Trip Reports

Trail is open and clear. Snow/slush above 3500/3mile mark just passed the Talapus trail connection.

Trailhead still closed for granite/Pratt lake due to crime scene. Posted notice says Pratt is still open, but granite is closed. It's confusing because they have police tape across the entire trailhead.

Trail closed for body recovery post avalanche. Check to see that it has been re-opened.

Another gorgeous day for a hike! First mile was basically snow free. Second mile had spots of snow but nothing too bad. Third mile had packed, snow covered trail. Last mile became increasingly soft snow so snow shoes would have worked better than my microspikes. Followed the tracks but at around the 4 mile mark, the path started up the mountain. I didn't think that was right, thought I was close to the saddle. Made it up to a spot where I got a great pix of Mt. Rainier and then headed back down. Looking at my GPS route, looks like the worn path gets off trail right toward the end. Had I been able to see the trail I was very close. Oh well, a good excuse to come back and do this hike again.

Attempted to hike Pratt Lake today but there are still snow on the ground. First mile was fine but as we get farther up, there were more snow on the trail making the hike difficult and slippery. We decided to turn back after walking about 2 miles since we didn't have a walk stick and I already fell several times during the trip.

Hiked the Pratt lake trail to an overlook N of olallie lake, ~ .2 mi past the olallie junction. There's an obvious snowshoe trail the whole way. It's well packed. If you're sticking to the trail, snowshoes aren't necessary - microspikes do the job well. If you're going off trail, snowshoes are a must.

Saw evidence of a small avalanche in the steep open area N of olallie, just before the saddle separating olallie from pratt.

With the day off and a decent forecast, I decided to explore some of the peaks along I-90. I parked at the Granite Mountain trailhead and microspiked my way along well-traveled and compacted trail all the way to Olallie Lake. I swapped out my spikes for snowshoes at the lake and left the packed trail to make the climb to Pratt Mountain, following one or two day old tracks along the ridge. Despite mostly cloudy skies, the views from on top were excellent.

I hurried down Pratt back the way I'd come, then turned north to continue following the ridge line towards West Granite Mountain. I kept my snowshoes on for a while as I made my way through a few inches of recent snow on the gentle ridgeline, then swapped them back out for microspikes when the ridge steepened and I began to struggle to keep traction. I also swapped out my trekking poles for an ice axe at this point, more out of ease of travel than necessity - the steepness made a "step-step-plant your axe" rhythm easier to maintain than anything involving trekking poles. Soon enough I was on W Granite and could just barely see the lookout tower on Granite Mountain proper through the thickening clouds. I'd hoped to continue on the ridge to Granite Mountain for a peak-bagging trifecta, but the incoming clouds and snow made turning back an easy decision. I descended along the ridge through wind, snow, and low visibility before dropping back into the safety of the trees. Just NE of Olallie Lake, I cut downhill until I intersected the Pratt Lake Trail and followed it back to the trailhead.

The Pratt Lake trail is an easy gentle hike with moderate elevation gain. It's perfect for winter hiking because the snow covers all the rocks and roots. Many thanks to the intrepid snow shoers who broke trail. The path is nicely packed down and easy to follow. Snowshoes are not necessary but trax are helpful because it is slippery in spots - especially at the stream crossings.

There are two blowdowns near the beginning of the trail, both of which are easily stepped around or over. The avalanche tangle has been cleared and the path through there is open and broad.

Another thing that makes this trail a good choice in winter is the fact that the trailhead is right off I-90 at exit 47 and the access is plowed.

I hiked up to the Olallie overlook where I found a nice spot in the sun to stomp out a sitting place. The gray jays swooped in and I took pity on them and shared my nut bar. The trail continues from that point up to the Olallie saddle and folks have booted a path up there through the snow.

Arrived to the parking lot about 9:45, compact snow in the parking lot but good tires is all that is needed. Strapped on our showshoes and off we went at 10:00AM. Considering there were about 15 other cars in the parking lot, I expected to see more parties on the trail. The trail is gradual the entire way. Snowshoes were not necessary untill after the Granite Mt trail junction. With cold weather, there was a thin layer of ice over the snow, making it a little slippery but manageable with good boots and poles.

We took our time trekking along and made it to the end of the trail(the overlook of American Lake) after about three hours. Temperatures were chilly about 22* but the sunshine was perfect. The birds here are like the birds of Mt. Si--very aggressive--please do not feed them.


Where we stopped was just below the junction for American Lake and Pratt Lake.

Current conditions make this trail hikable in traction devices and poles only. We used our snowshoes becasue we did not want to carry them. The snow is pretty compact.

One thing to note...there are 17 creek crossings(and one downed log that is very easy to step over)--this becomes a tiring dance when in snowshoes... :)

When Tony and I arrived at the Granite Mtn./Pratt Lake trailhead off of I-90 there were only a couple of vehicles in the parking lot. The wind was blowing hard with the temp at 28 degrees, so felt much colder. We were heading for Olallie Lake on this snowshoe trip. About 0.4 mile up the trail at the switchback we saw where a big avalance had come down since my last trip with all the trees knocked down and a view uphill with a large waterfall in the distance. The ridgeline of Granite Mtn. can be seen. There are three major creek/gully crossings and a couple of minor ones before we got to the junction with the connector trail from the Pratt Lake and Olallie Lake trails. Once on the connector trail, I stopped to put on my snowshoes for our cross country route along the east side of Olallie Creek over to the lake. No one had done this route yet, so we blazed a new snowshoe track. We crossed a snow bridge over the creek not too far from the lake outlet and found a spot for lunch. It was also very windy at the lake, so we were glad we had brought hot drinks with the temp at 26 degrees. A Gray Jay showed up as we were eating and it dived bombed Tony's sandwich.

After some photos and lunch we headed back down the trail. Wore our snowshoes all the way back, as they came in handy on the steep sections of the Pratt Lake Trail, especially at the creek crossings.

We met a few people coming up the trail as we were going down in the afternoon. Couple of guys heading for Pratt Mtn., one lone woman going to Pratt Lake, and then two more guys about 1/2 mile from the trailhead at 2:40 PM saying they were also going to Pratt lake. Seemed a little late to be starting for Pratt Lake since it is 12 miles round trip. Hope they had headlamps.

We had a great time on our trip under sunny skies. Stats for the snowshoe hike: 6.2 miles round trip with about 2,000' gain. George

easy access off highway, wet snow well packed, went in about 2 miles, other hikers said packed trail petered out and disappeared before making it too lake and turned back

No cold November Rain to dampen this hike. It turned out to be a lovely stroll from the trail head, clear of snow for the first mile and a half or so and sporadically dappled by a pale sun. All of the stream crossings were flowing noisily and the fall color has been replaced by the earthen tones of winter, but the Douglas Fir and Sword Ferns are as beautiful as ever.

We didn't begin to see snow until about half way up the trail but by the time we reached what I believe to be the Ollalie Lake overlook snow was around a foot and a half deep. This made a number of the boardwalk sections of trail and a few wooden bridges treacherously slick.

We concluded our hike at the saddle and returned to the trail head because low clouds were closing in and we wanted to be on the road before dark.

There were a few other hikers on the trail, snowshoes aren't necessary yet but a set of trekking poles and perhaos a set of yak tracks would help with stream crossings and icy bridges.

Beautiful day hike with my favorite 13-year-old canine companion, Tucker. Spent the morning sleeping in and watching the Seahawks lose before setting out, so got a pretty late start. A gazillion hikers coming off of Granite Mountain, but very few after the junction. The trail is in great shape and a joy to hike - clearly had some recent love from trail crews. Nice easy grade, lots of pretty stream crossings for thirsty dogs. Gorgeous view of Mt Rainier over Olallie Lake before heading downhill to Pratt. Some fall color coming out in the basin - very lovely. Back up the hill and out before all the stumps started looking like too much like bears in the growing darkness. A great day.

I hiked to Pratt and Tuscohatchie Lakes from the trailhead at I-90 Exit 47. The long, somewhat dull stretch of trail leading up to the ridgeline was in good, even excellent condition, with little maintenance work needed. Even the avalanche-damaged switchback has been repaired. The section of the trail dropping down into the Pratt Lake Basin was in fair to good condition with sections of rough rocky tread. Given the difficult terrain -talus slopes and such - that the trail crosses, it will be difficult to improve the rougher portions. The trail had been freshly brushed out and some tread repairs done - thank you trail crews!

At Pratt Lake, I checked out the old trail that heads down to the Pratt River valley. The start of this trail is a bit hard to find- work your way downhill through the various camps along the outlet creek of Pratt Lake until you find the point where the trail crosses the creek on large boulders. The crossing point is marked by cairns. The trail is obvious on the other side of the creek and a sign on a tree confirms that you are on the right path. It looks like some work had been done to clear out the tread of this old trail. I hope that the entire 10 mile route to the Middle Fork will be reopened eventually.

I also hiked the half mile trail to Lower Tuscohatchie Lake. This trail was also brushed out recently and is easy to follow. Its worth hiking this trail just to see the grand view down the valley of the Pratt River.

Started this hike about 11:00 AM, found the parking lot full and park about 5mins from the trail head. The trail is in great shape, a few little streams to cross over, no big deal though. The grade is steepest the first mile to the turn off for Granite mountain, and then maintains that grade or less the remainder of the trail.

About mile 4, there is a clearing where you can see Island lake, and today, we had a BEAUTIFUL view of Mt. Rainier. Continue half mile more to the next y(left down to Island Lake, Right to Pratt and then Malewake-sp).

The next 1.5 miles to the lake is down hill and is some areas pretty steep in comparision to the first 4 miles. About 800ft down to the lake and half mile to the north end of the lake where we ate lunch.

Sat in the sun for 30 minutes, very little bugs and then hiked out. We came across maybe 8 other people on the trail today.

Time to lake: 3hrs, time back to car 3hrs. Total distance: 7miles(guesimate based on our time to and from)

Fall colors are starting to appear--its going to be a beautiful fall!

Started hiking from the Pratt Lake trailhead, I-90 Exit 47, at about 7:40. Lot was surprisingly empty, only a few cars and some people gearing up. After about an hour, quarter mile north of the Talapus Lake junction, I saw a beautiful bull elk on the trail. He took off as soon as he saw me, and disappeared in the trees, with an annoyed snort. Half mile later, had a great view of Rainier with Talapus Lake below me. Then it was up and over the ridge into Pratt Lake basin. At the northern end of Pratt Lake, started seeing some gorgeous old growth, and the rest of my hike/run to Melakwa Lake was filled with giant trees. I first hiked this trail 5 years ago, and remember the section of trail from Pratt to Tuscohatchie, and another section before the climb to Melakwa as being overly brushy and hard to see the trail more than two feet in front of me. I was really happy to see that WTA? trail crews had been busy and cleared the trails of all brush, and it was easy running both ways. Trail was in perfect shape. Once again, I was reminded that I need to volunteer for more than just one trail crew every summer. I could concentrate on the great views of the Pratt River valley down to the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie. Tuscohatchie was windy, and soon enough I started climbing the ridge to Melakwa Lake. Some cool views down to the granite-carved creek bed of the lake's outfall. Arrived at Melakwa by 10, and saw the first people since I left the trailhead. Hung out on my favorite rock at Upper Melakwa and went for a very cold swim. Felt really good to clean off, and sitting in the morning sun felt even better. Sky was blue, the mountain basin closed off all the outside noise, and life was very good. Ate a riceball and a granola bar, then it was back the way I had come. I spent about 15 minutes at the lake. Coming down, it was easy running all the way back to Pratt, where I started seeing hikers again. Pretty cool to have close to 13 miles of awesome trail to myself on a beautiful Saturday morning. The climb out of Pratt Lake was quicker than I expected, although my legs were feeling a bit tired. Nice easy run down to the trailhead after cresting the ridge separating Pratt and Talapus. Stopped at one of the creeks along the way and sat on a rock ledge while the stream gushed around me. Felt like a satisfied black bear, and could have stayed a lot longer, but I didn't have any blueberries. Not surprisingly, the trailhead was packed with cars by the time I got back around noon.
Total time on trail: 4hr, 30 min.
Total mileage: 18.5 miles
Total elev. gain: about 4,300 ft.
Trail conditions were perfect.
A huge shout-out to WTA for an awesome trail experience!

