Nice day trip

Reviewed By: Abe on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 @ 10:16:38 AM

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Review: Great little day trip. Definitely go to Olallie if you come this far though as the lakes are separated by only about a mile. Barley any snow going to Talapus but as soon as you start trekking towards Ollalie the trail is snow covered. Be prepared to get very, very wet. Trail to second lake is just a small bit more elevated than the first but still easy for most hikers. Beware that the Pratt Lake trail intersects the trail between Olallie and Talapus and it is very easy to accidently sidetrack towards Pratt so keep an eye out.

Very different this year...

Reviewed By: luc on Sunday, June 29, 2008 @ 08:36:36 PM

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I decided to do this trail on 6/29/2008 given that there aren't too many trails open yet due to the record snow this year. Typically I would rate Talapus Lake average but this year with the extra snow the rushing water was really impressive. The trail is about 80% snow free except when you get closer to the lake. I noticed that creeks were running under the snow right before the lake (through some holes so watch out). The lake was snow free.

I've put a short HD video on vimeo: http://vimeo.com/1255157

Great Day

Reviewed By: Adam on Monday, May 26, 2008 @ 06:40:34 PM

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My second time going up this month and now the majority of the snow has melted. Cars could almost reach the trail head but couldnt for 1 or 2 patches of snow. For about 3/4 of the trail there was zero snow and it made climbing very easy. The last streatch there was plenty of snow but most was compacted so it wasnt to bad at all. Made it to the Lake in about an hour and settled there for a bit. I tried to get to Olallie lake from the western trail but it wasnt possible comign from Forest Road 9030. If one started from The Pratt Lake trail head then one could easily reach the other 2 lakes. Talapus was still covered almost enterily by snow with the edges melted. Beautiful trip, will try to get to Olallie and pratt lake this coming weekend when I go for my overnighter starting at the Pratt Lake trail head.

First Tracks...

Reviewed By: H2OBoy on Monday, May 19, 2008 @ 08:05:43 AM

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Myself and my hiking sidekick, we'll call him "Pinchy the Hobbit", did a run into Talapus Lake on Saturday (05/17/08).  We started up at about 6:45am... first ones up and out!   The road up is good, there were some ugly potholes and washboards but nothing major.  It was not possible to get all the way to the parking lot due to snow on the road.  We parked PH's truck about 3/4 of a mile below the parking lot and started up, we were operating under the assumption that once we reached tree cover the trail would be fairly free of snow - WRONG.  We fought our way in, no snow shoes, the river was running really high due to the melt.  We reached the lake at about 9:00, it was beautiful!  We worked our way around the lake until warming conditions made the snow more diey than we were equiped to deal with so we turned around.  The trail was pretty difficult to follow on the way out due to melting snow (bring your compass, and if you can follow the cairns we put up, it'll save you a lot of wandering) and we had to spend a fair bit of time looking for the trail.  We got back to the trailhead around 11:30 and there were 8 other cars... our timing was great, only saw one other group on the trail and the rest on the road.  On the way down we drove to the other trailhead and noticed that water was running over the road in several places... this was due to the extremely heavy melt going on this weekend, we tried to clear a couple of blocked culverts with limited results.  If you are doing this trail early in the season pay close attention to the condition of the road or a mid-day melt may leave you stuck.  It was a great early season outing... I'll post a couple of pictures that PH sent me.

Still lots of Snow

Reviewed By: Adam on Saturday, May 17, 2008 @ 05:01:50 PM

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Started off on May 17th 2008 around 10:00 AM and got to the road leading up to the trail head at about 11:00 AM. All the cars could only go about 1/2 way up to the trail head before the snow came in and stopped us. After hiking to the trailhead which still has several feet of snow my group and I tried to hike to Talapus but eventually came back 1/2 to 3/4 to the lake as the trail was entirely covered by snow at that time. there were parts here and there where the trial could be followed but it was extremely easy to wander off. I would recommned someone to bring a GPS as the trail couldnt be seen for the majority of the time. Snow shoes would also be appropriate on the trail as there is still plenty of snow, although as the snow melts it has left cavarns underneath to fall in.... very dangerous. Fun time though but it would be better with less snow.

Nice wander in the snow, but no lake

Reviewed By: Kent hiker on Friday, April 6, 2007 @ 07:12:37 PM

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Review: This hike is now 5 miles longer, round trip, than it used to be.  The road (9030, I believe) leading up to it has been blocked by a rockslide and is closed.  (The rockslide itself is quite impressive, extending hundreds of feet and destroying the road in two places.)  The hike is still an enjoyable wander in the early season, but you are now looking at 9 miles to reach the first lake, Talapus. 

We did not reach the lake due to steep and icy conditions perhaps half a mile short of the lake.  With a little more fortitude or some kind of cramp-ons, it would have been possible to reach it.   

I've done this hike in the summer; it's very different in early April.  If you're looking for exercise, this is a good hike.  If you want to reach a lake without too much difficulty, I suggest a different hike.

good way to get the season started

Reviewed By: kerrizor on Sunday, June 4, 2006 @ 07:00:35 PM

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Review: Nice enough lake, although there's still quite a bit of snow between Talapus and Olallie today, enough so that we lost the trail and felt like it was time to turn 'round. Passed at least 2 large groups of people unequiped for the rain or the lingering snow - women with open-toed sandals, guys with no trail etiquette for hikers coming downhill with large packs, and dogs not on leashes (what IS it about people not leaching their dogs?) so I guess it must be a popular "c'mon, it'll be easy" hike. ...and it is easy enough, although muddy given the weekend's rain. Elevation gain and distance makes for a nice "I'm out of shape from winter" hike. Will probably go back and do it again as part of a loop to Melakwa Lake.

