Combining Mt Catherine with the nearby Twin Lakes is a 4.8 mile, 1900ft elevation gain hike. Just wanted to put that up front because I couldn’t find that info before doing it myself today. The trail up to the summit was in very nice condition today and could be done in shorts. There is one tree to go over and one tree to go under and some rocky sections of the trail that might potentially distract rock hounds. But the trail on the other side of the road heading down to Twin Lakes was a bit overgrown in areas. Long pants would be better here and even long sleeves if you’re not too hot. I was glad to be walking on this part of the trail at a dry time of the year seeing how it had pockets of moisture and little streams. I could only imagine how wet it would be right after the snow is melting. Blueberries can still be found out there, more so on the trail down to Twin Lakes. For fall foliage, the reds are definitely making an appearance with an occasional orange and yellow.
The road has some serious potholes that will definitely slow you down, especially if you’re in a lower clearance vehicle. About 1.5 miles from the trailhead, the road got a bit serious and rocky. Arriving today at midday, I had no issues parking across from the trail heading up to the summit. There were still spots for at least two more cars. I saw four hiking parties departing as the dog and I were heading up, but we ended up having the summit completely to ourselves and saw no other hikers for the rest of the hike, although I did hear in the trees potential campers at Twin Lakes.
One final note for fellow hikers with dogs. Twin Lakes is on the small side. While most of the water seemed to be clear, there was an area off to my left (you might be able to make it out in the photo) that looked suspicious from a distance. I couldn’t tell if it was something floating on the surface of the water. Because I always keep toxic algae in mind and just to play it safe, I kept my dog out of the water.
Comments