Ingalls Way / Lake Ingalls

I was looking for a little early season altitude and this hike certainly fit the bill. The road in was in good shape although there are a couple of drainage ditches that have been reported that cross the road that are still there and if one is going too fast they will certainly get your attention! The trailhead parking area is shared by several popular trails so it can get crowded on a glorious day such as this but upon hitting the trail, there were only a small handfull of cars. I didn't bring the dog with me today and a good thing too - some guides say dogs are allowed but posted at the trailhead are signs to the contrary. Leave the pups at home :(

The trail itself is in good shape up to the pass. Clear of any obstructions except for a couple of small snow patches that are hardly worth mentioning. Being a clear, hot Eastern Washington day, it was good to get an early start as there is little cover from the sun for the majority of the day. Once you get past the Longs Pass junction, the trail quits switchbacking and continues its climb across slope up to the pass. This is where the views of Mt. Adams in the distance and eventually Mt. Rainier really open up.

About 15 minutes from the Pass was where I ran into my first family of mountain goats. I burned up a ton of memory in the camera not realizing these were to be only the first of around 20 goats that I would encounter at very close range today. At the pass itself, they were everywhere! I'm not used to having so many come right up to me all at once so this was quite a treat.

After a little lunch break and nearly filling my memory card with goat pictures, I continued on to Ingalls Lake. The trail between the pass and the lake is still nearly completely snow covered although the boot trail is fairly easy to follow and the footing is good. My GPS followed the boot path nearly perfectly so route finding wasn't an issue. The last little climb up to the lake is marked by rock cairns so keep an eye out for them. The lake is still completely frozen over but the hints of deep blue are forming around the shoreline. A few more weeks like this and all traces of last winter will be a thing of the past. There was only one other group at the lake so solitude was an easy commodity to enjoy. Going back to the pass, I only passed two solo hikers.

Returning to the trail head, I passed another small handfull of people but found the parking area much more full. Again, I think a nice summer weekend will fill this large lot.