Rather boring hike, but the lake is pretty

Reviewed By: Jennifer on Sunday, April 9, 2006 @ 02:37:04 PM

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Review: I found this a rather boring but non-strenuous hike.   The lake at the end was beautiful.  It's not a hike I'd be likely to do twice, but it's a good option for a beginner hiker.

A little more difficult in the snow

Reviewed By: Jason on Monday, January 23, 2006 @ 08:07:18 AM

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There has been a great deal of snow up there as of late and it was certainly apparent based on the fact that I couldn't get my Jeep much more than halfway up the road to the trailhead. Despite that, we strapped the snowshoes on and made our way up to the trailhead. We reached the trailhead at about 11:00AM and began up the trail. It was fairly easy to follow but only because there were quite a few tracks from snowshoers before us. On the way up we passed only one other group and reached Talapus at about 12:10PM. Not too bad for a two mile hike in snow that was over my head.

One thing for sure. If you decide to do this in the middle of the winter, be sure to bring the snowshoes. From the looks of it there was one person who must have had a hell of a time with out them judging by the three to four foot holes in the snow left by him/her. In some places it looked like the person had completely fallen through.

Talapus was pretty, despite being completely covered by the way. Highly recommended for a quick snowshoe hike, probably fairly easy without the snow.

Reviewed By: Pitak on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 @ 11:31:28 PM

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Hiking to Talapus Lake was fine. Easy hike but, yes, a bit muddy, even though, it did not rain the night before. But the way to Olalie Lake was confusing, at least for me. I did not see any sign and the trail was not clear. But it's a good day hike, especially when you don't have a lot of time (the hike should take less than 4 hours)

Watch for bees

Reviewed By: Jennifer on Friday, September 9, 2005 @ 11:30:06 AM

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Review: We hiked up to Talapus over Labor Day weekend.  There was a warning sign posted at the trailhead about aggressive bees stinging people above Talapus lake, which indeed turned out to be true.  The trail up to Talapus was absolutely lovely and in great condition-  through nice forest, and along bubbling creek with some cascade views.  The lake itself was beautiful once you hopped onto a log to enjoy the view.  Since the hike was so easy to Talapus, we got greedy for more and decided to continue up to Talapus.  Bad choice since we were 1/2 to Ollalie when I got suddenly stung in the hand by a bee that I never saw nor heard right on the trail.  Other people on the trail at that time had also been stung.  We decided to turn around as the bees appeared to be aggressive even when just walking the trail.  Before we got down to Talapus again, my husband was also stung by a bee.  On the way down, we passed others who had also been stung that day.  I've never before seen bees  bothering you unless you've messed with them, but at least at this period of time- they appear to be agggressively attacking anyone on the trail.  No bee attacks lower than Talapus, so my advice is to enjoy the hike to Talapus for now and save Ollalie for another time of year!

Talapus and Olallie

Reviewed By: donutello on Saturday, August 27, 2005 @ 08:34:51 PM

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Review: We went up to Talapus and Olallie lakes today. We were very happy we chose the Olallie lake option because Talapus lake was pretty disappointing. There isn't very good lake access at Talapus and you have to scale logs to even get close to the water - which was not much of an option for us since we had an 11-month old in a backpack with us. Olallie lake, on the other hand, was beautiful. There was plenty of good lake access and even though it was pretty crowded we were able to find a secluded spot to have lunch. The weather was also very cooperative - there was a gentle breeze and plenty of sunshine. I would strongly recommend anyone considering going this way to plan to go to Olallie since Talapus is not quite worth the effort.

Ollalie Lake

Reviewed By: KatieM on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 @ 10:46:54 AM

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Review: I went to Talapus Lake and Ollalie this weekend and was pretty disappointed. The hike itself was fine - nice trails, not too many people but the lakes were UGH! At Talapus, there isn't even a place to sit next to the lake - you need to scale logs and try to find a suitable one to sit on. Very disappointing. Ollalie was a little better in terms of access but the lake itself is nothing to write home about. I gave this hike 2 stars - but I wouldn't recommend it to friends.

Talapus lake

Reviewed By: Robert Rose on Saturday, April 30, 2005 @ 06:21:06 PM

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Review: jeeze i thought we would have another mile and then boom theres the lake, this is a really easy hike great for beginners and excellant early season hike. we also went to ollalie lake which seemed about twice the distance to talapus.

Talapus in April

Reviewed By: Go4Hke on Saturday, April 23, 2005 @ 04:47:26 PM

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Review: The hike to Talapus was nice & the lake snuck up on me quite quickly. The trail was muddy, with small patches of snow, but easily manageable. The lake was lovely with some fabulous refelctions in the water. I snapped a few photos and headed on towards Ollalie. Almost immediately past Talapus the snow reappeared in earnest. I continued on for what seemed quite a long time, with dirty footprints in snow, slush & mud being my guide. I had thought weather was supposed to move in and didn't want rain to wash away those muddy footprints that were leading the way for me, so turned around before making it to Ollalie. There were a couple groups of hikers starting out about the same time as myself, but on the return trip ran into many more groups & the parking lot at the trailhead was full. For those interested, there is an outhouse at the beginning of the trail, and I saw a sign for a pit toilet up by Talupus.