January 20, 2025
Took advantage of the gorgeous weather and day off work to snowshoe Kendall Peak Lakes starting from Gold Creek Sno-Park. We arrived at the trailhead at 8:40 am where there was plenty of parking along the road and a few honey buckets. With the recent sunny, dry weather and also from reading trip reports it appeared snowshoes wouldn't be necessary so we left the snowshoes and poles in the car and headed onto the trail with just our traction spikes. Probably could've gotten by without them but I think they helped some with the long, steady climb up and also down.
The route was easy to follow and we made it up to the first of three lakes in 90 minutes. It was warm and clear at the top with views of Keechelus Lake and Mount Rainier. Great lunch spot to enjoy our thermos of tomato soup, cheez-its, and beef jerky.
We headed back down after reaching the first lake and didn't take the south detour to the other viewpoint. Lots of people and dogs on the way up as we headed down around noon and so many families with children sledding on the trail as we approached the trailhead and parking lot. Very fun and popular area! We completed 8 miles in just under three hours. We're so lucky to have this only an hour from home.
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| Easy to follow compacted snow trail all the way up |
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| Flaky snow reminded me of panko |
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| View at the top with Keechelus Lake and Mt. Rainer |
