Talapus and Olallie Lakes — Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024

After bailing on Margaret's Way/Debbie's View twice (once due to high winds, the second due to WTA reporting that Squak routes are closed), at the very last minute, I decided to head up to Exit 47 to get above the rain and into the snow.

I arrived at the parking lot at 7:15 and the only people I saw all morning were two women hiking with a dog from Exit 45. 

I started from the parking lot at dawn, letting my eyes adjust to the overcast skies and near-dark. I was greeted by three deer darting through the woods and a flock of golden-crowned kinglets, but otherwise, the only other bird I saw was a downy woodpecker at Talapus Lake. There is snow at the parking lot and intermittent snow on the trail, increasing to several inches by the Pratt-Olallie/Talapus sign. Plenty of running water but the streams are all crossable. I had snowshoes, poles, and microspikes but never needed them. Someone with good footing should have no trouble hiking this -- except the hip flexors have to work a little harder!

I think most people starting from Exit 47 are going to Granite, and most people heading for Pratt Lake Basin are starting their hike from Exit 45. The stretch from Talapus/Olallie is pretty recognizable and compact, but the trail from the Granite junction to the Pratt/Talapus sign has the least disturbed trail.

My WOW moment came after I'd visited both Olallie and Talapus Lakes and considered heading up to the Pratt Lake Trail overlook before returning to my car. It suddenly got very dark as the wind picked up and I heard odd "whumping" sounds all around me.

I looked up to see massive amounts of snow coming down, so I hugged a tree, bent over, and covered my face. When the boughs had dropped all their snow, I had several inches of snow covering my boots and a thin dusting all over my coat. I started laughing. In 32 years of hiking in the PNW, I've never before experienced what I can only call a "tree avalanche:" lots of recent fresh snow, an uptick in wind and new precipitation adding to the weight, and all the high snow dropped at once. I tried getting it on video but I'm not sure I succeeded.

All told I think the hike was about 8.8 miles and 2536' gain according to AllTrails. I came back refreshed and happy... to find nobody in the parking lot and 5 miles of trucks lined up from Exit 42-47 putting on chains. I think there must have been an accident as traffic was CRAWLING heading eastward to the Pass -- big fluffy flakes were coming down -- but nonexistent westbound (except truckers removing chains.)