on the solitary side, a dollop of speckled orange floating on a sea of green.

Kendall Katwalk & Kendall Peak

Our Hiking Time: 6h
Total Ascent: 3000ft
Highest Point: 5784ft
Total Distance: 13 miles
Location: N 47° 27.1200, W 121° 22.7160
Difficulty: Moderate



Most hikers familiar with Snoqualmie Pass seem to have heard of Kendall Katwalk. Guidebooks unfailingly include this popular section of the Pacific Crest Trail, usually conjuring images of a vertigo-inducing shimmy across an exposed cliff-face hundreds of feet in the air. It sounded fantastic. This week we finally took the opportunity to hike up to the Katwalk and experience it for ourselves.

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) spent the better part of sixty years under construction. A coalition of hiking and youth groups conceived an approximate route in the 1930s as a Pacific coast counterpart to the Appalachian Trail. From the 1930s until 1968, the route was blazed and explored, receiving federal recognition as a scenic trail under the 1968 National Trail Systems Act. Various trail organizations, land management agencies, and an army of volunteers then worked to link regional trails from Mexico to Canada to form the PCT. By the early 1970’s, one of those regional trails – the Cascade Crest Trail – was rerouted to meet the PCT trail standards. Finding the current route less than ideal, and finding no reasonable alternative, the choice was made to blaze the trail with dynamite, blasting a path from the sheer granite wall. And so Kendall Katwalk was born.

Something about the obvious intrusion of man onto an almost fairy-tale landscape has attracted hikers and backpackers for decades. The trail to the Katwalk begins in the mixed fir and hemlock that quickly yield to thick patches of huckleberry and salmonberry flanking the path. The grade is fairly mild through long, lazy switchbacks, although the trail soon becomes rocky and root-riddled. The path becomes slightly steeper before crossing long stretches of talus and sub-alpine meadow, with accompanying open views of the Pass and surrounding landscape.

As you continue beneath the shadow of Kendall Peak, keep an eye out for a tight set of switchbacks at just over the 4.5 mile mark. Here, take the unmarked boot path straight up the mountainside. Though a bit of a scramble beset with loose rock, the path is fairly well defined and easy to follow. You’ll quickly gain the narrow ridgeline and cautiously follow it to the top. Keep one eye on the rubble at the bottom of the cliffs hundreds of feet below.

The view is tremendous. The weather-worn spires and crags of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness fill the horizon like a sea of crumbling sandcastles. Red Mountain commandeers the landscape to the north, with Mt Thompson just beyond. In the distance to the south, Mt. Rainier provides the backdrop for Mt. Catherine and the Snoqualmie ski slopes. Look down on Guye Peak and the Pass to the west and the shores of Keechelus Lake to the east.

At the top we found a cast-iron tube containing a Mountaineers registry. We dutifully filled out our names while idly wondering how many of these we’d missed on previous hikes. A quick scramble back down and we continued on to the Katwalk, which ended up being a bit further than we anticipated. We met a lot of folks equally confused and wondering if they’d somehow missed the infamous Katwalk. Our advice: just keep following the trail – you will know when you reach the Katwalk. The views are great, though we highly recommend taking the time to scramble up Kendall Peak, where the panorama dwarfs what you can see from the Katwalk.

To get there, take Exit 52 off I-90 and take a left toward Alpental Road. Take a right onto a small spur road marked Pacific Crest Trail and follow to the parking lot. Northwest Forest Pass required. - Nathan

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Mt. Catherine

Our Hiking Time: 2h
Total Ascent: 1320ft
Highest Point: 5052ft
Total Distance: 3 miles
Location: N 47° 22.3380, W 121° 25.6080
Difficulty: Moderate



Short on time, we pored through our resources to find a hike that would give us some new and interesting views in the time we had available. Mt. Catherine was an easy choice: just over Snoqualmie Pass with good views to the north and south without too much trail distance. Without much research, we packed up and headed out.

According to Manning, back in the early days of aviation in 1920s and 30s, a beacon sat atop Mt. Catherine, one in a long series that included Rattlesnake Mountain and McClellan Butte, meant to guide planes through the low point in the Cascades. Today the beacon is long gone, though remnants remain in the form of rusted cables and bolts driven into Catherine's rocky peak.

The trail begins off Forest Road 9070, briefly following a logging spur before connecting with a rocky trail heading up the side of the mountain. The trail spares little in the way of switchbacks or other concessions for the casual hiker. Instead, the trail aims to deliver you to the summit with a mischievous efficiency. False summits abound, and each time you feel you've gained the prominence, you're quickly faced with even more mountain to ascend.

While the trail is short, Mt. Catherine makes up for it in grade. Mostly steep and rocky, the path is easy to follow and the rewards at the top are well worth the sweat. Look down on Keechelus Lake with I-90 hugging its shore. To the south, Rainer quietly lurks behind Silver and Tinkham Peaks. Humpback Mountain is immediately to the west and Red Mountain stands boldly to the north.

To get there take I-90 to Hyak Exit 54 and head right. Take a left into the ski area parking lot and head toward the houses at the far end. Pass a small water treatment plant on your way to FR 9070. Keep to the left and follow the meandering forest road for just over four miles to a widening in the road at 3700ft. Park and find the trail nearby. - Nathan

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