6-09-02
This trip was an exploratory venture
to check out the snow conditions west of the crest. I have spent most of the
spring in the Teanaway and have not been keeping up with snow conditions closer
to home. I can report that the first 2 1/2 miles of the trail are snow free.
When the trail turns away from I-90 and heads north the snow begins. The
snow currently starts just after the long boardwalk that ends at a grassy
area just to the right of the trail. Beyond this point there are only a few
bare spots. The snow is immediately 1 to 2 feet deep. This point is at roughly
3500'. The snow is very well consolidated and easy to walk on. Enough feet
have come through to make the route easy to follow. At the Olallie Lake turnoff
the route gets a little more difficult to follow. Whoever started the route
did a good job. In one spot it drops too low and works it's way back up.,
Otherwise it stays very near the summer trail route. The snow is quite deep
at the Olallie inlet creek crossing. There is at least 6 feet of snow dropping
vertically down to the creek. On the other side there is even more. Fortunately
I had no trouble crossing on a substantial snow bridge. In a week or two this
will be weakened and will not be safe to cross.
One set of fresh tracks continued up the right side of the creek from where I crossed. After crossing I had only an older faint set of tracks to follow. I know this trail very well and was not concerned about losing it. The route continued on, sometimes nearly flat and sometimes traversing steep slopes. The snow was hard but not too icy to kick a good foot step in. I reached the place where the summer trail comes out of the forest at a talus field with a great view of Olallie Lake and Mt Rainier right behind it. Today Rainier was lost in the clouds and Olallie Lake was almost completely snow covered. Only a small area by the inlet and outlet has thawed. The talus field is still mostly snow covered but it is thinning rapidly. I could have crossed but would have likely post holed quite a bit. Instead, I climbed 100' straight up the snow and reached a few rocks that were bare. This was a great place to eat lunch and read the Sunday paper. Other than a few people in the parking lot I did not see another person on the way in. I was tormented by half a dozen Camp Robber Jays who expected a handout. These guys just wouldn't give up. After a long break I headed down. From the Olallie Lake turnoff to the car I passed at least a dozen groups. That's more than I have seen in one day in quite awhile but still not bad for this trail in June.
Now for a summary and some educated guesses as to the when trails will melt out. Above 3500' in the forest there was 2 to 6 feet of snow. On open slopes in the sun there was 0 to 2 feet. Unless we have unusually warm weather I expect the Pratt Lake trail will not be snow free to the Pratt Lake turnoff for another 3 to 4 weeks. The trail down to Pratt Lake on the north side of the ridge will be a week or two later. The 4th of July would be my guess. I have seen less snow in early May of many years. All in all, it was a nice day for a hike.
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One set of fresh tracks continued up the right side of the creek from where I crossed. After crossing I had only an older faint set of tracks to follow. I know this trail very well and was not concerned about losing it. The route continued on, sometimes nearly flat and sometimes traversing steep slopes. The snow was hard but not too icy to kick a good foot step in. I reached the place where the summer trail comes out of the forest at a talus field with a great view of Olallie Lake and Mt Rainier right behind it. Today Rainier was lost in the clouds and Olallie Lake was almost completely snow covered. Only a small area by the inlet and outlet has thawed. The talus field is still mostly snow covered but it is thinning rapidly. I could have crossed but would have likely post holed quite a bit. Instead, I climbed 100' straight up the snow and reached a few rocks that were bare. This was a great place to eat lunch and read the Sunday paper. Other than a few people in the parking lot I did not see another person on the way in. I was tormented by half a dozen Camp Robber Jays who expected a handout. These guys just wouldn't give up. After a long break I headed down. From the Olallie Lake turnoff to the car I passed at least a dozen groups. That's more than I have seen in one day in quite awhile but still not bad for this trail in June.
Now for a summary and some educated guesses as to the when trails will melt out. Above 3500' in the forest there was 2 to 6 feet of snow. On open slopes in the sun there was 0 to 2 feet. Unless we have unusually warm weather I expect the Pratt Lake trail will not be snow free to the Pratt Lake turnoff for another 3 to 4 weeks. The trail down to Pratt Lake on the north side of the ridge will be a week or two later. The 4th of July would be my guess. I have seen less snow in early May of many years. All in all, it was a nice day for a hike.
Snow On Trail |
Olallie Lake |
Camp Robber |
Bandera Mountain |
Snow Covered Trail |
Creek Crossing |
Snow Bridge |
Waterfall |
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