       I had hiked the Pratt Lake trail to the saddle above the lake many times, but rarely ventured beyond on the Mt Defiance trail. Honestly, this was supposed to be a close to home trip whose main goal was adding some miles to my HaT total. Familiarity can breed contempt, and my expectations were pretty low.
       The trail to the saddle is in great condition. I hadn't been up here for 5 years, and there has been a slide which took down the forest at one of the first switchbacks. Very odd to see the sun on a trail which was once entirely in shade. There are no obstacles though, and you can now see the waterfall as well as hear it.
       The trail climbs moderately but steadily, passing the Granite Mountain junction at one mile and the Talapus Lake junction at 3 3/4 miles. Many small streams are crossed along the way, running pretty low at this point in the season. Except for the slide area, the path offers no views until a break in the trees just shy of the saddle. Look down to Olallie Lake and, on a clear day, out to Mt Rainier. I stopped here for a bite, as I always do on this trail. Today, I should have waited.
        Shortly, the Pratt Lake trail drops down toward, well, Pratt Lake, while the Mt Defiance trail takes over along the ridgetop. The pathway begins to poke out of the trees more and more as it contours along Pratt Mountain. The lake and peak views become more dramatic, and soon the trail winds steeply over a knob. This stretch is short, however, and you quickly drop down the other side near a large, pretty boulder field. Wind through meadows, pass a junction for Island Lake, and quickly find yourself standing on the shores of Rainbow Lake. What a beautiful surprise! This was uncharted territory for me, and I was amazed I had passed within 1 1/2 miles of such a spot all these years. There is even a perfect stretch out rock right by the water.
        I began this hike looking to pad my HaT miles, knowing my day would be routine if not somewhat mundane. I love being proved wrong.
       

Parked at the Talapus / Olallie lot and hiked out to Lower Tuscohatchie Lake.... going past Talapus, Olallie and Pratt Lakes.

The weather was supposed to clear up by nine am so I got an early start and made it to Lower Tuscohatchie in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Once you get to Pratt Lake ... Look for the the Lake Melakwa trail sign ... it will take you to Lower Tuscohatchie Lake.

The clouds did not really break up until I got back to Talapus Lake (11am) or so. But, I was able to visit 4 Alpine Lakes in a single hike.

Today I hiked what I call the "Granite Mtn - Pratt Lake Loop."

This is a route that is not for the average hiker, but for ones looking for a little adventure and a little solitude off I-90.

From the Pratt Lake TH, you start by hiking up to the Granite Mtn Lookout and then head x-country down to Crystal Lake, Cad Lake, the Tuscohatchie Lakes, then meeting the trail again at the north end of Lower Tuscohatchie Lake, and then returning to the TH via the Pratt Lake Trail. Total mileage is 13 or 14.

There is a rough trail down to Crystal Lake, but be aware that beyond that it's a serious bushwhack. It's fairly tough going but an absolute hoot.

The trails themselves are in great shape, as all the other posts on these hikes state.

Cheers!
S-H-A-L

I fully endorse Meredith's trip report from August 9 below. Exit 45 is closed during the weekdays. We approached Talapus and Ollalie Lakes via Pratt Lake Basin (exit 47) and had a spectacular hike. Distance was 8-9 miles, about 2500 feet elevation gain. First time on such a long hike with my baby, and it was heavenly and gentle. Not a difficult hike. Only one other person at the lake when we arrived, and soon we had it all to ourselves. Serene beauty. Signage is clear. Trail is totally shaded. Mosquitoes were only aggressive at the lakeside. Avalanche detour is short and not hard to cross. A great new mom first hike.

The road closure at exit 45 has been noted here already. We hiked to Talapus today via the Pratt Lake trail head at exit 47, and I must say that I HIGHLY recommend that route. The trail is in great shape (though significantly longer than the other trail), and today there was no one, and I MEAN no one, around. There were several hikers at the trail head when we arrived, but they all turned off for Granite Mountain. We encountered only two other hikers on the Pratt trail, and none after the turn-off to Talapus. My dad and I had the lake all to ourselves! There weren't too many bugs, either. If you are looking for a fairly mellow hike on a great trail, and you want to experience these lakes without the crowds, hike this trail on a weekday in the next couple of weeks before the more popular trail re-opens.

Started 11 am on a Monday. Just one or two other cars in the lot...

Started from the Pratt lake/Granite Mountain TH, to Pratt Lake and then Tuscohatchie. Trail is in excellent condition to the avalanche area (right before the junction with Granite Mt trail, so this is within half a mile of the TH), there is now a fairly clear trail through the avalanche chute marked with pink flags. Looks as if wta is trying to close off the alternate re-routes around the avalanche. Please look for the flags that mark the trail on the way in (if it is not yet obvious) because that is by far the easiest way through the debris and will avoid destroying more vegetation. We missed the real trail on the way in, assuming that it was not yet clear, because the very beginning of it is the most jumbled still, but on the way out it was totally obvious, with just a few feet of mounded soft dirt left piled around and over debris. When we came out, there was a lot of water running down that last little section of the trail over the avalanche, but I am almost certain that by now wta will have re-directed that water, since they had already done some work between the time we entered the trail and the time we came out end of day.

We started late on a Monday, not many folks on the trail, although we were passed (and passed) a few backpackers on the first section before the Pratt/Olallie Saddle. A warmish day but not too bad, since almost the entire route is under the shade of the trees. There is an open section over rocks on the descent to Pratt Lake that got very hot as we reached it around 2 pm, but then you are in thin shade again until the lakes. Pratt Lake is beautiful, huge, and warm enough to swim in, also surprisingly empty of people, only a few teenagers camping and fishing. Tuscohatchie on the other hand, although 12 miles in, had a number of people camping, some fishing, swimming, washing clothes, floating around in a rubber raft (imagine hauling that up 12 miles and 2300'--they'll be lugging it back up another 1000' on the way out, too....). Tuscohatchie is another big beautiful lake, also warm enough to swim, perhaps just a touch cooler than Pratt since you can actually see the waterfall at the end bringing meltwater into the lake.

The trail and hike were great--mostly a nice steady grade with lovely trail conditions, enough easily negotiable rocks and roots on the trail to make it interesting, no mudholes to speak of, all stream crossings easy with to do without wetting the feet at this time of year, with stepping stones or logs and relatively shallow water. Temperature was just a little cooler than it was over the weekend, better for hiking but just right for swimming, which we did for a long time at both lakes, with some nice lazy lounging in the sun also at both. We made it a nice easy long day, starting at 11 am and returning to the trailhead well before full dark at around 8:45--we left Tuscohatchie after 5:30 pm.

On the hottest weekend of the year (so far), we dove into the Alpine Lake Wilderness for some solitude and refreshing adventure. At least we had an adventure!

We started at the Talapus/Olallie TH after placing a car at Denny Creek. We hiked past a quiet Talapus, raging Olallie and dropped down to serene Pratt. After filling water, we continued to Tuscohatchie which would be our camp for the night. I had been there 2 years ago and it seemed to be an unknown lake, somehow kept secret by a slightly rough and sometimes overgrown trail from Pratt. But as the day grew longer, hikers started appearing and by evening, every flat spot was occupied with a tent. There is now a new toilet there and the lake still stayed quiet, despite the number of people there.

In the morning, we climbed up toward Melakwa Lake and went up to Upper Melakwa which is a fairly easy trail and it surprised me that I hadn't been there before. There were a significant number of people at Melakwa, but no campers since they have now made it a day-use only lake (from being loved to death, no doubt). I ventured uphill to the toilet which was new and provided a peek-a-boo view of the valley and peaks.

Then it was time to descend over rock fields, baking in the hot sun, climbing over a few downed trees and down to water. We knew we were close to Denny Creek because we could hear... not the sound of rushing water... the cries of delighted children. It was a quick re-entry into civilization to see everyone playing at the waterslide creek but soon we joined in the fun, too.

Went up with a group of 8 and we had a great time. The trail was pretty crowded with day hikers heading to other destinations. There's an avalanche blowdown very soon into the hike. If you're heading to Pratt Lake, head up the avalanche debris as soon as you see it, and stick to the left side. The trail continues onward.

The trail otherwise was in excellent condition. The bugs at Pratt Lake were almost non-existant. Only a handful of people in our party even used bug spray! To top that off, the water in Pratt Lake was surprisingly warm. So warm we swam for about 1/2 hour!

The wildflowers along the trail were also pretty great.

Hiked Mount Defiance from the Granite Mountain trailhead. Took the Pratt Lake trail to the Island Lake trail, then over to the intersection to Mason Lakes. A friendly sign points the way up (I do mean up)Mt. D.
The Pratt lake trail is in great shape and smooth. The Island Lakes trail is more rustic, narrow, and skirting steep rocky bowls around Ollalie and Talapus lakes. The trails yoyos along the ridge up steep switch backs and down some rooty bits until you get to the sign point up Mt. D. Then it's pretty steep climbing until you get to the meadow below the summit. It was foggy, we didn't find the way up right away. Others thought it was a rocky gully and went up kicking stones down. Happily we went on about 100 yards and found a small cairn marking a trail up the ridge. It's even steeper with long steps up big rocks, but it doesn't last to long. Views at the top must be great. The fog swirled, teasing us with glimpses of the surrounding lakes and far peaks hard to see in the clouds. The summit is small and popular. We met bunches of people. Finding a place to sit could be tough.
On the way down summer weather appeared and hiking past the lakes was great once we were down the steep slippery bits. Our whole hike was just shy of 14 miles with 4750 gain including yoyos. 4.5 hours up, 45 min. for lunch, 4 hours back. Sun screen and bug juice all the way. Or you could do the 8 mile route in the guide. What fun is that?

We hiked to the Pratt Lake Camp. Plan on about 11.5 miles and 3200 gain - a bit farther than the turn-around in the hiking guide.
The avalanche re-route is still threading it's was through piles of down trees - not too bad though. On the way up the detour sticks to the left edge of the avalanche path. On the way down keep an eye right for the cut back to the trail. Easy to pass and go too far.
The entire trail is snow free but the bugs are beginning to bite. We met a saw crew cutting large downs off the trail. Got to see the big log launch down the hill! Thanks guys!
The trail down to the lake is lush with flowers peeking with blooms. It was great to great to relax by the lake & prep for sweating over the ridge. Not too many people on the lake side.

Pictures at https://picasaweb.google.co[…]Gmr6cRQ&feat=directlink

Did the Pratt Lake hike for the first time last Sunday. The trail was in good condition most of the way with some snow higher up (maybe a mile before the Island Lake split off?). There was a forest service crew out clearing a path through avalanche debris about half a mile in. By the time we got back they were gone but had cleared it enough so it was easy to find our way. As expected, the lake was completely thawed and beautiful. Definitely worth the six miles to get there. One highlight of the trip is a view you get a little before the Island Lake split. You have another small mountain lake with some small ridges in the background and a snow-capped Rainier behind.

Our destination was Talapus/Olallie Lakes. Detour signs on I-90 directed us past exit 45 to exit 47, and we began at the Pratt Lake/Granite Mountain trailhead instead. The avalanche area has been noted before. Follow the markers and you should have no problem finding the trail. Quite a few wet/muddy/slippery spots as you near the turn-off for the lakes. The streams and creeks are running high right now. We had no trouble fording them until we reached a fairly large creek just before Talapus Lake. My dad (in his 70's) slipped on a wet rock and ended up with a skinned knee and very wet shorts and boots. Another misstep left me with a soaked boot as well. We stopped to have lunch and change into dry socks before turning back. A beautiful hike for the most part, but as the melt-off continues, some parts may be tricky for some hikers. Wear good boots and bring plenty of extra socks!

As a somewhat last minute decision, a friend and I decided to do the Pratt Lake hike. The weather was so-so (misty/rainy/low visibility), but it turned out to be a really enjoyable hike.

We ended up hiking most of the way down to Pratt Lake (probably about 11 miles RT). Plenty of creek crossings (some a bit exciting due to the high water), snow fields, variable terrain (forests, rock fields, and the lake), etc to keep us entertained. Trail was quite wet in places and there was still quite a bit of snow in other spots, but we didn't have any problems finding the trail. Definitely still feels like spring up there (not July 1st!).

I had been up to granite mountain many times in the past. However my friends and I decided to go left and find Pratt Lake. Due to the snow coverage at the top of the basin, we lost track of the trail to the lake and ended up looking up at Granite Mountain.

As stated in previous trip reports for this location, a huge avalanche field took out a large portion of the trail towards the beginning. The detour has been flagged and goes temporarily up strenuous terrain. The signs up spring snow melt shows going up with bug currents in the streams. At the fork for Talapus and Olallie lakes, we began to lose track of the trail and ended up following other shoe prints and ended up at the foot of Grainite. I would wait to try this trail until late June or July. Still lots of snow.

The Pratt Lake trail from the Granite Mountain trailhead is one of my favorites. It is a gentle, steady incline that skirts through the woods, crosses cascading creeks, and links up to the Talapus-Ollalie connector trail. However, a huge avalanche down Granite Mountain this winter has completely wiped out the switchbacks that reach out into the main avalanche chute. A rough & ready boot track detours around the first wiped out switchback and connects up with the trail higher up the mountain. From there the trail is clean and clear to the junction with the Pratt Lake trail.

