The first 2 miles are easy, yes, compact snow on trail. About half way in, I put on micro-spikes. Not necessary, but it made walking a breeze. Talapus lake (~3200') is beautiful in winter when covered with snow. After a couple of pictures, I went up to the "toilet" -- there's actually a sign. When I came back to the trail, I couldn't see anyone by the lake. So marched ahead in quickened steps. It turned out that they were still waiting for me at the lake. Any how, we convened at the next trail junction before Olallie Lake (~3800').
From here, the scramble commense. The hill was gentle at first, then it got somewhat steep. Snow wasn't deep enough to need snowshoes. Once crossed the trail linking Ollalie/Pratt lakes to Island/Mason lakes, soon we were on the proper ridge (~4400'). Still very forested. But you start to get a glimpse of views through the trees on both sides.
~4800', the tree thinned. A very short section to avoid a big rock could be sketchy if icy. Now all was soft snow. We actually met a couple coming down. Above that, it's a flat ridge walk to the summit proper. Didn't bother to use snowshoes. The view is grand. To your left: South to Rainier, Olympics between Island Lake SW, Bandera MT to the west. To your right: Pratt Lake, Kaleetan stands out in the Cascades to the N, NW, and West Granite and Granite close by to the east.
The summit (~5100) offers better view to the north, but trees blocking the views to the east.
Quite windy on the ridge and the summit. I hid behind some trees eating my sandwich, but the wind was blowing the snow from the tree limbs onto me. We moved to a lower slop for a 2nd lunch break. It was just 11am. While we were there, two groups (2 and 3) came to the summit.
On our way down, met more and more people. One guy asked "which one of you is D?" I was quite surprised to see these many hikers off trail. On previous hikes with D, we never saw anyone else, other than on the trails. Of course, once we reached Olallie (~noon), there were even more people. M and H played on a log, and one couple brought a beer. Some people ventured into the middle of the lake to take photos. I wouldn't trust the ice now.
Hiking out from Olallie is like walking in a city park. Hords of people, dogs and toddlers. To avoid some of them, we took to the snowy slopes. Sun shone through falling snow. I was wondering how the small parking lot could accommodate so many people. Sure enough, cars were lining the forest road for half a mile.
M and D always want to stop for meal after the hike. We stopped at North Bend's Rio Bravo for taco and burrito. But the little Mexico join's outdoor seating is on the north side, it was in shade. We pulled wicker chairs from behind the restaurant to the sunny side. M and K unpacked their camping table. Too bad, Y ordered a beer, so he had to sit by himself in the shady but proper outdoor seating area. Sun dipped behind the ridges ~3pm. It was getting cold. So we said goodbye there, instead of at the P&R.
