The Talapus and Pratt Lake Trails are completely snow free. There are some muddy spots and one windfall about 0.2 miles beyond the high point of the Pratt Lake Trail. The Melakwa Lake Trail is completely snow free. There are some muddy spots and a few windfalls on the section within one mile of Melakwa Lake. There are some small patches of snow on the upper elevations of the Denny Creek Trail. There are a few windfalls. The very messy windfall previously reported on the switchbacks between Snowshoe and Keekwulee Falls (1.7 miles from the Denny Creek Trailhead) has been cleared except for a tricky log that must be crawled under or over. Talapus, Pratt and Lower Tuscohatchie Lakes and their campsites are completely snow-free. Melakwa Lake is 75% snow-covered and over half of the campsites are still under snow. Snow depth is less than a foot.

Trail is in good shape but a bit muddy due to rain over the last couple of days. Second creek crossing is not a problem even after the rain. On this misty Thursday, we were the only car at the trailhead. The avalanche slopes above the second creek crossing have been cleared of brush recently. (Thanks!) Just before Keekwulee Falls, some idiot decided it would be cute to take two massive dumps on a rock at about hip-level at the edge of the trail, then leave a trail of dirty toilet paper down the trail. Yuk! Unfortunately, I wasn't equipped to clean up this mess, so it's still there. (I wasn't sure how to classify this ""trail problem"": Mud-slide or Clogged-drainage')

The trail is in good condition to the waterslides at 1 mile and until Keekwulee falls at 1.5 miles. There are numerous windfalls on the switchbacks between Keekwulee falls and Snowshoe Falls at 2 miles. It is not necessary to cut the switchbacks to avoid these obstacles. The windfalls will require Swedish fiddles to clear them, so please be patient. Patches of snow are encountered at the third crossing (about 2.5 miles, 3600 feet). Snow covers the trail beginning at 4300 feet on the way to Hemlock Pass and the snow is mostly continuous thereafter. There are some exposed sections of trail to confirm the route. Melakwa Lake is mostly snow-covered, but is in the early stages of melt. All campsites at Melakwa are under snow. An ice axe was not necessary. Carry one just in case. The snow north of the pass was firm and will likely get firmer with the dropping freezing levels and possible additional snow. Canadian dogwood was seen at the lower elevations. Skunk cabbage is past flower. There are many glacier lilies between 3700 and 4000 feet of the trail. Weather was overcast with a short drizzle north of Hemlock Pass. Scattered clouds south of the pass. Two great weekends in a row followed by rainy Mondays. This is scary. And the hands of the doomsday clock were advanced recently. Repent ye sinners.

Call this an unanticipated experiment in hiking through snowfields in sandals. A friend and I decided to head out in the beautiful weather on Sunday morning to the Denny Creek trail--easy I90 access, plenty of people. The trail looks like it has gotten a fair bit of maintenance work to go along with its heavy usage. At 1 mile (the 2nd crossing of the creek) you have to wade through a raging cataract--it swept me off my feet and I dunked my friend's boots in the water, leading to a trade-off in socks (since we had both forgotten extras) and me hiking in my sandals! After relaxing and watching children and dogs get carried across the creek, we hiked as high as we could--snow cover begins before the third creek crossing, but is heavily used and easy to follow until near the pass. If you know where the trail is supposed to be, you could probably keep going--we did not and turned around, returning in the thunderstorm. All in all a beautiful hike with a touch of adventure close to home.

The Pratt Lake/Melakwa Lake Trails are mostly snow free to Lower Tuscohatchie Lake. The areas of snow are east of Olallie Lake, the first eighth mile after crossing the Pratt Divide and the rock field about 0.8 miles after crossing the divide. There is a large windfall which must be crawled under about 0.4 miles after the divide. There are two more large windfalls which must be stepped over 0.2 and 0.1 miles south of the south end of Pratt Lake. Olallie, Pratt and Lower Tuscohatchie Lakes are open and dry campsites can be found at each. The outlet creek from Lower Tuscohatchie is running high and has formed a second channel which requires careful stepping to get across. Wildflowers seen were trillium, glacier lily, salmonbery, Canadian dogwood and yellow violet.