Many people were going up Granite Mountain and I don't know how far they got but friends reported from an attempt on May 12 that the snow was slushy awful up higher and they turned around. Today we turned left at the junction and enjoyed a sweet effortless hike up to the puncheons. That's where the snow begins. The puncheons are difficult right now because of remaining narrow snow crowns on the wood, yet going around them risks punching through into a snow cave undercut by the running water.

It's all salt & pepper snow at the junction with the Talapus-Ollalie connector. We took the connector to the Ollalie stream crossing but judged it too dangerous to cross. The snow was banked straight up on either side about 5 feet and the water was running high over the log.

We took the other trail up around Ollalie Lake. There are tracks to follow but it is wise to mark your way with sticks as well because the deep snow all looks the same under the trees. We got up to the northeast corner of the Ollalie basin where we had to stop because of a deep ravine. The snow there has been cut through straight down 12 feet on each side by running water. This is the case every winter. This would be a good place for a bridge.

All in all it was a good hike and lots of people were out on the trails - about half of them totally unequipped for conditions.

It's all snow from

Granite Mt --> West Granite Mt --> Olallie Lake loop
Avalanche danger was considerable this weekend. Saturday was the 2nd day of the first spell of solid hot weather, the snowpack was not really consolidated yet, and NWAC had a special bulletin out Friday that caused me to change plans. I did see some recent slides. http://www.nwac.us/ Might be worse tomorrow (Mon 5/14/12).
Upon my return, I encountered 3 people, perhaps new to the area, who had summited and presumably descended late in the afternoon heat, apparently oblivious to this situation at this notorious avalanche site.
It's always a good idea to check http://www.nwac.us/, even this late in the season.

I did use snowshoes after 3 PM (largely for the dog's convenience, not entirely necessary). A long ice ax would've been much better than the silly hiking pole.

Note: this trip did NOT actually include Trail #1016; it is a variant that joins that WINTER route. 1016 as shown on the map is NOT a route you want to take in spring, as it crosses the notorious avalanche chute and dangerous slopes on the south side. The winter route on 1016 (I believe) follows the trail up to about 3600, then leaves the trail heading NW to gain the safe SW ridge. I wonder about that section between the trail and the ridge.

The way I do this trip is:
Pass the Tr #1016 junction and continue about 1/4 mi. to almost 2800' to the major N-S ravine (if you encounter switchbacks, you've gone too far). There are actually two closely-spaced parallel streams here, the first is smaller; cross this and then leave the trail right before it crosses the 2nd, main stream, about 2800'. Ascend forest on the E bank of the main stream, heading North to about 3600', where you start angling NE. The brush is thin, at least when there's this much snow. About 3900, you reach a basin at about treeline. From here, go straight NE up the SW ridge of Granite. There are actually two roughly parallel SW ridges several hundred meters apart; you can take either. The easterly one is the bare rocky ridge you see from I-90, and if you head for it, you'll join the standard winter route almost immediately; you'll have to cross below an open slope to get there, but you got a very early start, so you'll be ascending this early in the morning when it's still frozen, right?
In hot weather like this weekend, I'd say the main avvy danger is during the descent, if you loiter on the summit until that SW slope starts to bake. I had decided that the safest descent would be on the westernmost of these two parallel ridges (not the rocky one that you see from I-90). This would avoid crossing from the eastern to the western ridge below the open slope above. But I have never actually done that descent route.
I foolishly got a late start and didn't reach the summit until 12:20, but it was still frozen on that SW ridge. I had the summit to myself -- I guess the NWAC bulletin had made a lot of people avoid this popular place -- and lounged until 2:30, not a good idea in this kind of weather. The SW slopes were getting wet and loaded, several inches of heavy wet snow sliding easily on the crust underneath. But I didn't descend the SW ridge at all.
I descended the NW ridge to West Granite, threading between cornices on the NE and avvy slopes on the SW (photo). Ascending the SE ridge of West Granite is mostly in trees. On snowshoes by then.
Descending the NW ridge of West Granite was much the same as the NW ridge of Granite: cornices on the right, avvy slopes on the left. It eventually curves towards the west, and gets steeper. I'd taken a hiking pole instead of my 80cm ice ax, and that was really stupid. It would have been easy to start a slide at the top of the steep S slope; several inches of heavy mush on a smooth crust. I was hanging onto trees.
From the col N of Olallie Lake, you head S to pick up Tr #1007 on its east side, which is still in heavy snow. The first tracks I picked up were not at all obvious. Picking up the trail might be tricky if you don't know the area.
I think the snow ended about 3200'.
My point is: this was a fairly casual trip with avalanche and cornice danger nearby during the warm afternoon descent. You could get into trouble here. About this time last year, I started and briefly rode a small slide here on the S side at about 4000' in similar warm afternoon conditions.
Beckey mentions the avalanche hazard in this S chute. Don't forget the famous guy who got buried in a slide here a couple years back and called for his own rescue on a cell phone (not making this up).
Did I mention http://www.nwac.us/?

I was only able to make it up about 3 miles due to deep post-holing. There were some beautiful waterfalls along the way, and I do love being out in the woods, so I don't feel that the trip was a loss. I would definitely recommend yaktrax or microspikes, as the trail is covered in snow after the first half mile. One tip - there is an avalanche not far from the beginning of the trail. To get back to the trail just stick to the forest and climb up. It's not far.

I headed out early this morning from the Granite Mountian trailhead headed for Pratt Mountain. The trail started out mostly dry, but the snow picked up quickly. By the time I reached the fork where the trail to Pratt Lake splits from the trail to Granite Mountain, the trail surface was compact snow. The only navigation challenge on this part is the avalanche debris. When you reach the avalanche, head up the hill next to the debris until you find the trail again. Do not cross the avalanche. The trail switches back under the debris and comes out on the same side. Thanks to those who posted this information earlier.

After the first trail junction the trail is 99.9% compact snow. The only exceptions are a few stream crossings. Plenty of people have been up the trail so navigation is easy until the turn off to Olallie Lake. Microspikes worked well, but they are not necessary for this section. Everyone seems to have taken the turn off to Olallie. I followed all the other tracks and completely misses the trail leading to Pratt. I didn't figure it out until I was practically at the lake. Here I switched my mirospikes for snow shoes and headed cross country trying to find the trail to Pratt.

I didn't find the trail but it's easy enough to go in the general direction and end up close. There was one stream crossing that was treacherous because the stream is in a deep gully with steep sides. You have to work your way down to a snow bridge and the back up the other side. It may be better to stick closer to the lake where it looks like the gully isn't so deep.

By the time I got around Olallie lake, it became obvious that I wouldn't have time to get to Pratt and make it back to town in time for hunting Easter eggs. Instead, I went straight up hill and got to the top of the ridge that runs between Pratt and West Granite. I followed the ridge to just before the steep climb to West Granite. There is a nice flat area with great views. To the South you see Olallie lake down below you, Mt. Gardner on the other side of I-90, and Mt. Rainier way off in the distance. To the West you see Pratt, Bandera, and several other peaks. To the North you see the Pratt River Valley, Kaleetan Peak, and the mountains around Alpental. Today the ridge was very windy. I ate a snack, enjoyed the views for a while, and headed back to the car.

Unfortunately my camera froze up early in the trip so I have no pictures. I brought some microspikes which were helpful, but not required on the trail portion of the hike. Snow shoes are needed off trail. I didn't even take out the ice axe. It's only purpose was to snag tree branches here and there.

We went up into the clouds - hiked past Olallie Lakes, up the ridge north of it and followed it till the summit of Pratt. Glorious views of the clouds we were within, with a brisk enough breeze to dull the enthusiasm of potential summit shot takers. We dropped back down - looped around the other side of Olallie, found some tenuous log crossings across the drainage and then found our way back to the trail. Nice, fun winter day out - even though the snow up high turned to rain as we headed to the cars.

There is a significant avalanche that's come down onto the trail about 300 vertical feet (~ 15 minutes) from the trail head, just before it switches back. If you head straight up just short of the avalanche debris - you'll catch the trail again within a few dozen feet.

The trail was easy to follow even though the last visitor was more than a few days back and there were no footprints going in. There is a creek crossing past the Talapus/Olallie junction with a 3 foot step on both sides. If you carry a shovel, it's useful to cut up steps there!

When Tony and I arrived at the Granite Mtn./Pratt Lake trailhead off of I-90, there was only a couple of vehicles in the parking lot. The wind was blowing hard with the temp at 28 degrees, so felt much colder. We were heading for Olallie Lake on this snowshoe trip. About 0.4 mile up the trail at the switchback we saw where a big avalance had come done since my last trip with all the trees knocked down and a view up hill with a large waterfall in the distance. The ridgeline of Granite Mtn. can be seen. There are three major creek/gully crossings and a couple of minor ones before we got to the junction with the connector trail from the Pratt lake Trail and the Olallie Lake Trail. Once on the connector trail, I stopped to put on my snowshoes for our crossing county route along the east side of Olallie Creek over to the lake. No one had done this route yet, so we blazed a new snowshoe track. We crossed a snow bridge over the creek not to far from the lake outlet and found a spot for lunch. It was also very windy at the lake, so we were glad we had brought hot drinks with the temp at 26 degrees. A Gray Jay showed up as we we eating and it dive bombed Tony's sandwich.

After some photos and lunch we heading back down the trail. Wore our snowhoes all the way back, as they came in handy on the steep sections of the Pratt Lake Trail, especially at the creek crossings.

We met a few people coming up the trail as we were going down in the afternoon. Couple guys heading for Pratt Mtn., one lone woman going to Pratt Lake, and then 2 more guys about 1/2 mile from the trailhead at 2:40 PM saying they were also going to Pratt Lake. Seemed a little late to be starting for Pratt Lake since it is 12 miles round trip.

We had a great time on our trip under sunny skies. Stats for the snowshoe hike: 6.2 miles round trip to Olallie Lake with about 2,000' gain. George

Four of us ended up at the Pratt/Granite TH since we had our usual situation - no definitive plan other than get out and have a nice day of hiking or snowshoeing. The 12/3 report by terpene is still accurate for this trail: minor to no snow at the trailhead; some snow at the junction to Granit Mt; deepening snow near the junction to go down to Talapus and Olallie; reasonably full creeks but no real problems; and some narrow snow bridges before the Talapus junction. These snow bridges are memorable for me since it was the scene of an upside landing in the creek bed face to face with some devils club. But that is another war story for another day.

The only serious creek crossing is past the Talapus/Olallie junction at a place I call the "creek of no return". Fortunately, there is still a decent snow track to almost the creek bed but there is a 3' step down to the creek bed. The usual turn around point in winter is the Olallie Lake overlook with nice views of Rainier with an ominous looking lenticular cap. The reason for the turn around is an open snow field which we never trust for stability. It has one of those "optimum" angles for sliding purposes.

There is a ridge line about 200 vertical feet above the trail which we did try to reach ascending along the steep tree line. The higher we got, the stronger the winds and the footing was questionable. After Bill slid about 6 feet and I did the same, we just returned to the trail for a nice lunch.

Starting at Granite Mountain trailhead my girlfriend, husky, and I hiked to Talapus Lake to camp for the weekend.
 
Pratt Lake Trail was relatively free of snow/ice until 3000 feet. We put on microspikes at that point and they helped us keep pace. The junction that breaks off to Pratt Lake was well marked. We continued west (Pratt Lake is north) until reaching another sign/junction for Olallie Lake. Just past a challenging stream crossing. The trail to Olallie was less traveled – but we were able to quickly make our way out and even walked across the frozen lake. The hike back from Olallie down to Talapus was well traveled. We put our snowshoes on to keep from post holing here, but the trail was almost packed enough where they were unnecessary.
 
Talapus Lake was quiet and we saw no other campers Saturday or Sunday night. There is about 8-12 inches of snow on the ground, which was becoming increasingly icy with sunshine melting the top layer and re-freezing over night.
 
On Christmas morning we started a hike out to the Island Lakes. The trail to Pratt Lake Basin was well packed and easy to follow. It appeared that the majority of hikers went down into the basin at the fork – we chose to follow the ridge and stay high. We made it about a half-mile of the 1.1 section and we decided to turn back. The tail must have gone up, but it was hard to find.
 
Overall the trip provided spectacular lake scenery and solid winter trails.

The Pratt Lake trail is a great go-to winter hike; it starts at low elevation (1800') and is pleasant for a leisurely stroll to Olallie Lake without traversing clear-cuts or passing under crackling power lines, but can be extended for snowshoeing or XC skiing as far as your legs will carry you. It eventually leads all the way through the pass between Granite and Pratt Mountains to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie, at least for those sporting superpowers (that would be a 20+ mile trek with some tricky route finding).

