What a difference a few weeks makes! The last time I scouted Pratt Lake Basin (end of May https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report-2025-05-29.155139162777) the trillium were in full bloom and there was still snow in spots. Two weeks ago I led a trip to Rainbow and Island Lakes and there were still patches of snow in the basin. Today, we encountered zero snow anywhere on the trail. In fact, water in streams appears to be lower than usual due to the dry spring, but thank goodness for the shade trees on this trail! Pleasant temperatures made the high humidity tolerable. This (Exit 47) is perhaps my favorite trailhead in all of the Cascades.
Ten of us from the Seattle Mountaineers CHS-2 cohort (Conditioning for Hiking Series) did an early Tuesday hike this morning, leaving the Pratt Lake Trailhead at 6:40 with only 3 cars ahead of us. Northwest Forest Pass is required but you can buy a permit at the parking lot at a kiosk. Toilets were newly stocked with toilet paper -PLEASE be sure to securely close the door behind you so the bugs (and critters!) don't get in and take over.
We saw a handful of hikers, one backpacking couple and a dog coming out of the premier overnight spot by the lake, and we only retreived one dog poop bag (BRAVO hikers!) about .25 miles from the parking lot.
Our trip took us to the north end of Pratt Lake (AllTrails had us at 2.3 mph average pace, 12.5 miles and 3186' elevation gain) where we enjoyed wading, one person took a swim, and one member shared fantastic homemade cookies.
The trail is a little muddy in spots but the streams are all crossable and if you go early, the boulder field is not too bad. It took us 3 hours to the lunch spot, an hour out of the basin, and 90 minutes back down to the cars. Strong showing, great camaraderie, and some photos of columbine, beargrass, Queen's cup, bleeding hearts, vanilla leaf, coral root, and 24 bird species on the day, including some woodpeckers, warblers, flycatchers, a Rufous hummingbird, and a bald eagle.
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