Collar Mountain by Red Mountain sits north of Kendall Katwalk. It ranks #9 in Snoqualmie Pass North before Mount Roosevelt and after Caroline Peak. Meanwhile, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) via Snoqualmie Pass is the quickest way to the peak.
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Access: Pacific Crest Trailhead
Round Trip: 12.2 miles
Elevation Range: 3000′-5851′
Gear: microspikes
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Snoqualmie Pass to Kendall Katwalk
I tried climbing the peak two years ago but turned around by the snow arête before Kendall Katwalk. This time, continuous snow started above 5000′ past the talus below Kendall Peak. But the trail would be there until the next snowfall over Thanksgiving weekend.
I put on microspikes at 5200′ by the first switchback, where it’s been shady. Since it didn’t see much sun during the day, it was still icy and slippery. Collar Mountain later came into view when we reached Kendall Katwalk.
See more trip photos here.
The Final Stretch via PCT
The mountain was only another mile away from the narrow walkway, pretty close. I brought snowshoes in case I needed to deal with fresh snow. But with the massive recent tracks on the PCT, microspikes alone worked well.
We walked for another .75 mile on firm snow before leaving the trail by the hairpin above Ridge Lake. Then we went west on steep slopes to the top. Conditions off the path were decent, so I didn’t need snowshoes.
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Collar Mountain Summit Views Plus Exit
Holy moly, we didn’t feel the wind until we were on top. Despite the woodsy ridgeline, we caught views by dropping a few feet in all directions. But the north held the most open landscape, viewing Mount Price and Mount Thomson.
After returning to Katwalk, we met a cute eight-month-old Siberian Husky puppy. But he was much larger than my nine-year-old Labrador. Then we met a father-and-daughter duo down in the forest on the way to camp in the Commonwealth Basin.
See more trip photos here.