Wallace Falls

Date of Hiking: Sunday, January 31, 2010
Trail Length: 10 Miles out and back
Level of Difficulty: Medium

This was a typically overcast Pacific Northwest sky in the usually wet month of January. I was hoping to escape through a low hike dry and cozy. So I met up with David and headed to the Wallace Falls trails near Highway 2 that travels across the Stevens Pass to the Eastern Washington via Leavenworth. There are many a nice hiking opportunity in this area. This was going to be my first meaningful hiking venture outside of, as David would put it, my "Stomping Grounds" along the I-90 corridor. With the highest elevation being around 1800' we were basically aiming to stay below the snow line.

As our luck would have it, a steady drizzle began by the time we got started at the trail head near the town of Gold Bar. The trail runs by the Wallace River and splits near the confluence of the north and the south forks. We continued along the south fork. From here onward, the three falls appeared in view one after another as we kept going: the Lower Falls, the Middle Falls, and the Upper Falls. The views are spectacular from view platforms close to the water falls, specially the Upper Falls..

Most folks would return from the Middle Falls and some from the Upper Falls.We decided to carry on towards the Wallace Falls. All along, the rains too continued to fall. The first part of the trail beyond the Upper Falls actually runs on an old logging road. At the fork at about a mile and a half, we turned right and continued towards the Wallace Lake and came upon it about another mile further away. We did continue along the south bank of the lake to the North West end where a stream flows into the lake over the Pebble Beach.We had the option to continue further in the northwesterly direction to Jay Lake and Shaw Lake. However, the rain by now having turned into a downpour, we decided to stop right there and have our snack lunch sitting at the beach under umbrella before turning around and return.

On the return trip, we chose the alternate Greg Ball trail at the southeast edge of the lake. The Greg Ball trail ends at the DNR road that follows to the town called Start Up. But the Woody Trail, one and half mile long, starts off that same road immediately towards main trail connecting the trail head. By the time we were done, we traversed about 11 miles and had our full share of a hike in the rain,


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Kendall Katwalk

Saturday, August 1st, 2009
Cumulative Elevation gain 2700 ft
Trail length: 5.5 miles one way

Time taken: 2hr 45 minutes s on way up and 2 hr 30 on way down.

Level of difficulty: Difficult

From 20090801 Hiking Kendall Katwalk

Kendall Katwalk is a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail that extends from Mexico all the way to Canada. The access point to the trail is located at the Snoqualmie Pass on the I-90 Interstate Highway. It is undoubtedly the most scenic trail I have hiked so far in the short history of my hiking undertakings. The experience was definitely heightened by the company of my friend Rajib.

The aspect that struck me during the trip was that there were more back-packers on this trail than folks coming for a day-hike. We met several parties who were either going on for or returning from an overnight backpacking trip. Most camped by side of lakes further to the north of the Katwalk. One pair was actually hiking for the seventh day since they started at the Stevens Pass on US Highway 2.

The Katwalk itself is a short segment of the ridge line between the Kendall Mountain and the Red Mountain, a mountain literally red-colored in its appearance. The ridge walls fall sharply on either side of the trail which is about 5 feet wide at that segment. About a mile before reaching the Katwalk, the trail emerges from the forests and the steep wall on the West side of the Kendall Mountain as well as a skyline of the mountain tops on the west side starts coming into view. We also captured a nice glimpse of the Mount Rainier.

From 20090801 Hiking Kendall Katwalk

It would be a turning point however, for those who have vertigo - so steep are the slopes. The trail here is narrow and can be dangerous in presence of snow. We encountered now snow though. At the Katwalk, the views are available on both East and West directions.

From 20090801 Hiking Kendall Katwalk

A mile or so beyond the Katwalk exist two lakes on either side of the trail - the Alaska lake and the Gravel Lake. Many hikers carry on till reaching there. We decided to call it a day at the Katwalk with the intention of returning in future to continue hiking to the lakes on that trip. On our way back, we heard the very loud and long calls of a marmot that was sitting on top of a big rock situated way above the trail where the trail passes through a rockfall.

From 20090801 Hiking Kendall Katwalk

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