Washington Online Weather predicted a perfect Saturday (3/2/02) and they delivered! My wife and I arrived at the Pratt Lake/Granite Mountain Trailhead at 9:00 AM and quickly made our way to the lookout point above Olallie Lake. There was minimal snow on the trail to the Granite Mountain turnoff and slowly increasing amounts from then on. Not until just before the Alpine Lakes Wilderness boundary sign at 3, 600’ did snow depths of over four feet become obvious.
By the time we reached the Pratt Lake #1007, Olallie Lake #1039 intersection, we were hiking on 4”- 6” of recent snow covering a very hard crust. The crust was so supportive that snowshoes were unnecessary the entire trip.
Turning right to Pratt Lake, we arrived at the yearlong stream that flows into the NE corner of Olallie Lake. We traveled approximately 150 yards upstream to locate a safe snow bridge and crossed, it was here that we noticed significant snow depths in excess of 7 feet. The remaining 1/3-mile or so was easy to navigate by following the remnants old wiring wrapped around trees that follows the trail. The final few feet to the lookout point almost had us break out our ice axes to keep us from sliding down the hill.
The views at the lookout site were excellent! Mount Rainier was extremely visible and clear, and we secretly watched several parties at Olallie Lake. No Gray Jays were seen.
We came across may tracks made by stealth rabbits and squirrels; however, one squirrel did grace us with his presence. Snowmelt at approximately 3,500’ is leading to several detours at stream crossings.
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