Pratt Lake Basin — Monday, Jul. 31, 2023

We went in via the Talapus/Olallie trailhead. 6.44 miles, 1643 vertical to Pratt. The signpost just before Olallie can be confusing because the arrow pointing toward Pratt Lake kind of looks like you should go to the left (west) side of Olallie. Stay right unless you're interested in doing some bushwhacking across the head of Olallie and back up to the Pratt Lake trail. We talked to some others who did this and they didn't like it. As you crest the ridge between Olallie and Pratt, look south for a spectacular view of Mt. Ranier with Olallie in the foreground. The trail down into the basin crosses over a lot of talus, so rough footing. Look north for a nice view of the sharp point of Kaleetan Peak. For the size of Pratt Lake, campsites are pretty limited. We left the trailhead at 10:15am (on a Monday morning), got there at 2pm and got first dibs. When you come to the sign that directs you to main trail and toilet, turn down toward the lake. There is a nice waterfront spot right there, but not much of a campsite. Limited space for tents and it's more like a day use area. Follow the trail past this and the next campsite is far and away the best. We agreed that if we hadn't got this site, we would have taken the extra half mile with no vertical to Lower Tuscohatchie. Always nice to have a sit down toilet but it was nothing special with no view. Although the black flies were attacking up and over the crest and down into the basin, bugs were minimal at the lake. There was some annoyance in the afternoon but by evening and into the next morning, almost nothing. As there is very little water flowing through the lake this time of year, the water is relatively warm for an alpine lake. This made for nice swimming but lousy fishing.