Not sure I tagged the exact right trails. We did a 4-night backpacking trip, entering the Olympics at Staircase ranger station and then doing a lollipop that included Marmot lake, O'Neil Pass, Anderson Pass, LaCrosse pass, and back to Staircase. Good trip, but just a quick summary here.
Snow: I was worried about snow. There are still a number of snowfields, some of which will certainly linger, esp at O''Neil and LaCross passes. However, with the snow conditions we had, I felt comfortable with ski poles, no ice ax, and no extra traction.
Navigation: the trail is under snow on the N side of LaCross so it's possible to lose it for short bits. Generally it is toward the low edge of the snow fields. Look for the exposed bits and you won't have to go onto the higher, steeper snow. We also temporarily lost the trail one other time between O'Neill and the descent to the Dosewallips. We probably came off a snow field onto a game trail instead of the real trail, distracted by trying to get a picture of the herd of elk nearby. It was easy to find once we realized we were off.
Other conditions: bear wire is down at Marmot and it will be hard to find enough trees for hanging once the season really begins. All water crossings were below the knee when/where we did them. There is a fair bit of brush on the trail in places, and some navigable blowdown.
Animals: we saw 4 +/- 1 bears (may have seen the same pair twice). 2 sightings were very close to the trail, but they were only eating berries. Still, Please hang your food! Also saw 2 herds of elk.
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