Duchess of Kent by Mount Kent / 靠肯特山的肯特公爵夫人

Alas! Fall has bestowed upon us earlier than we expected. It was also our first Friday night in three months not to sleep at the trailhead. I’m still going through summer trips. So I played catch-up by posting our most recent outing on Duchess of Kent.

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Duchess of Kent at a Glance

Access: NF-9020 end of the drivable road
Round Trip: TBD
Elevation Range: 2200′-4703′
Gear: helmet
GPS Track: not available
Dog-Friendly: on the road

Late Start on Duchess of Kent

I had banked on the arrival of late morning rain. So the pup and I set off early this morning. We went back to the Alice Creek Basin. So we could pay a visit to the second and last loyalty of the dukedom.

But our early start was still late by the Cascades standard. I drove to the end of the drivable road. Then we started walking. Soon, at 500′ past the Alice Creek washout, we went uphill on the spur road.

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Road Walk

Having snow would have helped walking on the rocky and brushy roadbed. It could just be a lack of visitors. But the conditions of the path seemed to have worsened since our previous visit.

We both became damp very soon. But it wasn’t because of the rain. It was the wet vegetation. Unfortunately, we couldn’t avoid any of it. Afterward, we went up into the clearing at 3080′.

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Duchess of Kent West Slopes

Soon, we were at the base of the northwest ridge. Then the road faded into a large alder swatch. From there, we then moved onto the rock field below the northwest face. So we could bypass most brush.

Later, we made our way up on the ridge. Meanwhile, we moved through the steep and broken ridgeline. But we always bypassed the outcrops from the south. Then at 4200′, we went onto the west slopes.

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The Final Stretch

At 4400′, we came up to the cliffs off the west face. So we moved south along the wall. We aimed toward the main northwest-trending gully. One report suggested that the party went into a steep ravine. Then they reached the notch between the two summits.

We must have moved past the gully, and somehow made it up to the south peak first. Then we went toward the north summit. Soon, we reached the 4520′ saddle. It separated Duchess of Kent from the series pinnacles on the south.

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Duchess of Kent Summit

The real summit had unobstructed views of the Snoqualmie River Valley. It also had a more open landscape than Duke of Kent. Duke sat 150′ higher to the southwest.

Other visible high points included McClellan Butte, Mount Defiance, Granite Mountain, Hibox Mountain, Kaleetan Peak, Mount Roosevelt, etc. Bandera Mountain and farther peaks stayed in the clouds.

Outro

The pup and I enjoyed an extended and rain-free stay before going down. Glad the 11 AM rain didn’t show up for another few hours.

See more trip photos here.