A popular hike in the Seattle area is to cross the famous “Kendal Catwalk” a section of the Pacific Crest Trail blasted out of sheer cliff several hundred feet in the air.  The hike is fairly long, but not very challenging and the catwalk is a very cool destination.  This page chronicles our trip to Kendall Catwalk.

On this page you will find: directions to the Kendall Catwalk trail head, trail description, and a video from the Catwalk.

Directions to the Kendall Catwalk trail head:
From Seattle take I-90 East to exit 52
Take a left on Alpental Rd – This will take you under I-90
Take the next right, and follow the signs to the Pacific Crest Trail head

Trail Description:
Round trip to cross the catwalk – 11 miles
Elevation gain – 2,700 (So not very steep…)
Trail condition – Very good, but very rocky
Hiking Time - It took us 8 hours, but we stopped for lunch, and weren't’t in much of a hurry

The trail is gentle as far as elevation, and pretty much all of the 2,700 ft gain is accomplished with lazy switchbacks and consistent slopes.

You start in a thick forest with the sounds of I-90 very audible, but quickly make your way onto open ridges, where you spend most of the hike.  Soon after leaving the trail head you will be treated to fantastic views of Red Mt, and the backside of the ski resort.  These will come and go as you wind up the hill to the catwalk.  The trail affords several viewing opportunities, and you are never long between fantastic vistas.
    
While the trail isn't steep, footing is a challenge as the majority of the trail is covered in talus or scree (fancy hiking words for “rocks”).  You spend the lion share of the day traversing talus fields.

The catwalk itself is very cool.  While it is thrilling to be several hundred feet in the air with out the assistance of any barriers of hand rails, you won’t be terrified because the catwalk trail is well used reasonably safe.  Don’t be worried about falling off the catwalk as the trail is wide enough for two people to walk in tandem safely (with room between them and the edge) and even pass travelers headed in the other direction with out fear.

Just after we crossed the catwalk, we stopped for lunch (mucho mosquitoes), then headed down.  I understand there are some alpine lakes up the trial from the catwalk, but we didn't get that far.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy your trip to Kendall Catwalk.

Video:

The following footage was mostly taken from the catwalk.