Lake Ingalls

I decided to celebrate my independence this year by getting into the mountains. It was a beautiful, bluebird day to be in the Cascades, for sure. Made it to the Ingalls Way trailhead around 10:45. Hiked up to the Ingalls Way/Esmeralda fork and came across the avalanche chute (Photo 1). Decided to explore the chute for a while, which was a lot of fun and (almost) made me wish I had my skis. Didn't get back on the trail until 12:30 but made good time on the lower section--the trail is nicely maintained and mostly snow free until about a mile below Ingalls Pass. The snow was a little sloppy by the time I was on it and I stopped to put on crampons for added efficiency (but they weren't really necessary for safety). Over the pass, the upper basin is pretty much filled in with snow and was absolutely gorgeous (Photo 2). Endless glissades to be had (Photo 3). Encountered a furry friend at the lake (Photo 4) but no other humans, which is always nice. Mountain therapy to the max!