Cold rainy and snowy conditions up in the mountains pushed us to do a longer drive out to the east slope of the cascades. This is a great standby hike, backpack or long trail run. Flowers were mostly lupine, mariposa lilies, sunflowers, yellow salsify, honeysuckle, spirea, and paintbrush. There were plenty of backpackers and hikers but it didn’t feel too crowded and everyone seemed friendly and accommodating to our younger hikers. The gentle beginning grade is helpful for making pace and there are plenty of fun distractions with scrambling boulders and plant life to check out. Rattlesnakes were reported in the area so keep an eye on dogs and kids. Quite a bit of fresh June snow up at Stevens on the drive back.

Hike Stats & Details

Description: This hike was an overnight hike from the Ingalls Creek Trailhead to the Falls Creek Junction. I camped solo (my first solo trip!) at the Falls Creek camp. For the section I hiked, this is an easy trail with mostly gentle elevation gain. 

Highlights: An easy wildflower hike along a roaring river (Ingalls Creek) that can be as short or as long as you want it to be. Great for a beginner trip, and I saw lots of families and dogs on the trail. In regards to wildlife, it was all flora, no fauna on this trip. 

Level of Busyness: Fairly quiet, especially after the first 3-ish miles! I appreciate all the friendly & helpful hikers and backpackers I encountered along the way, who told me about where to find wildflowers, as well as the conditions of the trail beyond Falls Creek, which included some blowdowns. 

Distance: Gaia shows 10.6 miles total (5.3 miles each way). Note that you can continue up Ingalls Creek Trail all the way to Lake Ingalls, and there are several other connecting trails as well. 

Hazards Encountered: I did not encounter any snakes during my hike! Woohoo! However, at Falls Creek camp, there were small bees attracted to the sun, ticks (I found one in my tent, and then a giant tick under my tent when I picked it up to pack out on Saturday morning). I treated my tent & clothing with permethrin and did all the checks, but would advise being careful & checking any pets. 

TL;DR: TICKS(!!) & MINIMAL BEES. NO SNAKES.

Campsites: There are many, many campsites of various sizes along the trail, starting with the first campsite directly at the trailhead. During the first 2-4 miles, you will find several great campsites situated along the creek. There was also a great campsite on a gravel bar with a giant boulder somewhere around 3-4 miles in that looked very nice, where a group had set up camp by Saturday morning. It seemed that most hikers and campers only ventured out about 3-4 miles, and on Friday, June 14th, I was the only camper at the Falls Creek camp. Between the TH and Falls Creek, I thought the BEST campsites were the ones situated right on the water between 2-4 miles in. 

Bathrooms: One toilet at TH. No other bathroom facilities along the trail. 

Specific Falls Creek Camp Info: Falls Creek Camp is large and established (plenty of room for lots of tents). There are spots to camp directly to the left of the "Falls Creek Trail" sign marker, as well as additional sites about 100-200 yards up to the right. Water can be accessed fairly easily via a path down to the water that also leads toward the Falls Creek Trail (which I believe you need to cross Ingalls Creek to get to, although I did not attempt this). There is a fire pit at the camp area to the left of the trail, and another at the second camp on the right. Good tree coverage, and I managed to find a couple trees to set up a hammock to read. At Falls Creek Camp, I found an area to the right side of the trail that folks had clearly been using as their bathroom spot. Lots of soft ground to make cat holes. 

Recommended Reading: I found the guide, "Backpacking Washington's Alpine Lakes Wilderness" by Jeff Smoot to be the most helpful in planning this trip. In particular, he includes the most helpful map I have come across, which I will include below. 

Trip Experience

Originally, I had hoped to hike the Chelan Lakeshore Trail. However, due to a fire along the trail, I decided to change plans last minute and found Ingalls Creek, which is known for its wildflowers. On Friday, June 14th, I started around 11:15 am at the TH, and walked casually up the trail to Falls Creek by 3:15 pm. There were tons of wildflowers, including the apparently rare Lady's Slipper orchid (photos below). The trail was well maintained and easy, and had many spots to fill up a water bottle if needed along the way (although with 2L, I had more than enough). The trail was definitely not crowded, but I did run into several groups of hikers or backpackers along the way, which I appreciated since this was my first solo hike and I didn't want to be totally alone. After arriving at Falls Creek Camp, I hung my hammock and read before making dinner and calling it a night. One group tried to find the waterfall on the Falls Creek Trail (shown on the map), but realized they would have to cross Ingalls Creek to get there and decided against it. On Saturday, June 16th, I packed up and headed back toward the TH at 9:15 am. I ended up twisting my ankle after about 2 miles due to a gear failure (hiking pole gave out). I arrived back at the TH at 12:40 pm. Overall, this was a lovely trip, and although the solitude was nice, I think I learned that my favorite part about camping is spending time with friends. 

