Talapus and Olallie Lakes, Lower Tuscohatchie Lake & Pratt Lake Basin — Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025

Crafted a 13-mile out and back starting at the Talapus Lake trailhead, bypassing Olallie on the way up, and then shooting past Pratt Lake to Lower Tuscohatchie. On the way down, took a well-worn shortcut boot path down to the North side of Olallie and then accidentally took the bit of trail between Olallie and Talapus that seems to have been left fallow and is blocked off on the way up but not down.

This trail network is well traveled and pretty well loved all the way to the talus field around Pratt Lake, where it gets a little brushy; enough that a morning hike would probably get your legs soaked. On the half mile between Pratt and Tuscohatchie, the brush gets a bit thicker and the trail definitely could use a bit of reinforcement on a few spots that have started to wear away.

All four lakes were sparkling in the perfect weather that's about to give way to another heat wave. I was able to take a dip and soak in Tuscohatchie completely alone for about 30 minutes. Overnighter groups were plentiful at Olallie, but only saw one group camping at Tuscohatchie, with another group on the way deciding where to set up. It seems the play, as usual with most multilake trails, is to go a little farther to get some solitude.

Bug notes: No mosquitoes encountered at all! I was bothered by a big fly for a few minutes while getting boots back on after refreshing myself in the lake, but not a big deal. There seems to be a termite swarm on the toilet sign at Pratt Lake, however...