Leaving I-90, I found the very short paved TH road covered in almost invisible black ice, so be wary on this stretch. Even knowing the ice was there, I still fell when exiting the car. You could have ice-skated on this stuff.

The trail is in good shape, with no blowdowns or giant mudholes to impede progress. Snow is spotty right at the TH, becoming continuous at about 2200' and deepening after that, but the trail is compact snow and ice which is actually an easy tread. After the Olallie Lake junction, however, the trail narrows to a much-less-traveled snowshoe track amid ever-deepening snow. Another half-mile along it narrows again to a single XC ski track, with snow 3-5 feet deep. At 4100' there is a nice open view of Olallie Lake down below. Since the track disappeared just a few feet after this, I turned around for something like an eight mile round trip. I looked pretty hard but couldn't spot the trail over the ridge and, since the terrain gets pretty steep here, I decided it was not a good area for late afternoon solo bushwhacking.

There are several good-sized creek crossings along the route. They're easily passable right now, but flimsy snow bridges are beginning to form and will get tricky as winter progresses.

Though most hikers don't bother, I always wear Microspikes on trails like this. They keep you from falling but, more importantly, they help you avoid the "one step forward slide back a half" syndrome, which is very tiring and inefficient.

This is one of my favorite trails and it did not disappoint today. Contrary to rumors, FR 9030 is clear and in good shape. FR 9031 has some logging activity going on and this may cause delays driving to the trailhead, but it is very passable as well. Trail 1039 climbs 400 feet through quiet forest to Lake Talapus with no obstructions and a nice soft tread of evergreen needles and duff. Where the trail crosses the outflow basin of the lake, there are lots of mudholes. This would be a good place for turnpikes.

From Talapus the trail gains another 400 ft in half a mile to a junction. Go left to the shores of Lake Ollalie. Go right across the stream to the connector to the Pratt Lake trail #1007. This trail is also in very good shape, gently gaining 600 ft. to the Ollalie Saddle. Here it follows the ridgeline over a spur of Pratt Mountain to Island, Rainbow, and eventually Mason Lakes. This ridgeline portion is one of the most charming parts of the trail. Moss draped trees rise from sunlit carpets of bright green moss, dappled with sunlight and contrasted with the blazing autumn vine maples beyond.

On the saddle is also the junction down into the Pratt Lake basin. Here some good work has been done on the trail and it is clear at least to the boulder slope where I admired the bright colors of autumn and dominate Kaleetan Peak before turning around. My total distance was 8 miles roundtrip.

This trail makes for a really lovely day hike. We started at the Pratt Trailhead, but decided to make the turn-off to Talapus Lake instead of continuing on to Pratt.

Trail conditions were good, a little muddy- but that was understandable since it was raining for the duration of the hike. There are several creek crossings on the trail; they are all easily crossable, but your boots may get a little wet.

The only real inconvenience on the trail is that the door to the toilet at the trail head doesn't lock, you'll want to have a buddy watch the door for you or face getting surprised in the can.

Fantastic weather. Embarked at 1:30 from the trailhead on Sunday. Busy on the way up with hikers/backpackers returning. Trail in great condition, dry and well-maintained. Beautiful views and wildflowers on the descent into Pratt Lake Valley.

Disappointed by tent sites at Pratt Lake. Two great adjacent sites by the lake, but both occupied. Other sites were small, wooded, and buggy. MUCH BETTER views and sites at Lower Tuscohatchie Lake 1/2 mile further down the trail. Found a beautiful lake-front site on the South-Western slope and had the whole lake to ourselves for our Sunday night stay. Even a few ripe huckleberries and salmonberries to pick! Bring your bug spray, though.

The parking lot had about 15 cars when three of us started the hike on a Friday at 1:45 pm. The incline of the trail is consistent and gentle, making it easy to cover the 5.5 mile distance to the fork for Rainbow Lake and Pratt Lake in 2:30 hrs. There were many bugs on the trail, some biting me through my shirt. But I sprayed some bug repellent on myself and my clothes and that stopped them somewhat.

The hike is very well-maintained, and there were a few cute waterfalls on the way, but I was disappointed by there being just one viewpoint (Olallie lake and Mt. Rainier) on the way here. In my view, coming here is not worth it if you don't go on to another lake or hike 1000 ft down to Pratt Lake. (And keep in mind that Pratt Lake does not become visible from the basin; you only see it, I'm told, if you make the 1000 ft descent.) We were too late to go down and come back to the trailhead before dark fell, so we walked 5.5 miles back. I'm a hiker who likes bang for her buck, so the limited views on this trail left me a little dissatisfied.

5 of us on a trail run, started at the Pratt Lake trail head but ran up the road first to the Denny Creek Campground and up 1011 to Mekakwa Lake. We were anticipating we would hit snow in Hemlock Pass based on this year's conditions, but the trail was snow free with the exception of just a couple small patches. Even Melakwa Lake was snow free. Took some photos and visited with a ranger there before heading over past Lower Tuscohatchie. The trail through there and on to Pratt was in better condition than I remember for a long time. It has been brushed out so you dont feel like you are being pushed over the side hill constantly. There were a few people camped at Pratt this weekend, and we started running into more people as we climbed out of Pratt lake basin. There were some big logs that had been recently cleared as well. So the only blow downs we enountered were a couple on the way up to Melakwa. Criused down to the trailhead on the nice & fast cushy trail, which is fortunately wide enough to provide for passing the hikers coming up the hill for the afternoon. 16 mile loop or so, at a leisurely 4 hours. Light wildflowers (some lillies & bear grass) mostly on the climb to melakwa near and above the waterfall where there is sunshine. A scary cloud of mosquitoes when we stopped at Melakwa lake. Take your bug juice if you are camping there.

We arrived at the trail head around 1230 pm.
Now they want u to pay fees at these trailheads, but I drove to aj area outside of
Where the sign was posted, to avoid having to pay a fee. It was a walk
Not too much further away. We hiked up the first mile at a good
Pace...the trail increased in elevation almost instantly. When we finally
Made it to the first mile marker, we took a break.
We could go left to pratt lake, or right to granite mountain.
I knew granite mountain would be wicked. I've read all about it. I could
Visually see how wicked it was, when comparing it to the pratt trail
Granite mountain looked purely evil.

We started our ascent up granite mountain. Man it kicked our butts.
We didn't even make it a mile up before I realized we couldn't do it!

I have made it to the top of Mt Si before. But I couldn't make it
To the second mile on granite mtn. It almost seemed like each step
We took was at least a foot in elevation...

So we made the choice to turn around and go to Pratt Lake instead.
I am so glad we did!

The prat lake trail is spacious. There really were more people leaving the trail
Then going to the lake. We had a few small waterfall and river
Crossings and our feet stayed dry. We saw pretty flowers

Turns out it was 6 miles to pratt lake , and we thought it was three

...

Then after hiking maybe 2 hrs, we found a sign that pointed right
And said Pratt Lake Basin! Woo hoo! We were so happy.
The trail started an intense decent of switchbacks into the basin. We could
Kind of see the lake through the trees, but not really

We got out of the switchbacks and started on a trail through a hill of granite
Stone. It was really cool looking...

Then it turned back into trail, then broke out again into a hillside
Of granite stone...
Then lower we got into the basin...another few moments and we finally hit
The lake! It was beautiful. Surrounded by granite stone everywhere.
We sat and had lunch, then before we knew it, it was time to get going.

There were mosquitos in the basin, so it would have been nice to
Have some bug spray.

We dreaded the switch backs going out of the basin. We were exhausted
From attempting granit mtn earlier. We thought we were never going to make
It out of the basin
But then before we knew it, we were out! We were relieved!
All in all good hike to pratt lake. I don't know how I feel about hiking
Out of a basin though, lol

Looks like most of the blowdowns people mentioned are gone. We hiked to just before the Alpine Lakes Wilderness boundary to set up camp, then went to Olallie to take pictures and have dinner. After the split from Pratt Lake Trail, the trail is much much worse. Pratt Lake Trail is almost pristine compared to Olallie, and the deerflies and mosquitoes are awful up there. Our camp was next to a sinkhole but the bugs weren't anywhere near as bad as by the lake. Saw three dogs off leash.

We got to the parking lot at about 9-9:30am. There were a few other cars parked but no sign of people. This is also where I note that if you need to use the bathroom, bring your own toilet paper (I love Charmin To Go!!) because there was none.
We did the whole sign in thing at the trailhead and noted that we had two dogs with us. This was my first hike to the Alpine Wilderness and so it was interesting to fill out the little slip that you attach to your backpack (^_^).

The dogs set a fast pace up the trail. We headed up through the forest and enjoyed the cool weather... until the mist/rain started to get irritating. We had moments where we debated putting on rain jackets and did so only for a little bit before it got to be too warm.

The clouds were definitely out, creating a misty & foggy blanket on everything. There was a little snow on the trail and the dogs went right for it. It seems that any time there's snow, the dogs must insist on racing towards it. The snow is easily passable and will probably be all gone soon. There was some mud on the trail too...

Once we got to the top of the trail where the hike down to the basin begins, it did get a little chilly. One the way down to the basin we met with an obstacle. A BIG fallen tree... luckily, right on the other side was a work party. (HOORAY!!!) They said that passing over the fallen trees was possible and that other than a few more fallen trees further on, it did get better. I had to show my big White German Shepherd where to jump over, and then lift my small Mini Aussie over by her harness. This was also the spot where I let the dogs off leash. Even though you're not supposed to have dogs off leash, there was no way I was being pulled over while crossing something like a ginormous tree. No thank you.

After crossing the fallen trees, the hike down to the basin and lake was pretty easy and flat. We did have to cross a few more patches of snow and more muddy areas, but it wasn't too bad. There is one spot in the wooded area where one of the log/wood bridge thingies is missing boards and can be a little difficult for either children or small dogs to cross - I lifted my small dog over the hole while my big shepherd was able to manage hopping over.

At this point we were almost there once we reached the lake there was a moment of "FINALLY!! We made it!" On the way around the lake we spotted a snake that slithered away... I am pretty sure it was a big Garter Snake (90% sure)... The dogs missed it though (phew). After that we went down to the area at the water's edge but there were so many bugs it wasn't worth hanging around. Beyond this point, several tents were pitched and we decided not to bother exploring that way. We went back and ate sandwiches along the rocky side of the basin where there were no bugs. We did see a humming bird whiz by several times though. Very pretty.

The way back was pretty quick and once again we had to maneuver across the fallen trees - the work party did manage to clear a significant amount of fallen debris by our return, but had a long way to go before the trail would be easily passable...

* One thing * The way to the lake seemed longer than the 4 miles suggested by the "current" hike report (8 miles round trip) - so on the way down I turned on my Google My Tracks and learned that it was over 6 miles back... this is more accurate and is also what the sign at the trailhead states... so be aware that it is OVER 12 MILES ROUND TRIP.

When we returned to the parking lot around 3:30pm there was a family of four heading up to Granite Mountain. They asked us if we knew if one of the other cars in the lot had been "that way" for long. We said it was there when we arrived in the morning... that is when the family said it had been broken into. I am guessing this was one of the overnight cars... anyways, the family said they were leaving their car unlocked just in case...

Advice about this hike:
The trail is muddy though so don't wear tennis shoes or shoes that will get soaked easily.
Bring layers - it can get cold & wet...
Bring Bug Spray - there are a TON of bugs by Pratt Lake
Also - be aware that your lower pant legs will get wet from some of the plants on the sides of the trail. Bring some extra pants and shoes to change into once you're back down.

Arrived 8:15 a.m. and there was plenty of room in trailhead parking lot. Trail in fantastic shape to junction with Granite Mountain Trail. Stream crossings beyond there were easy to handle even with a lot of water flowing. Only the careless will have trouble with them. Also, if you carry a filter bottle, plenty of places along this stretch to fill up.

First snow patches around 3,500'. Again, nothing bad. Made for some muddy spots, but even that was mostly avoided. The bugs were out in full force, though. This would not have been enjoyable without repellant.

Great view over Olallie Lake all the way to Rainier. Also, on way up, felt like I had the trail to myself. Was not the case on the way back down.

Previous trip reports have mentioned the blowdowns on the switchbacks heading into the basin. Honestly, the one on the first switchback is something to behold. Passable, but I had to give it a good long look, as did people descending when I was on my way back up.

Stopped on a talus slope to eat lunch and take in the view of the basin and Kaleetan Peak. Turned around there after being told the flies were dominating the lake. Even so, a worthwhile trip. Was back at parking lot at 1:15.

Granite Mtn trail head to junction with Pratt Lake basin trail above Olallie Lake: Few patches of snow remain, trail in good condition, creek crossings are easy.

