The old route
The old CCT route north from Snoqualmie Pass started at the same trailhead as today's PCT. That trail is now called Commonwealth Basin Trail. But the trail is steep and dangerous from Red Pass to Goldmeyer Hot Springs.
The new route
Way back in 1935 the Kendall Katwalk route was proposed as a possibility for the CCT, but was rejected. It appears the trail relocation was finally made possible by the 1968 National Scenic Trail Act and the funds allocated for it. The plan to build the Katwalk was first submitted in 1971. That project plan followed the same route proposed in 1935.
Construction
The contract to build the Katwalk was awarded to Elmo Warren, from Idaho, in 1974. His crew spent the summer of 1975 building the trail from Interstate 90 to the katwalk location. In the spring of 1976 they established a base camp at Gravel Lake using helicopters and began work on the Katwalk.
The location of Kendall Katwalk was marked by dropping bottles of red paint out of a helicopter onto the rocks. The crew that drilled out the Katwalk started at the north end. Building the Katwalk cost >$10,000 per foot.
The Katwalk was completed in 1974 without any injuries.
Ironically, the following summer two trail builders fell 1/10 mile NE of Ridge Lake, above Alaska Lake, and needed to be rescued by helicopter. In a separate incident James Watson was killed in a rockslide while clearing blasted material. He worked for the subcontractor Sprague Brothers Construction Company of Portland.
From Kendall Katwalk to the Waptus River.
By 1978 the new trail terminated at Spectacle Lake. In 1979 the new trail met the old trail at the west end of Waptus Lake just before the Waptus River Bridge.
Seeking more information
Almost all the information you will find about the construction of the Kendall Katwalk is plagiarized from the 2005 article by Michael Egan published in Columbia Magazine.
Here is a link to just the Kendall Katwalk story. And here is a link to the entire issue. If you know more about Katwalk history I would love to learn about it.
Photo below: The Katwalk looking south
Below: The Katwalk looking north
Below: The Katwalk looking south from the saddle
Below: Approaching the saddle from the south
