RT Length: 4.05 miles
Elevation Gain: 1597’
If I’d known Kendall Benchmark was a ranked 13er, I’d have done it Kendall Mountain. However, at the time I was unaware, so I was back in the area to pick this one up. I didn’t need to allot an entire day for this hike, so I decided to do it the night before I did the rest of the Kendall Group. I arrived at Kendall Gulch (11,700’) at 3pm, and it was raining. It was only supposed to rain until 3pm, so I didn’t think much of it, put on my rain gear, and was on the trail at 3:20pm.
This is a road hike. I followed the 4WD road for almost a mile until I came to a turn
I then turned left, and followed this road for another three quarters of a mile
The rain didn’t stop, but I’m mentally preparing myself to getting used to being uncomfortable. I’d like to do a thru hike someday, but with my Raynaud’s the rain is a serious issue. I figured today would be a good day to test how I did in the rain, when I had a vehicle nearby. I continued on the road until I saw this
From here it’s a short trek to the summit. Since it was raining the terrain was wet, and the scree was easy to ascend. This was choose your own adventure, as all the gullies ‘go’. Here’s my route
And some step-by-step pictures
I summited Kendall Benchmark at 4:15pm
Kendall Benchmark:
Even though the clouds were spitting rain, they didn’t look menacing and I wasn’t hearing thunder. However, at the summit I felt a buzz between a few rocks and decided to get off that summit ASAP. I ran down the wet scree, back to the road.
Once back on the road, I followed it back to my truck
I made it back to my truck at 5pm, making this a 4.05 mile hike with 1597’ of elevation gain in 1 hour, 40 minutes.
On to the next trailhead!
Wild Wanderer 