Junktion to Rainbow Lake: snow-free until shortly before the lake; then quite a bit of snow with trail only visible in a few places. One large tree fell across the trail, but easy to step over. Used my folding saw to cut out a few minor blowdowns.

Rainbow lake to junction with Mason Lake trail: Lots of snow in Rainbow Lake basin, then patchy snow to trail junction. Lots of footprints to follow.

Mason Lake junction to Mt Defiance: Patchy snow gives way to lots of snow. Follow the footprints... At one point you ascend a somewhat open, 100% snow-covered area. Make sure you don't miss the turn to the left. I marked it with an arrow made out of sticks on my return .... missed that turn on the way up....
Once you get out of the forest it's mostly snow-free to the summit. Awesome view from the Olympics to Baker, Glacier, Stuart, Adams, Rainier.

Mt Defiance to Thompson Lake: Near Rainbow Lake I had run into a guy with a large backpack who said he came from Thompson Lake. The section between Mt Defiance and Thompson Lake is (except may be near Thompson Lake?) still 100% snow covered. I found the footprints of the hiker (obviously from the previous day) and followed them for a while before I lost them. Made it about 1/2 way to Thompson Lake, then turned around due to time concerns. Doubt my footprints will be visible for long, but if you see them don't trust them.... Trust your topo map!

Net running time for entire trip was about 3:30h, total time 5:30h.

Ran the 17mi loop from the Pratt Lake Trailhead to Melakwa Lake and down to Denny Creek Campground and back to the car. The trail from Lower Tuscohatchee to Melakwa was overgrown and covered in snow at the higher elevations. Could not find the trail without GPS. The lakes in the basin are class act pretty - like the lady I met!

We began our hike at the Pratt Lake/Granite Mountain TH on Friday afternoon. The weather was beautiful and the trail was dry and clear for most of the way. We left trail #1007 at the #1039 fork and continued on to Ollalie Lake. Trail #1039 was muddy and had water on the trail.

The camping areas at Ollalie Lake were dry. There were patches of snow in the basin, but nothing on the trail. The bugs were out in force. Bring netting or spray.

Went to Pratt lake rt 12 miles. Alot of people hiking on this trail today, and wta out working here too. We did not get one drop of rain on us =). The trail is muddy, water on the trail, after the cut off to pratt lake 2nd switch back down there are fallen trees, three of them, it is passable. we did run onto some people who turn around. There is a few patches of snow before turn off to lake and then on trail to lake, but easy enough. Flowers in bloom . The sun actually came out while sitting at the lake. Lots of bear poo the closer you get to the lake. Awsome day today, and good workout.

Great hike! WTA did some great work along the first 4-5 miles of the trail. There is a small amount of snow on the trail around mile 4, and there are large blow-downs on the trail when decending into the lake basin. The wildflowers are about to bloom and there was fresh bear scat on the trail about 1/2 mile from the lake (but no sightings).

First of all, the hike length on this is 6 miles to the lake, not 4 (it is stated correctly on the bulletin board in the parking lot). It is a bout 4- 4 1/2 miles from the parking lot to the top of the ridge, and then there is another 1 1/2- 2 mile descent into the basin to actually get to the lake. You do have to hike all the way to the very far end of the lake to reach the water unless you feel like climbing down some fairly steep boulders.

Overall though, this is a great hike! The trail was nearly deserted, only passed a dozen or so groups along the way as most people peel off to the right to hike Granite. When we got to the lake, it was completely deserted and we never saw another hiker again until we got out of the basin.

The trail overall is in pretty good shape. The first 3 miles are well groomed and in pretty near perfect as far as trails go. Around 3 1/2 miles we started hitting water on the trail and lots of mud. Water proof shoes were enough and no one felt like they should have worn gators. After that there were quite a few snow patches, but the trail was easy to follow thanks to all the footprints from previous hikers. I should also note that all the stream crossings (and there are LOTS of them) were easy to navigate, there are rocks exposed and no one in our party got their feet wet.

After you descend into the basin, there is a fairly gnarly blowdown that crosses the switch backs several time, the first one is the worst though. I recommend going down and around instead of up and around. After that there were a few more snow patches but pretty easy going down to the lake which was crystal clear. We all waded in a little ways but the water is still very cold and we were all too chicken to go for a real swim. Great place for lunch, hardly any bugs and a few wildflowers blooming as you walk around the lake. Total trip time was about 6 1/2 hours.

I thought I was going to Pratt Lake but things changed a little.

Starting at the Granite Mt trailhead, I decided on the long way to the lake turn off. The trail to the Granite Mt junction and beyond was in good shape. The creeks were running hard and some of the steps are under an inch of water or so. I started hitting snow patches near the junction to the Talapus/Olallie Lake area and a ways past the Wilderness Boundary sign. Perhaps they were more like snow sections and a then some snow patches. The first section was very thin with significant opportunity for postholing. The next section was near "Return Creek" - this snow was deeper and had more solid footing. I call it Return Creek since it causes a lot of people to turn around and return in the winter. The last few steps to the creek bed were under cut a lot and may not last much longer.

Then the trail was mostly clear to the Pratt Lake junction. I started down toward the lake in spite of the trail report from the person coming up from that area. I can corroborate what she said. The snow was not bad; it was the blow downs that were bad. The first 2 areas were passable but on the next switchback there were some double stacked blow downs which was where I gave up returning to the junction on the saddle.

I decided to check out the trail toward Rainbow Lake. There were periodic snow patches to the nice view point at the low point of the saddle. There was also a large blow down there but I passed it easily on the boulders. There were more snow patches on the east facing slope and then no snow on the south facing slope - at least as far as I made it which was another minor blow down. A small hand saw will easily take care of that nuisance. I have no data for the next section of trail over to Rainbow Lake but based on past years I think there will still be significant snow on the descent toward Rainbow Lake (based on past experience).

It was great to see so many people out on the Pratt Lake trail today. Normally I never meet anybody, but then I usually hike it in the snow on a mid-February weekday. This Memorial Day it was packed with hikers both prepared and clueless.

The Pratt Lake trail branches off of the Granite Mountail Lookout trail off I-90 exit 47. The trail climbs at a steady even pace diagonally across the face of Granite Mountain to the Talapus junction. From there it climbs at an easy grade around the east side of Olallie Lake to the Olallie saddle. From there it is a two mile descent to Pratt Lake and beyond.

There was no beyond for me this day. I sped along the dry trail across several gushing ravines up to the puncheons where the snow started. From the Alpine Lakes Wilderness sign the snow is continuous. It is very dense, compact snow, and the boot tracks mark well the trail. Trax are handy but gaiters and snowshoes are not needed. It is all deep, compacted snow around the east side of Olallie Lake until the big ravine - about 3.5 miles from the trailhead and .5 miles from the saddle. Here the snow banks are 6 - 10 thick and undercut by a rushing stream. Two well equipped women ventured uphill trying to find a crossing point but I decided not to follow them and the gap was too dangerous to punch steps down and back up.

So I investigated the short connector trail to the Talapus - Olallie trail. It is deep under snow but easy to follow until the normal crossing. There the snowbanks were too high and the stream runoff was too swift and deep to attempt a safe crossing. These barriers notwithstanding, the Pratt Lake trail is a great way to get a good 6 mile round trip hike.

Cleared road made for easy access to trailhead. Covered in deep packed snow from the get go. Two of us were in snowshoes, one in heavy duty boots. All three of us were fine to the wilderness boundary where people had started turning back and the snow was less packed, our buddy in boots started sinking every few steps. Turned back a little after trail split to ollalie on ascent to saddle as it was unclear if we were following a trail or just peoples wanderings. Overall, very beautiful with lots of heavy snow on trees, but not many views. Couldn't find viewpoint to basin or viewpoint at saddle since we didn't make. Nobody we passed on the way up had made it to the saddle or other viewpoints either. Thus, if your game for mostly a walk in the woods with some peek-a-boo views occasionally go for it, but if you really want to make the lakes or saddle....hmmm....good luck!

Kurt and I went out for a safe hike considering high avy risk. Went up the Pratt lake trail about 10am. Several others out on the trail most with snowshoes including us. We just went out about 3 miles to the Pratt/Talpus lake intersection. No one had blazed a trail down to Talpus but a gorup was just ahead of us continueing towards Pratt. Trail was in good condition for snowshoeing or hiking (shouldn't be a big problem without snowshoes). On the way down talked with a guy who had started up Granite but truned around as no one had broken trail. Good thing, that avy shoot would be a potential killer wiht recent snow conditions. http://www.nwac.us/forecast/avalanche/current/zone/3/ First time i'd ever seen the extreme risk level used.

The snow and weather were perfect for a day hike along the Pratt Lake trail. The lower part of the trail up to the split with the Talapus Lake trail was fine without snowshoes. After that it was time for snowshoes. This is a forest hike and the trees were lovely with their snow decorations. We hiked to the overlook of Olallie Lake. For the amount of time it took me to eat lunch, I got to enjoy looking at the lake, then the view disappeared and it started snowing. Later, the blue patches of sky reappeared. Further along it started snowing again. There were only a large handful of people on the trail today. There are a few trees down on the stretch from the parking lot to the split with the Granite Mountain trail and they are easy to get around.

Intent was not to make it to the lake, but the weather was so nice that I changed my goal of 8 mi to 12 mi. The first 4 mi were flat and easy on a soft forest trail. The remaining 2 mi were a bit more difficult as it was downhill on rocky terrain. The lake was gorgeous! Biting flies attacked the dog. Saw a few people on the trail, but I had the lake to myself for a while. Awesome view of Talapus Lake with Rainier in the background. If you want solitude, pick this lake over Granite Mt.

(Hiked into Melakwa Lake and summited Kaleetan Peak with Sadie's Driver, parted ways and continued on with Dicey for a loop out Mason Lake. Trip report begins as we part ways)

Suzanne and Daryl continued back up to Hemlock Pass while Carla and I dropped down towards Tuscohatchie. The two trails paralleled for awhile and we jokingly yelled that we'd lost the trail already. Joking aside, we had actually stepped off the real trail! This was a great omen for the rest of my plan! Some easy brush bashing and we relocated it quickly. The trail is pretty eroded and muddy in some spots but not bad. Someone has also done work here and brushed it out nicely...until they decided to stop. All of a sudden the brush came back. Not bad, but a little overgrown.

We made quick work of this section and arrived at Tuscohatchie to find one large campsite of fisherman. We said hi and continued on our way to Pratt Lake. At Pratt we overshot the end of the trail and I led us straight into someone's camp, thinking it was the trail. Backtracking, we found where it ascended to the ridge by Pratt Mountain. No signs whatsoever and at this junction the actual trail is fainter than those leading to camps! But we were on our way now.

A slow climb up gradual switchbacks took us to the ridge where we turned right and headed towards Rainbow and Island lakes. I found I was out of water and was looking forward to a stream or any lake. Rainbow didn't look appetizing, and its outlet was barely flowing, so I held out for better. I ended up getting water from the little pond/lake beyond it and up hill. No better than Rainbow but at least it was clear. When I dug out my treatment tablets I found they'd been pulverized into dust. I poured some crushed tablets into my bottle and hoped for the best. We will see how long I have for this world.

Not much further and we reached the junction to Mason Lake. A helpful tree offered us four different signs and we picked the route to Mason. At the lake a strange sight: there was nobody here! Where were the campers? The dayhikers? The only time I've been to Mason and found it deserted was in the winter. Kind of creepy. Carla picked up the old trail, which I had never hiked, and we took this down to the new route. It's a nice trip and much more direct than the Ira Spring.

Back at the road we had a short walk back to the trailhead and reached my car about 7:10 pm, about 4.5 hours after parting ways with Suzanne. And amazingly Carla's coffee cup was still sitting on the roof of my car! According to Greentrails, about 17.5 miles total. I recorded 7125 ft of gain on my altimeter for the day.

All trails in great condition except for one small section on trail 1011. Berries non-existent at this time and not much water at either of the falls coming down from Melakwa Lakes.
Check out my full report here,
http://www.adventuresofscatman.com/[…]/

Scatman
Get out there!

Uhh, this trail goes deep in forest. one way 3h. elevation 4400 feet then in 800 feet.work day and only few (5) people saw there.trail goes for 30 min (700) feet to intersection.Granite mt and Pratt lk.then strait passing Olalie lk. and before Tartus. from trail is visible Olalie lk.after that trail goes little up then down to Pratt lk.Blue water and clean.
little bugs.

Started at Pratt Lake/Granite Mountain parking lot and hiked in 7 miles past Pratt Lake to Lower Tuscohatchie Lake. I saw several other parties on my way in, but didn't see a single person during my swim at Pratt Lake or while camping at Lower Tuscohatchie. The trail the first day was in great shape and the lakes were both amazingly gorgeous.

