Talapus and Olallie Lakes, Mount Defiance — Friday, May. 29, 1998

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

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.