The trail was rather muddy in many spots. At Ollalie Lake there were many bugs, especially gnats and some mesquitos. We enjoyed our two nights though.

Trail #1039 clear from parking up to Talapus Lake. A few muddy spots. Amazing number of people out Sunday afternoon without water, maps, wilderness passes, food, common sense, etc. Lots of mud and water on the trail above Talapus Lake. Bridge out over creek where #1039 joined #1007, easily crossed. Ran into snow on trail #1007 east and northeast of Olallie, melting fast, should be gone in a week or so. Lots of water on trail in many sections East of Olallie lake, eroding the trailbed. Forgot my saw, could have done my good deed for the day, there where lots of 3-5"" trees down over trail #1009 Northwest of Olallie lake, west of the junction with #1007, these were easily bypassed. Ran into more snow than this southerner felt like dealing with, along #1009, halfway between the #1007 junction and Rainbow Lake. Island lake was frozen. EMail me for photos or more info. pauldods@dallas.net

Hiked up with my younger crowd in and out in 4 hours. Trail is free of snow at Talapus. Only a few small patches left in the forest. The lake is clear and fish are nibbling a little. Campsites were all clear; wish I could have stayed the night.

The Alpine Lakes - Talapus Lake Trail: The trail is snow-free until about a quarter mile before the lake. The lake is open and there are bugs. All the campsites appear to be snow-free. The trail is again snow-free above Talapus Lake until a quarter mile before Olallie Lake. Olallie Lake is 50% snow covered and there are some snow-free campsites. The remainder of the trail to the junction with Pratt Lake Trail is snow-free. Pratt Lake Trail: The trail is snow covered on the section east of Olallie Lake. Beyond that there are small snow patches until its junction with the Mt. Defiance Trail. Although Pratt Lake was not my destination, I proceeded down the Pratt Lake Trail for about a quarter-mile and found it passable in spite of being mostly snow-covered. It appeared to be clear beyond that point. Mt. Defiance Trail: The trail has snow patches up to five feet deep along the Pratt Divide. There are some really dicey sections which might require an ice axe if the snow hardens. Descending into the Island/Rainbow Lake basin, the trail is completely snow covered and five to eight feet of snow remain. Rainbow Lake is completely snow-covered. Since visibility was down to 100 yards, I elected not to waste my time going to Island Lake. There were bobcat tracks at Rainbow.

What a great feeling!! Even though it was early in the season, I decided to get out there and see what what I could see - before hordes of people descend on the more popular trails of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. I chose to start at the Talapus Lake trailhead. The trail to Talapus was fairly clear, with mud in a few spots. Soon after leaving Talapus behind I began encountering patches of snow and after a while was on snow all the way. I chose to continue on to Pratt Lake at the fork in the trail (left to Olallie and right to Pratt) and this was the best part of my day. What few people there were early on by then had disappeared, the snow got thicker and even starting falling!! I could get no farther than the ridge top that overlooks the Pratt Lake basin because the heavy snow made the descent too treacherous. But still, all in all, a great day. Let's all do what we can to preserve these trails. For example, when I see someone cutting a switchback (or commiting some other indiscretion), I will say something - respectfully, of course. We owe it to future generations to educate people. Have a great season!!