The next day I hiked up to Melakwa Lake and then on to the Denny Creek parking area and back along the road to my car--about 9 miles. The trail between Tuscohatchie and Melakwa was a bit overgrown, but never difficult to follow. Melakwa would have also made a nice camping destination, but seemed a bit more popular.

The Pratt Lake Connector Trail which connects the north end of Pratt Lake to the Pratt River trail is a gateway to complete solitude (think one boot print on a weekend when there were probably over 1,000 people at Snow Lake) but also requires a fairly high degree of route finding skill. DO NOT LET the solid green line on Green Trails new map 207S (Snoqualmie Gateway) lead you astray, this is an unmaintained trail with a significant section of trail missing. It is rough, there are sections where you will lose the trail and finding it when you return is tough. The following may help.

First, find the trail: The top of the trail is on the far said of the outlet stream from Pratt Lake across from the main camping area. When you cross the stream you can look and see two giant tree root balls sitting on the far shore. The trail is by the further one. There is a sign there too.

The trail is at first very easy to follow having had some bootleg maintenance a few years ago. You will come across two places where the trail just disappears, first by a fallen tree, second at an area that can best be described as a "couple of acres of rocks and sticks". In both cases the trail continues straight and these are not switchbacks.

At about 2,300' you will come to a stump with an 8 on it, this is the old 8 mile trail marker from the Middle Fork. This is a switchback (there is actually a really old trail that goes straight, don't follow that). This is also your key marker for getting back. If you have a GPS, take a waypoint here. If not, you need to be able to figure out how to get back.

Continue down the trail, there is one more switchback then the trail disappears for good. You may or may not see some ribbons leading across the Pratt River but no matter, go across and up to the old Railroad Grade which is also the trail. Take a waypoint where you hit the trail, it can be hard to know where to come back.

When returning, try to cross at your same point and go up hill to find the trail. Be careful not to go too far left and miss the switchback. One way to find the crossing is it is about 200' past the "barrel in the weeds" (note: you can also go cross country up to the Kaleetan Lake trail, stay left of the Pratt River on an obvious small ridge/berm, it is actually easier to go left of the last minor stream as well. You meet the trail at 3,400'. It's steep but not rocky or particularly brushy).

Once you get down to the Pratt River trail you will find weeds for about the first quarter mile as you head northwest (down) then it opens up into the pleasant railroad grade walk you have for 6-7 miles.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are planning to hike through to the Middle Fork, the trail again becomes challenging when you get close to the Middle Fork. There is a new connector trail going in, but until it is complete you have some confusing brush near the mouth of the Pratt followed by a long, brushy, unmaintained trail to get to the Middle Fork Trailhead. The river can be waded during low water but is dangerous at other times.

The Pratt River trail has many old remnants of the North Bend Timber Company's logging operation from 1936-1941. Please leave them in place and remember they are there because someone else (like me) left them for you to see.

You might find the following web page useful for traveling in the Pratt: http://www.middleforkgiants.com/Hike%20Pratt%20Valley.html

We parked at the Pratt Lake Trailhead, ran to the Denny Creek Trailhead then headed up to Melakwa. From Melakwa we went down 1011 to Pratt Lake via Lower Tuscohatchie Lake.
The trail from Melakwa to Lower Tuscohatchie could use some eventual TLC, there were a couple big trees down and, on this misty day, several areas that need drainage work. Lots of trail work is going on in the general area though, a long stretch, lots of hard work, from Lower Tuscohatchie to Pratt Lake. We greeted a trail crew a bit beyond Pratt Lake- thank you!
The brushy spots after Pratt Lake are very brushy indeed, we got nice and wet before drying out on the last climb up the saddle.
With all the lakes this really is a nice hike even on a cloudy, misty day and there weren't many people out there on usually busy trails.

The day was cool and rainy when we set out from the Talapus Lake TH (I'm not sure why the Granite Mt TH is used for Pratt Lake, as it's 1,000' lower so more work). Nice trail to Talapus, most people we saw were backpackers hiking out early to dry out. On the way down to Pratt Lake, we heard banging noise and came across a trail team from NW Youth Corps who were replacing puncheon and doing brush work.

An interesting thing we noted at Pratt was a full snakeskin draped over the sign to the toilet. Haven't seen such a nice specimen before! Past Pratt was a place I'd never been and there was a nice view down to the Pratt River Valley (see photo). The trail is rocky but easy (and full of trail runners) and soon we got to Lower Tuscohatchie Lake, destination for the day. The sun appeared briefly, as though to escort me into the water (nice temp) but retreated behind cloud cover when I emerged.
Overall distance= 11 miles

Left Granite Mountain/Pratt Lake TH at 7:45 am and hiked into Pratt Lake. Weather was cloudy and cool with occasional light drizzle. Good hiking weather. Was foggy with on again/off again drizzle and pretty good wind blowing at the lake. Trail was in good shape. Ate lunch at the lake and fished for an hour with one 10 inch easter brook trout and a few hits between the two of us. Started to get cool with the wind and wet at the lake so we packed up and headed out. Arrived at the TH at about 3:00.

We got an early start to our hike up to Rainbow Lake on Sunday morning. There was very little traffic on the trails and most of it was people coming down from doing an overnight at one of the many lakes the Pratt Lake Basin trail leads to.

The Pratt Lake Basin trail (1007) was completely clear of snow and obstacles and only slightly muddy.

The Island Lake trail (1009) had some muddy spots and a few very small snow fields, but the trail was obvious at all times.

There was moderate mosquito activity, but neither of us used bug spray.

There were some small but nice wildflowers at various points along the trail.

The weather was great, the lake is beautiful, and we had a great time.

Did loop: (parked at) Pratt Lake trailhead, (ran road to) Denny Creek trail, Melakwa Lake, Lower Tuscohatchie Lake, out-n-back to Kaleetan Lake, Pratt Lake, Pratt Lake trailhead.
Main issues:
1) Some snow remains on last few switchbacks to Hemlock Pass, but not a problem (footing / finding the trail)
2) Kaleetan Lake trail, bridge is out: After about 3/4 of a mile you need to cross a major creek (outflow from Melakwa Lake). Your choices are:
A) very slippery log above some rapids.
B) jump about 4 feet onto a mossy boulder and hope you don't slip.
C) wade through knee-deep, fast flowing water.
I chose C, and it worked out fine....

Overall, trails are in good shape! I would not recommend the Kaleetan trail if you have IT band issues... If you run, do the loop clock-wise (like I did). Running down Denny Creek trail is not very fun.
Whole thing took me 5:50h - 4:00h actual running time.

Oh, yeah, and no wilderness permits in the box at the (Denny Creek) trailhead, and no TP in the restroom. Bet they come and check that every car has the trail park pass displayed, though. Last time I saw a ranger in the backcountry was 1998 in the Goat Rock Wilderness.... these days all they do is issue tickets.

My buddy Bill and I chose to do a 17 mile trail run from Pratt Lake parking lot to Denny Creek trailhead, up to Melakwa Lake and then down around Tuscohatchie Lake and Pratt Lake. The trail up Melakwa was in great shape until hitting snow about 300 feet below Hemlock Pass. We followed some steps in snow and saw some trail, but were able to make it up with no real issue. Once over the pass, we hit some snow in the first half mile on the way to Tuscohatchie and Pratt Lakes. The trail was in great shape except for a few blow downs. Super green in the dark forest, trail was not too brushy yet. Ate lunch at Tuscohatchie and hit the crowds coming up to Pratt Lake.. an amazing adventure..low clouds, but cool..no rain.. quintessential spring weather in NW (where is summer)

Three of us set out for a brief overnight to Pratt Lake. The trail was deserted but for one couple who we passed on the way to Pratt as well. With it being the holiday weekend, however, the trail was packed with people going out towards Talapus/Pratt/Granite Mountain on our return this morning.

The trail is free and easy for the first few miles throughout the uphill. There are a few streams to cross through or rock hop over but nothing major. Just before the junction with the Talapus trailhead, you run into some snow for a quarter mile or so. There are only a few patches, and none of them are at all worrisome. Most of it is off trail. There is maybe a 20 foot patch on the trail at one point.

Across the saddle and past the talus field, the trail is muddy, muddy, muddy. There are enough rocks and logs, however, to keep yourself mostly clean if you can navigate by hops. All of the campsites, save for the big one right on the lake shore, are pretty mud free. We stayed by the drainage and had the lake completely to ourselves. It was a good short night out in the woods. Go midweek to avoid crowds.

Hiked into Pratt Lake for some exercise and fishing. Perfect day for hiking in the mountains. Partly cloudy and cool breeze makes it great hiking weather. Left the parking lot at Denny Creek Trailhead at 8:00 am and hiked to the Talapus Lake cut-off on dry trail. After passing the Talapus Lake Cut-off, ran into mud, water and a little snow on the trail, but certainly not a problem. No bugs on the trail and noticed lots of mushrooms and a few wild flowers. Arrived at Pratt Lake at 10:45 and fished for about two hours. Caught 2 small trout which were returned to the lake unharmed. A few bugs at the lake but did not need to use our bug spray. Arrived back at the parking lot at 3:35. Beautiful day in the mountains.

Cool and foggy day for Snoqualmie Pass area, so we chose Pratt Lake instead of a higher hike. Parked at Pratt/Granite Mt. TH at 10am with 3 other cars. Trail is in good shape with just a little snow on the ridge above Talapus/Ollalie lakes. Lots of streams and waterfalls--too many to count, but all easily crossed on rocks and logs or slashing through. Muddy in main trail so waterproof boots and gaiters worn to keep the pants and socks dry.

Met one lone hiker on the trail who was returning from Pratt Lake, and saw one camping group of 2 at Pratt Lake itself. Only one car in the Parking lot at the TH at 5PM when we returned. We took the entire day (7 hours) to do the hike and clocked right around 14 miles total to North end of Pratt and back. Trail is well marked and easy to follow.

Seen along trail:
2 squirels
1 Pika
1 Grey Jay
2 Chickadees


More photos of Pratt Lake hike: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

Update: Trail 95% open. Still have a few spots where you are hiking on snow once you pass the Talapus lake cut off.

I was about the 4th car at the trailhead on Monday at 9:45am. Off to Pratt and Island Lake. The trail is nice and calm. It slowly gains elevation as you work your way back into the wood. You'll pass many stream runoffs. Most are just five feet wide and easy to pass. At 1.2 miles you hit the Granite mountain turn off, continue straight.

A few more streams, a couple close to 10 feet wide as you switchback your way up the side of the mountain. After the switchbacks the trail climbs. At around 3.5 miles you'll see the sign for Talapus lake...continue straight. You will now see the first signs of snow. Don't freak out, everything is passable and about 400 feet down the trail the snow ends.

BE CAREFUL... with the warmer temps, the snow is thin around the sides and trees. Always test your next step with a pole or stick.

Gain more elevation now and reach the ridge line. You can look down and see Olallie Lake. A few hundred more feet and your on your way back down towards Pratt Lake. BE CAREFUL...the backside is in the shade so there are some areas of snow. I did fall through a few times up to my waist in thin snow. Remember on your way back, the sun has hit the snow and it's melting fast. I had to go off trail and hop on rocks to work my around one section coming back.

Once you hit the rocks switchbacks your done with snow. Continue on to Pratt and Island lake. Amazing views, sun was out, streams at full. It's worth it to hike 1/2 mile past Pratt lake to Island lake. Just stay on the main trail.

The Parking Lot was full by the time we arrived at 11am to attempt the Pratt Lake Basin Trail. We saw about 6 people the entire time we were hiking. The trail was muddy in places and there were about 3 areas where you have to go over creeks. We started to see patches of snow at around 3500 ft elevation and then the trail was mainly covered from that point to 4100 ft. We turned around at about 4 miles into the 6 mile one way hike, but caught some clear skies and great views.

Hard compact snow and ice starts about 1.3 miles up. Yak Tracks/ microspikes, etc. advised. Get to Talapus Lake in 1.7 miles. Walk out onto ice as far as you want, just be careful. Continue .7 miles to a junction. Got left .7 more miles to Olallie Lake. Possible to walk out on ice, just be careful. Now either:

Hike east, cross lake outlet and hike off trail through trees (watch for tree wells) eastward uphill until you reach Pratt Lake Trail

or

Hike back on trail .7 miles to junction. Go left .2 miles to Pratt Lake Trail, go left.

Hike 1-1.2 or so miles to Pratt Lake Saddle. Route to saddle is not steep whatsoever. HOWEVER, THE TRAIL IS EXTREMELY ICY AND SLIPPERY IN SPOTS AND YOU ARE TRAVERSING ON A STEEP HILL, SO BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO SLIP OFF HILL!!! TAKE YOUR TIME AND YOU SHOULD DO JUST FINE!!!

