Was hoping to get a Snoqualmie Pass area snowshoe hike in now that the avalanche danger forecast was low. Couldn’t find any recent updates for Talapus Lake and it turned out that I should have just left the snowshoes at home and gone with a lighter pack. Snow is patchy and more consistent closer to the lake. Recommend having decent ankles and knees to deal with the compacted postholes/deep bootprints, waterproof boots with good traction to deal with water on trail and snow, and maybe poles if you tend to use them.
Parking outside the road closed barricade was pretty easy. Because my car was small enough to do so, I backed in to the roadside to leave more space. One other vehicle was present when I arrived and one other different vehicle present when I left, but I had the entire hike and lake to myself which I’ve not experienced here before. Don’t recommend trying to drive around the barricade as you won’t get very far unless you’re planning on chainsawing and cleaning up all the tree debris, maybe also helping to redirect the water streaming over the road that’s creating channels or rills(?) that are getting deeper. Seeing all of this made me wonder if the forest service has to deal with these issues every year before reopening the road.
I enjoyed hiking the road though as it gave me the opportunity to see small waterfalls and views that I’d normally just drive past. Roughly a half mile from the lake there’s a cluster of a couple large trees that’s making hikers cut through the snow covered switchback to get past. Talapus Creek was running strong and looked pretty in the snow. And at the lake, which is starting to thaw, the sun poked out for an unexpected visit.
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