Next Time

If I were to do this trip again, I would do it as a beginning backpacking trip with friends, and set up camp at one of the nicer campsites between miles 2-4. If camping in peak summer, I would camp at the gravel bar with the big rock somewhere between mile 3-4, as it looks like a nice place to put your feet in the water.

Six adventurous seniors from our hiking group hiked the Ingalls Creek Trail today! Sunny skies greeted us, with comfortable mid-60s temperatures in the morning that climbed to mid-70s by afternoon. An occasional cool breeze kept us refreshed throughout the journey.

We embarked on our trek from the Ingalls Creek Trailhead around 9:50 am. The trail unfolded before us, bursting with a vibrant display of wildflowers. Lyall's mariposa lilies, Rocky Mountain helianthella, harsh paintbrush, red columbine, and tall bluebells added splashes of color to the scenic landscape. We also enjoyed roaring sound of the Ingalls Creek and occasional glimpse of rushing water.

After a delightful 3.4-mile hike, we were thrilled to discover the elusive mountain lady's slipper (Cypripedium montanum) blooming in all its glory. We couldn't resist capturing numerous photos of these rare beauties.

Continuing our exploration, we pushed further along the trail until we reached a scenic horse camp. This picturesque spot provided the perfect backdrop for our lunch break, where we reveled in the sound of the roaring Ingalls Creek.

After a relaxing lunch break lasting about 30 minutes, we retraced our steps, completing our rewarding out and back hike around 3:40 pm.

Our GPS track is in the link below.

Stats:
Distance: 8.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,320 ft
Highest Point: 3,090 ft (Horse camp)
Total Time: 4h 51m
Moving Time: 5h 51m

Due to a trip report for June 1 by AlpsDayTripper, I actually went to Ingalls Creek for the first time on June 5 to see some of the wildflowers at their prime and it was absolutely gorgeous.  But then I saw MauFin’s June 9 trip report that there were mountain lady slippers that had bloomed and had to go back out there, turning a gym day into a hike day.  It was very interesting to see how much the start of the trail had changed regarding flowers. A lot of the lupine have their pods now. There are still some mariposa lilies. And the butterflies seem to have moved further up the trail to fresher flowers. In addition to the mountain lady slippers being new this week, I also saw Columbia tiger lilies (photo 1) starting to bloom, columbine, and fully bloomed coral root orchid (photo 1). I didn’t go as far as last time as I was primarily coming out to see the mountain lady slippers which were blooming on both sides of a corridor in the 3.25 to 3.5 mile point of the trail. So glad to see them thriving there, what a treat.

I also wanted to mention some wildlife. This is a year to see the great arctic oeneis butterfly (photo 2) that only appears every two years due to their life cycle. And snakes…yes there are most definitely snakes here. I’ve been here only twice now and both times I’ve encountered a snake blocking my path on my way out. On June 5, I didn’t know it at the time and come on…who’s going to assume a snake is harmless…I got to see a northern rubber boa (photo 3). Got to say, the whole thing regarding rattlesnakes being in the area is a bit stressful. So I learned what that one was and why I saw it. Rubber boas are more active and come out at dawn and dusk and yes, I was leaving towards the end of day. But then at 1pm in the middle of the day I had to encounter the dreaded rattlesnake (photo 4, head is to the left). Really?

So I had chosen in advance to not take my dogs with me on this hike. If you do bring your canine friend(s), I highly recommend keeping them on a short leash and preferably behind you. Not only for their safety but also so they don’t possibly trample any of the more delicate flowers.

Trail is great until just past 4th Creek campground.  The WTA did a great job of getting the old jackstraw timber cleared, but it looks like some new winter down before that, but it's nothing serious.

Note that the worst water crossings comes after the horse camp at about 5 miles. There's two or three between there and 4th Creek that were especially noteworthy, but manageable.  

After 4th Creek, the trail has quite a number of down trees (20?), but nothing that is ridiculous to navigate.  The down just slows the steady tread heading up to the pass.  

One down is immediately against a creek crossing. I managed OK because I was day hiking that part, but I warned a couple of backpackers about how that particular crossing could be a PITA. 

I didn't find a single water crossing where I couldn't manage to find a way to keep my feet dry, but the warmer weather certainly has the streams running with some energy!

Gorgeous flowers, the meadows are lush.  Great trip!