From saddle junction go down to right to Pratt Lake. Follow footprints and work your way to bottom of basin and continue to lake. Trail traverses the hill on right side of lake. Come to a boulder field and work your way down to lake. Lunch time.

On the way out of basin, it is easier to get lost. Follow the most used route that you see. Try to stay to left of snow field the best you can. From the saddle hike back out to trailhead. Watch for ice!

The trail from the Granite Mountain trailhead to the Ollalie Saddle is one of my favorite winter hikes. It gains a gentle 2284 feet in 4.3 miles of well graded, broad tread. This makes it a perfect snowshoe route. Today, however, one had to climb pretty far up to find suitable snow.

The trail starts just off exit 47 from I-90 and climbs 1.2 miles to the junction with the Granite Mountain summit trail. Between this junction and the junction to the Talapus Lake connector are three gushing rivulets. The trail is clear of serious snow until the 3rd deeply ravined rivulet. From there to the Talapus Lake connector the snow is continuous, from 2 to 6 inches deep, and mostly crunchy or even crusty. It is perfectly manageable with good traction boots but I like my yak trax for better grip. After the junction sign, the snow is 2 to 3 feet deep - crusty under the trees and fluffy in the open spaces. The trail is well tramped and easy to follow. The lookout over Lake Ollalie is the safest turning around point. The last 100 yards to the actual saddle has steep, exposed snowbanks that would be insecure to navigate without an ice axe.

I cleared the trail of blowdowns except for a large, wet, nasty one just 50 feet in from the trailhead.

The first winter storm of the season was blowing. Up to a couple feet of fresh snow fallen or falling. Where to go? I chose an easy drive. I headed up I-90 and took the Denny Creek exit to the Pratt Lake parking lot. Most folks on this trail turn off after a mile and head up Granite Mountain. With possible deep snow up high and lightning in the forecast I chose to stay on the Pratt Lake route. Only 7 or 8 cars in the lot when I started out at 9:00 am. I was raining lightly.

The first patches of snow appeared at about 2800' after crossing the big creek and switchbacking up the far side. By the time I reached the creek crossing with a small waterfall there was a little snow on the trail. I could now see several footprints and one set of dog prints. The trail is mostly in the forest. In the few open sections the snow went from nearly non existent to a few inches deep.

The route turned away from the highway and up the valley of Talapus and Olallie Lakes. It was very quiet now and the last of the rain had turned to falling wet snow. By the long board walk there was six inches of snow on the ground. At the Olallie Lake junction the footprints all continued up the Pratt Trail. Looked like I'd have my trail breakers a little longer. I had thought about going to Pratt or Rainbow Lakes but my progress was slowed by the snow and photo opportunities and I began to think a little less ambitiously.

Soon I met two of the trail breakers who were heading down. They mentioned one guy and a dog still ahead. When I reached the Olallie inlet creek the snow was more than a foot deep. The crossing was easy though the creek was much wider than a month ago. The trail is nearly flat as it traverses above Olallie Lake at the end of the valley. I reached the Olallie Lake overlook and left forest. Here the snow was more like 18 to 24 inches deep. The clouds were so thick I could not see the lake right below me. With only one person ahead of me the slogging became more work in the deepening snow.

At the Pratt - Defiance trails junction I stopped. Tracks continued on the Defiance Trail. With the narrow trail on steep slopes ahead and the deep snow I chose to turn around. After a long dry summer it felt a little strange to be wallowing in snow again. I should have quite a few months to get used to it again. The snow was falling much harder now and my footprints were rapidly being filled in. The trip down was easy enough as the trail is gently graded.

Below the Olallie junction I met a couple headed to Olallie Lake. They were in good spirits despite the gray day. Much farther down I passes several more groups heading up. On the last 1 1/2 miles there was some water on this usually dry trail. I took some time to route it off the trail. This slowed me down enough for the lead trail breaker and his dog to catch up. They had gone part way towards Island and Rainbow Lakes before the steep slope and deep snow turned them around. Back at the trailhead there were more cars than in the morning but the lot was still not full.

I ended up with just about exactly what I had hoped for. No snow to drive in but snow on the trail after the first mile and a half. Eight miles round trip with 2400' of gain was a good workout without using snowshoes. They would have been necessary to have gone much farther. I really like hiking after the first good snowfall of the season. Avalanche danger is still minimal. The last leaves of fall are now covered with the first snow of winter. It can be a beautiful time to be in the mountains.

More photos can be found at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips-2009" on the left margin.

I started from the Talapus lake TH, headed up past Pratt lake and onto the Kaleetan trail. The trail is in good condition and there was only a single other lonely soul on the trail the whole way out. Not unexpected for a mid-week hike though.

Kaleetan lake has a great view of Kaleetan Peak. I walked around a bit, and there isn't great lake access. You have to walk through a small field to even get to the lake. There's a nice camp spot right next to the creek running out of the lake though. The only downside to camping here is that because of Kaleetan peak, you don't get direct sunlight until later in the morning. I left camp around 9AM and there still wasn't direct sunlight. There were a lot of nice, ripe (almost overripe) blueberries right around the camp area.

Trail is in excellent shape. Somebody did some extensive brushing around Pratt Lake and Lake Tuscohatchie, and some very good turnpike construction. There are a couple of culverts that need cleaning out on the approach to Ollalie Saddle and coming down toward Pratt Lake. There are also some sadly sagging bridges - on the Ollalie-Pratt connector and on the Pratt trail after the junction with the connector. Two puncheons where the trail skirts Pratt meadows are missing some planks.

Road 9030 off I-90 is all repaired and in great shape. The trail takes off through the woods, up some stairs, and climbs 12 or 14 gentle switchbacks to a series of small bridges over Lake Talapus outlet stream. A few more gentle switchbacks brings you around the ridge where you can hear the Lake Ollalie outlet stream. Follow this to a very obvious junction with a sign that points to the two aforementioned lakes. To your right is an easy stream crossing. This is the connector to the Pratt Trail which is about 1/4 mile long. The Pratt Trail climbs easily around the slopes above Lake Ollalie to a nice viewpoint and then the Ollalie Saddle junction. Go to the right, downhill. Several switchbacks bring the trail down and around a boulder strewn bowl and then out across a talus slope. From here you can see fall colors on the shores of Lake Pratt and Mt. Kaleetan rising majestically on the horizon.

There is no good spot to sit in the sun at Lake Pratt but just a half mile further is Lake Tuscohatchie with a nice flat rock on the other side of the bridge right on the water. A great place for lunch. Round trip is about 12 miles which I made 3.5 hours in and 3 hours out. Some Chanterells along the trail were past their prime but I did get home with a nice bag of tender young Oyster mushrooms for supper.

When I arrived at the Pratt Lake/Granite Mtn. trail head parking lot, only two other cars where there with a group of 6 just heading out. As I was putting my boots on it hailed for a few minutes. I had decided to hiked up to Ollalie Lake via the Pratt Lake trail instead of the usual trail past Talapus Lake. The second large creek crossing has nice water falls to view. It rained for a short time as I was heading up the trail. Further on were the trail goes over old cedar puckeon bridges, there was snow on them. I was the first one up today as no boot tracks were seen in the snow. After getting to the junction with the Pratt Lake/Talapus Lake trails, I hiked down to the other junction to go the Ollalie Lake. There was a little snow on the trail in places on the way to the lake. Only saw one other hiker as I arrived at the lake, but he was leaving to go explorer the trail to the end of the lake. The view from my lunch spot across the lake to the snow covered trees on the ridges with the temp at 38 degrees made it look like winter. I had snowshoed up to the lake several times in the past via the same route and gone around it on winter days.

After eating lunch I headed back down the trail, crossed the outlet creek, then over to the Pratt Lake trail. The only wildlife I saw was one chipmunk, plus some mushrooms popping up. The sun did poke out from between the clouds for a while on the way down. When I was about 1/2 mile from the trailhead I met a guy wearing shorts, no boots and a cotton seatshirt, and his dog who were hiking up the trail. Since it was 2:15 PM I asked him were he was headed. He told me he was hiking up Mt. Defiance. Apparently he did not have a map and said he had on old guide book. After explaining to him that he would need to take the Ira Spring trail to Mason Lake (he didn't know about that trail) he decided to go up Granite Mtn. instead. I did tell he would be running into snow on the way up.

At the parking lot when I was getting ready to leave another guy drove in and parked. He was wondering around and came over and asked me where he could get a 1-day Forest Pass. After I told him they were not available here at the trailhead he said he would park down the road past the fee sign. It was now 2:45 PM and he told me he was going up Granite Mtn. and would take him only 2 hours. He didn't looked dressed for a hike in the snow as he was wearing a short sleave dress shirt with slacks. I thought I only saw these types of people on the week ends in the summer.

Went on a leasurely one-way walk from Talapus trailhead to Denny Creek trailhead, 8-year-old pace.

Talapus area is mobbed as usual. The junction with the cutoff trail to Pratt Trail (1039.1) is no longer marked --- look for it on the other side of a small creek where some other signs are hanging. Not sure if there is an attempt to close it, or just a missing sign... The trail itself is in great shape.

Pratt Lake felt like a campground --- we stayed somewhat in the woods, but all accesses to water were filled, and with nice toasty campfires, no less. Bugs not bad.

The trail to Lower Tuscohatchie is in great shape, recently brushed (thanks!), with superb valley views. Quite a few people there too, but not too bad. From Tuscohatchie to Melakwa, the forested trail is very pleasant as it climbs to the lake. Melakwa Lake is beautiful, of course. Blueberries, huckleberries, a salmonberry or two.

The trail continues around the left side to a small peninsula, and from there to Upper Melakwa, smaller but very pretty. We stayed at the upper lake and had it all to ourselves. Plenty of bugs. There are more private campsites on the bluff overlooking the upper lake (scramble up before reaching the peninsula). The "trail" to the Melakwa pass continues on the right side of Upper Melakwa, just along the shore. We didn't go to the pass.

Denny Creek trail is rocky, steep, and hot. Could use some brushing. Full of people even on a Monday.

All in all --- the lakes are amazings, the trails are in great shape for the most part.

Perfect day for a hike. We started from the Pratt Lake/Granite Mtn. trailhead. Take Exit 47, go left over the freeway, then left again for a short distance on paved road to the trailhead. There's a pit toilet there, but hardly ever any toilet paper. So bring your own.

On a Wednesday, we had the trail mostly to ourselves, and the traffic din from I-90 finally disappeared after about an hour.

The trail climbs steadily and, after about 3 miles you reach the Talapus turnoff. Keep going straight toward Pratt Lake and, after about 15 minutes, your efforts are rewarded with a spectacular view down to Ollallie Lake, with Mt. Rainier in the background. This is the only view of the mountain you'll get, so take advantage of it.

Many small streams are still running, but all are easily crossed.

The trail markers are obvious, not much chance to get lost, until you start to drop down into Pratt Lake Basin. A sign on a tree has tiny arrows pointing right to Pratt and Melakwa Lakes. Don't go left. You will end up at the Mason Lake Trailhead, where your car ISN'T.

You'll lose 800 feet as you go into the basin, so keep that in mind for the climb out. Except for a couple of scree fields and some open brushy stretches (thanks to whoever cut the brush back), the descent to Pratt Lake was pleasant. We had lunch at the north end of the lake with only a few flies and wasps who were after either our food or our flesh.

The round trip was 12 miles, took 6 hours and (accumulating the elevation loss and gain into the basin) gained about 3200 feet of elevation.

Got to parking lot at 8:15, parking lot was moderatly full, nothing compared to when we returned to the parking lot at 1:15.

The first 1.2 miles flew by, i think their was only about 500ft of elevation gain. Note; that leaves 3300 feet of elevation gain to go up over the next 3.1 miles. We took our first break after about an hour which was well needed, once you turn onto the granite mountain trail it gets steep! We were hiking up through the clouds till we eventually broke out above the tree line which seemed to be when we broke out the clouds as well. We could Raininer to the south which was cool. We also saw a hunter here who was going off trail kinda towards Alpental (away from the look-out). We snapped a couple pictures of raininer and headed towards the look out. By the time we got to the look out (11:00 am) the clouds had burned off completely althuogh we were above them anyways. Rainier looked great. We ate some food and looked around and headed back down about 11:40. We elderly, children, and dogs on the way down. I was surprised how many people were on the trail for how difficult of a trail it was. We took one small break on the way down and got back to the car at about 1:15. We didnt even put on bug repellant and i only got two bites. Overall the graet was hike and i would definitly do it again. My only negatives are that you can hear and see I-90 a lot of the way and the trail is pretty crowded. But the views were awesome, and the accomplishment of getting to the top was great.

