Talapus Lake in June Snow
Posted June 30th, 2008 in [hide]An easy hike is a double-edged sword; being in nature isn’t really “getting away” if the trail is as densely populated as New York. Talapus is close enough to Seattle, and easy enough, that the US Forest Service web page warns “This area offers little privacy or seclusion due to overuse.”
Snow changes everything, and, this year, the highlands have no shortage of snow. The only hints of winter are above, on the surrounding peaks. It isn’t until halfway up the mountainside that patches of snow start to appear, at first isolated from one another, then more and more often, until the ground is covered in white. At first it’s shallow enough, but soon it becomes impossible to tell; with nothing exposed to provide a frame of reference, the snow could be inches, feet, or miles deep.
About the point where the trail begins to climb switchbacks up the mountain side, a blanket of snow hides the path completely. This is where most hikers turn back. It’s a difficult climb when the ground is slick and the trail is lost completely. Still, it isn’t long before the hill levels off, forming a plateau which leads to the stream forming waterfalls.
