Not knowing there was a Talapus lake trail, I took the granite mountain trail to the talapus/ollalie lakes trail crossing. If you haven't hiked on this leg of the trail, it's actually very beautiful and worth the detour. Water is usually plentiful on this trail, but with the snow melt it was a bit more difficult than normal. There are 3 larger river/stream crossings before you reach the talapus/ollalie lakes trail crossing (and pratt lake trail). For two of them I found myself bent over with my hands on rocks to ensure grip. The first two have are a bit more dangerous with the stream crossing being on a bit of a lip but the third is along flatter ground it you could hike a bit down or up to find a better place to cross. I took a left and headed to Talapus lake and ran into snow for the rest of the quarter mile or so to the lake. It is quite a bit icy from being packed down but I managed to stay on my feet the whole time. The lake itself was still frozen over with at least 4"" of ice on the edges, but the center of the lake was showing signs of melting. Overall the trail is in good condition, but only attempt the river crossings with good balance and confidence.

With the previous days monsoon like rains and today's predicted wet weather I chose to use something under the canopy of the forest. My intent was to go to the Ollalie Lake overlook. The drive to the trailhead was suprisingly dry, but of course, it started to rain very hard upon my arrival. I quickly headed for the cover of the trees where the passing shower quickly stopped. There was considerable fast moving water over the trail for the first half mile. I continued on to around 2900ft where there was a torrent crossing the trail. I picked up the beagle and crossed without incident. As I rounded the next bend I was treated with another similar creek crossing. This time however there was a bit too much water for a safe crossing. I would also have to contend with the potential of a much worse crossing on my return if the rains were to return. I decided the prudent move was to turn back. I decided rather than return straight back to the car I would take the Granite Mt. trail. The trail was bit slick with the wet ice over most of the trail. I continued on to about 3500ft. The return trip was a bit tedious but I managed to remain upright for most of the slippery descent. On the drive home I marveled at how much water was in the South Fork, I could only imagine what the Middle Fork might look like. My curiosity got the better of me so I drove up the Middle Fork Rd for about 4 miles. Words could not do justice to the sheer amount of water in the swollen river. The water was very much over it's banks and made the drive a bit uncomfortable along the river. It seemed not too unlikely that the road could easily be undermined in more than a few spots. It never ceases to amaze me the ablilty of nature to move astronomical amounts of water.

Headed up from trailhead at 0940 on regular trail route. Not enough snow yet to cause avalanche problems but high easterly winds causing deep snow in rocky areas above 4000'. Snow depth generally about 2 feet overall. Got to about 5000' (summit is 5629') and turned around at 1300. Snowshoes definately needed due to powdery snow. Came across another climber who attempted the SW ridge. It is very icy as well as windy. Do not attempt without crampons.

Trail was bare up to about 3000'-3500' and then packed snow with some icy spots most of the way up. Snowshoes were definitely not required, though they could be fun for the last 800'-1000' (fairly nice powder). The ""summer route"" is still the primary one; I finished off with the southeast ridge, which was nice, though there were some holes around boulders to beware of. I would estimate there is only about two feet of snow on the ground at the summit, with quite a bit of vegetation and boulders exposed on the south side of the peak.

I was happy to be hiking with Quetzalcoatl today. We left all the fog behind in North Bend. An 8:30 start showed two cars in the lot. Almost no snow on the mountains is bad, bad, bad. After crossing the first gully, it’s compact snow and ice most of the way. I could have done the whole thing in trail runners and gators. That may change with 6-12” of new in the next 24 hours. Up top was a slippery inch or two on hard crust. Winter route is not available, and even the SE ridge is barely covered. Four-point instep crampons would have helped. We had the usual stellar views, with low fog, and high clouds in abundance. Only about ten people on trail today. 8 miles R/T, five hours car to car.