Trip Report
CHS 2 Graduation Hike - Alaska Mountain 5 Lakes Tour
7 of us hiked above the recent inversion to better air quality and fantastic views from Alaska Mountain's east ridge (17.5 miles 3900'), with good looks at 5 lakes, a pileated woodpecker and soaring bald eagle, and a foot-soak in Ridge Lake on the return. We also shaved a mile of switchbacks by exploring the "abandoned" trail down Commonwealth to a gorgeous waterfall.
Courtenay Schurman
- Tue, Sep 23, 2025
- CHS 2 Hike - Kendall Katwalk
- Kendall Katwalk
- Day Hiking
- Successful
-
- Road suitable for all vehicles
-
As you turn off the Alpental Road to access Exit 52 Northbound PCT, be aware of a dip in the road. Nothing too major, yet. We arrived for a 6:30 a.m. start on 9/23 and found only 5 other cars in the parking lot. Total of about 15 others on the trail including a group of women just beyond the Katwalk lounging in travel chairs enjoying the view.
Restroom is fully stocked and clean. Running water is nonexistent EXCEPT 1) at the trickling "waterfall" around mile 3 and 2) in Commonwealth Basin if you use the shortcut that saves a mile. If you plan to filter, do so at Ridge Lake.
The trail is in excellent condition clear out to Alaska Mountain (about 9 miles northbound) where we turned around. We opted NOT to go to the top of Alaska Mountain as it was steep and appeared to be more scramble-y than most CHS-2 students wanted to do. And also unnecessary for graduation requirements. As it was, we reached 17.5 miles and 3900' in just under 10 hours (2.4 mph moving time) with 30 minutes at the Alaska Mountain ridge and another 20 minutes at Ridge Lake.
The Commonwealth Basin detour ("abandoned trail") is a bit steeper than anything else going up to the Katwalk, but the waterfall is beautiful. We looped down this way on the trip back.
7 of us headed up at dawn 9/23 with the smell of smoke increasing as we proceeded the first two hours. We passed a backpacker on his way down and he shared that he camped at Ridge/Gravel and it gets better northbound, so we continued and found that to be true. Turns out we got above a bad inversion that had North Bend facing AQI 144 but we were probably closer to 70 or less as we traveled north and up. Phew. Check smoke reports before hiking; one of our party members chose to wear an N-90 mask; several others were coughing on the way up. Fortunately it didn't last all day.
Northwest Forest Pass is required.
We enjoyed 15 bird species including pileated woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, a bald eagle, several flickers (another woodpecker) and some soaring raptors, along with the usual Pacific wrens, kinglets, chickadees and juncos. Picas were abundant, as were chipmunks. I'd love to see more marmots but I think we have to be on Rainier to see them.
I carried a gallon of fluid. Even in late September, with slightly cooler temperatures, hiking 17.5 miles with 3900' gain requires FUEL and FLUID. Plan accordingly. We all had a filter for lake refills and I found I needed to collect an extra liter around 3 miles from the cars.
My AllTrails had us at 23 miles from mile 2; I have to change my nav system or at the very least re-install. Fortunately each student had working nav systems, so with my knowledge of the route and their tech we found the east ridge of Alaska Mountain but decided not to scramble higher than that pass. One of the highlights was getting looks at Ridge, Gravel, Alaska, Edds, and Joe Lakes. The other was spending 20 minutes at Ridge Lake on the way back, soaking feet/swimming.
Blueberries are EVERYWHERE. The higher you go the more delicious they are. Glad I get to go back next week. Fall colors are dazzling. And despite the haze (which cleared somewhat on the way down) the views are stunning.
