Kendall Katwalk & Ridge Lake Backpacking

This was my very first solo backpacking trip.  : )  I have mixed feelings about it, but glad I did it.  I started out with a water filter system I’d never tried out , a cooking system I’d never tried out, and a bear vault.  Unfortunately it’s not a vault to keep bears in, which sounds fun, but a (too heavy) plastic jar that keeps smells in that are interesting to bears, and theoretically makes the bears uninterested in tasting you or parts of your gear since you obviously have no food.  My pack weighed about 40 lbs, but it felt better than the Rainier pack (same weight) because I had normal hiking boots instead of those clunky climbing boots.

I got a bit of a late start, but arrived at the trailhead around 10:30 Tues morning.  There were a ton of cars, but actually didn’t run into very many people.  In the lower woods, berries were ripe so I ate some blue huckleberries and a salmonberry or two.   I had 2 dogs with me.  Adventure Dog of course, and also I was babysitting my ex-dog.  I thought she was very good on the way in except for her proclivity to try and hunt picas.

I felt this tree was very helpful in pointing out the path.  "That way." 

The trail was really well designed here I thought.  I climbed steadily, but nothing too steep.  Coming out of the forest I crossed many rocky slopes, some steeper and more dangerous than the Katwalk in my opinion.  In these rocky refuges are where we saw not only many picas, but a couple marmots as well!!

I loved seeing the diverse colors of stone and how the clouds obscured the distant peaks, letting them only show in pieces.  The views were amazing.

Wildflowers were blooming profusely.  Columbine, orange lilies, daisy type flowers, lupine, and paintbrush were just a few. 

I didn't think that the Kendall's Katwalk portion of the trail was the scariest.  A lot of parts of the trail were quite steep and some narrower than the Katwalk itself. 

Crossing the Katwalk was really cool.  I don’t think the guidebook was accurate when it said it was 5 ft across and that two pack trains of animals could pass.  There is a sign at the beginning that says stockmen should get off and check the trail ahead before proceeding, and I believed the width varied from about 3 ft to maybe 4.  Looking back on it was the coolest view.  The foggier picture is the view of the Katwalk this morning in the cloudy mist.

About 2 miles further I found Ridge and Gravel lakes.  I walked around Ridge Lake,letting Cedar carefully pick our trail through some boulders.  He is getting pretty smart about trails.  There were frog eggs in the edge of the lake, so I hoped I’d hear frogs singing me to sleep, but that was not to be.

As I started to set up my camp, a wind picked up and it got cold fast!  I put on layer after layer, but I just continued getting colder.  After I got the tent up and the dogs fed, I ate a sandwich quickly and then put gloves on and got in my sleeping bag.  The dogs and I dozed for a bit, but I was not getting warmer.  We went out for a walk and that helped, but it was even colder now and not possible to do anything but burrow in for the night.  Now the wind was howling and clouds were flying around everything, causing the trees to drip.  That was pretty much how it was for the night.  Cedar curled into my mummy bag, but Skye didn’t fit, so I had my parka under her and my raincoat over her.  She didn’t seem too cold, but she was scared.  She didn’t like the tent much at all.  The wind just got louder and louder.  It felt like it was going to tear the tent up with us in it and toss us over the ridge.  When it hit the side behind me it kind of rocked me which was nice, but when it tweaked the whole tent all the condensation inside rained on us.  At one point during the night Skye had a nightmare or something and started crying/screaming over and over, and I had to hold her and talk to her until she calmed down.  It was a long long night.  The good thing was I finally warmed up enough to take off my coat and my gloves, leaving me only in full thermals, climbing socks, extra shirt and stocking hat LOL. 

This is what my camp looked like before the storm, and this is what it looked like in the morning. 

The morning being cold and misty, I once again didn’t try out my new cooking system (I had refilled the dogs’ water the night before with filtered though, just to try it out.  I had plenty left).  I stuffed a granola bar in my pocket and made record time breaking camp and heading out.  It wasn’t as pretty of a hike with most of the rugged views obscured, but still pretty in an eerie way.