Left the Parking lot at 8:30am. The parking lot was filling up. Nothing compared to when we returned to the parking lot at 1:15. The first 1.2 miles flew by, then we turned off the pratt lake trail onto Granite mountain trail and it got STEEP. The next mile or mile and half is the toughest part of the trail i think. I believe the first 1.2mi was 500ft elev gain, so that left 3300 feet to go up over the next 3.1 mi. We took a well needed break after the first hour then powered up to the top stopping to take pictures above the tree line, we also saw a hunter just above the tree line who was going off the trail in the alpental direction (opposite direction of the fire lookout). Once we got above the tree line we basically got above the clouds as well. We got to the look out at 11am, the clouds were well below us and quickly burned off altogether. We took some pictures, ate lunch, and look around then headed back down at about 11:40. We got back to the car after taking one quick stop on the way down at about 1:15. The parking lot was super full. We saw a lot of people on the trail, i was surprised by how many people were on the trail given the difficulty of the hike. We saw elderly, children, and dogs. Not many bugs on the trail, i think i got two bites and i never even put on repellant. Overall, it was a great hike! i would definitely do it again, although hopefully id be in better shape next time.

Started out at the Pratt Lake trailhead. It was HOT, even in the shade of the tress. Took the Talapus Lake offshoot to cool off and ended up staying and swimming with my dogs. Lots of bugs and biting flies! Decided to just call it a day. Saw a BLACK BEAR on the way back down about a mile before the parking lot! My dogs alerted me, the bear stood up and looked at us as we walked by.

Great hike..would have been better on a clear day. The trail up to Pratt lake is in GREAT shape. No blowdown's and mostly clear of mud. It was misty and light rain on the way up. A little clearing at 4,200ft the lookout of Talapus lake. Once I took the turnoff towards Pratt lake I was back down into the mist. I ended up missing Pratt lake all together..(Mist that heavy). If you go on a misty or rainy day the end of the lake is at the "Bathroom" sign. The trail keeps going and I ended up at Island lake...I believe.

Sun broke out at 1pm and on my way back Pratt lake was clear and calm. It's funny how you can miss a WHOLE lake when you can't see more than 50 feet in front of you.

-Trail in great shape
-No bugs
-Trail sign in the bushes at the end of Pratt Lake

*Just a reminder...if you have to pee ladies please move off the trail more than 5 feet and find a tree. Bare Moons 5 feet from the trail can be embarrassing for you! YES, I did see a FULL MOON! lol

Visited Pratt Lake via the Pratt Lake/Granite Mtn trailhead. On the way out from Pratt Lake, took the junction down to Island Lake. Snow, blowdowns, and water are present on the trail in spots, but overall are negligible. Have fun, this is a beautiful area.

Except for occasional muddy sections and easily passable snowy patches, the trail was in great shape. There are a lot of streams and falls flowing. This is a great hike with a well formed and maintained trail, with a gradual elevation gain. I took and referred to the Pratt Lake hike page from the 2000 edition of 100 Hikes in the Alpine Lakes, and found it to be either out of date, or misleading (several others on the trail agreed). For many hikers the shortened hike to the "saddle" (7 1/2mi RT) is most appealing, but I could not find the saddle. The picture in the book of the lake from the saddle was no where to be found in reality. Any saddle must have been hidden in the trees. So, a medium destination is taking the right turn down to the lake and going maybe 1/2-3/4 of a mile to a big talus field. This is a great place to stop, in the sun, for lunch. You see the entire, beautiful valley and a peek a boo view of the lake. The lake is about another mile, or so, down farther. This was about two hours of steady hiking to this point (the talus field) so a nice days hike.

Took an afternoon run to Mason Lake from the Pratt trailhead. Not many folks after the Granite Mountain turn and beautiful views down into the valleys after the Talapus turn. This is also where the snow and blowdowns start kicking in. I counted about 10 blowdowns but only 1 or 2 require any real maneuvering. Got lazy and lost the faint trail up around Island lake but eventually bumped back into it before dropping down to Mason Lake to see a hearty family camping. Cool and quiet the entire way, plenty of time to think about sweet things.

Trail was fine until 3.8 miles (Talapus Lake trail junction). Just beyond this junction, both the trail to Pratt Lake and the one to Talapus Lake were heavily covered with snow, estimate 18-24". We turned around at this point. Creeks full with runoff, very pretty.

Three of us got an early start. The lower trail was in good shape with signs of trail work. The trail climbed steadily past the intersection with Granite Mtn trail. Plenty of trillium, yellow violets, and bleeding heart early on.
About a mile up we encountered the first and deepest creek crossing. Lots of snowmelt and ankle deep steps. There were 4 crossings like this. Deeper and faster when we returned.
Snow began in large firm fields around 3500 feet. Lots of melt holes and tricky footing - especally at the boardwalks. Snow became solid around 3700 feet.
Snow side slopes above Ollalie Lake are very steep where the trail crosses a side creek. There's a snow bridge here that may have a wood bridge in it. Once the pack gets soft this area will be dicey.
There's bare ground at the Olallie Lake overlook and very nice view of Mt. Rainier.
We tried to continue up to the saddle to Pratt Lake. The summer trail disappears at this point with the boot track going higher on the slope. The open boulder field had lots of deep & hidden melt holes. I plunged through. My pack spun me and began to pull me back towards a downslope, head first fall. Prevented the fall with a quick grab of a sturdy shrub.
I was rattled. We turned around. Getting back to dirt was nice!
We met a few groups of 2 that had stayed out. Lots of people and a few pups as we hiked down.
It might be a month before snow is mostly melt off most of the way to Pratt Lake. In the mean time expect rotten snow on the open boulder slopes on either side of the saddle.

From the Pratt Lake trailhead the trail to the Talapus trail junction is in fine condition and a pleasure to experience. It's a woodsy walk on fir needles and Hemlock cones, crossing several, easily negotiable streams that invite a photo. Lots of wild flowers in bloom. At a moderate pace it's about 2 hours to the Talapus trail junction. Beyond the Talapus trail junction conditions change to post-holing snow and run-off water damaging the trail. Way-finding from here can be a challenge to those without back-country route finding experience. The trail to Talapus/Olallie is in poor condition and still has significant snow patches but is passable. As we descended on this mid-week day we passed a total of nine folks walking in.
pandj

Destination: successfully climbed West Granite Peak.
Weather: clear but hazy - nevertheless, the Olympics were visible. There was occasional light wind.
Snow conditions: Snowshoes were necessary as soon as we left the trail (about 3000'). The snowshoes didn't sink much in stands of trees; however we sank about 4 to 5 inches in clearings. Higher on ridges there was less soft snow.
Avalanche conditions: in morning - good; in the afternoon - there was some sluffing caused for example by sitting glissades - caution was exercised.
Companions: Amy and Ish.

Parked at Granite Mt. trail head (snow free). Left the cars around 9am with B. At the junction to Granite Mt. we kept straight, crossed the first big drainage, ascended 2-3 switchbacks and then headed straight up to West Granite. Snow on the trail portion was walkable, and we used snowshoes for the cross-country ascent, post-holing where the snow was too steep for our snowshoes. Once in the open, it was slow going in the soft snow even with snowshoes. Arrived at the top around 1pm (2 long breaks on the way up).

Enjoyed the views for over an hour and decided to return via the trail that descends in the direction of Ollalie Lake. The initial slope off the back of West Granite was super steep, deep, soft snow. The slope shed just a few small donuts, but was otherwise stable. Donned our shoes at the bottom of that first steep hill and followed old tracks down, down, down, finally picking up Pratt Lake trail which we followed back to our initial cut-off point and then out to the cars. Met one couple hiking in for an overnight, otherwise saw no one else except for a few small figures at the summit of Granite across the way. Lots of snow in the back country still, and tricky walking without snowshoes. Spring snow conditions with uneven melting leaving gaps and undercuts. We encountered one hole near the trail five feet deep and a narrow footbridge stacked with 3 feet of snow but completely melted out below and around it. B crossed with her usual grace while I chose to back track and take the long way round on more stable ground.

Back to the cars around 5:30pm, dinner at Los Cabos in North Bend. Good hike, good companionship, good food. Great day.

I found myself once again solo, forsaken by partners with more flexible schedules and better weather judgement. Every day I can get out lately seems to be the worse of the bad weather days. I set out hoping for West Granite but realistically expecting just Red-2. I ended up at Ollalie lake.

I found an inch or two of fresh snow in the lot when I left my car but it became much deeper. The trail was only lightly covered until some point past the Granite Mountain turn off when it quickly became deeper. There were one or two people ahead of me but with the way the snow was falling the tracks appeared a day old. Every so often a gust of wind would shake the trees, dumping their snow load everywhere, totally obliterating the tracks ahead of me.

By the time I reached the ascent point towards Red-2 the snow was quite deep and still falling heavily. Trail breaking would be a real chore but I wasn't short on energy today, having plenty to burn after dealing with extended family weirdness the night before. But with the heavy and wet snow falling hard I was already on my second pair of dry gloves and fairly soggy. The last thing I wanted was to go up into strong wind above tree line and freeze, especially in fairly bad avalanche conditions. I opted to just call it a day at Ollalie lake.

I put on my snowshoes and left the trail. In the open areas I was breaking through more than knee deep fresh snow, even with snowshoes. No signs of any recent tracks anywhere. I made it down to the outlet and carefully crossed to the far side, picking a sheltered spot for lunch. The winds were mild at the lake but I could hear them blowing hard up higher. I didn't linger long, just a few photos and I was off. All the while the snow kept falling hard.

Back on the main trail I took off the snowshoes and booted it back down. No one else had been up since me and my tracks were already filled in. The descent was sloppy and cold but uneventful. I only saw three other snowshoers, probably the fewest I've ever seen in the winter here. Back at my car the two hikers ahead of me came down - Umbrella Lady and her friend! I'd met her a few years ago on Bandera but hadn't seen her since. She of course had an umbrella and looked a little drier than myself. I was getting cold quick so I hopped in the car and took off.

Back at the onramp the State Patrol had just shut down the pass. Cars were being detoured off at Exit 47 to turn around if they had no chains and it took awhile to get going. An RV was turning around here in the deep snow making for a tight squeeze. A white car had spun out and was facing oncoming traffic. I scooted through and slowly made it down the slushy road. Driving back was the most dangerous and adventurous part of the day! Just before Factoria I passed through the worst rain squall I've ever seen. I cranked my wipers to maximum and had to slow to 10 mph, even then I could barely see where I was going. Thankfully it didn't last long.

Along the highway near the Mt. Si Tavern I'd seen a hand made sign tacked up to a tree reading "Hell is hot!". I was pretty cold so some eternal damnation sounded pretty good right about then.

The Pratt Lake trail from the Granite Mountain trailhead is always a favorite winter hike. The grade is easy, there is no avalanche danger, the trailhead is always cleared, it is right next to I-90 so the car can get in easily, and it runs along a south facing slope so snow accumulation is minimized and it melts off faster. Many feet have packed down a hard, icy ridge in the center of the trail. Atop this is a one inch dusting of fluffy snow up until the junction with the Talapus connector. From then on it is about 5 inches of fluff on top. I was the first one through it and it was glorious fun. Trax and gaiters were helpful but no snowshoes needed. I reached the Olallie viewpoint in 3 hours and back down in less than 2. There are a fair number of blowdowns and some especially big ones right at the start. The ravine crossings are easy except for the one above the NE corner of Olallie. It is way too dangerous to step down. There's nothing for it but sit down and slide. Beyond the Olallie viewpoint is steep and drifted so I opted to leave that for another day. Wonderful sunny day for a hike and I had the trail all to myself.

We hiked up the Pratt Lake Trail to about 4100' then headed north to the west ridge of W Granite Mt. The trail presented hard packed snow in the early morning, as expected, but the slick conditions improved after the Lookout trail junction. We shoed up at the Ollalie/Talapus Lake Trail junction & encountered firm snow most of the day from there.
The trek up the west ridge offered superb views in all directions on very firm snow. A stiff breeze kept the cloudless, sunny inversion conditions just wintry enough to require parka & hood. After a short summit stay to snap a few pictures we headed down to the saddle between the west & south summits for a lunch break.
We then ran the ridge to S Granite, unable to escape the wind due to cornices & steep terrain, and finally headed back west down the ridge until we could drop into the woods. We caught the Pratt Lake Trail at about 3600' to complete the circuit, fully satisfied with a great winter's day in the hills.
The snow conditions were consistently good all day with no signs of any recent avalanche activity.
There were several washed out spots in the snow on the trail & one moderately difficult stream crossing above the Talapus Lake trail junction. The parking lot was a skating rink due to the frigid conditions & never melted out.