Great hike! Arrived at TH at 3:00 AM. Got to the top around 5:15, only ones on the trail until we got to the bottom of the trailhead again. Had the whole lake to ourselves. Great views of Mount Rainier on the way up. We decided to walk around the lake which added an extra hour or so and clocked around 11 miles. 9.6 with just up and down. Highly recommend!

Over July 4 weekend, we attempted a 2 night backpack loop from the Esmerelda TH > Lake Ann (night 1) > Van Epps Trail > Jack Creek Trail > Lake Ingalls (night 2, at campsites below lake) > exit back to TH. In total, about 17-20 miles.

We made it, but readers should know that the Van Epps Trail is effectively nonexistent and the Jack Creek trail is extremely overgrown and covered in blowdowns. Kind of a suffer-fest. This loop is only possible if you're cool with 5+ miles of off-trail hiking through a burn scar. Once we left the jeep track by Van Epps Mine, the trail very quickly petered out into nothing, which left us navigating by dead reckoning through the 8-year-old Jack Creek Fire burn scar. The footing was actually ok, with a lot of open ground and good visibility between the dead snags, but we still had to climb over tons of dead trees and the going was slow. Because we were already bushwhacking, we opted to "cut the corner" transitioning from the Van Epps drainage to the Jack Creek basin, as shown in the Gaia screenshot, which probably shaved 2 miles off. Our ascent up the Jack Creek trail to Stuart Pass went better - there was at least a trail to follow there, though it was in quite poor condition (faint, overgrown, covered in blowdowns) until the last couple miles below Stuart Pass where the trail quality finally improved. 

Overall, I would not recommend this route for anyone but the most experienced hikers comfortable with off-trail navigation and challenging terrain. This adventure was a reminder that trails marked on Gaia don't always exist in real life. 

On the bright side: no snow, minimal bugs everywhere but right at Lakes Ann and Ingalls, beautiful wildflowers, and lots of solitude. 

This goat did not like me. I tried to wait him out, but he wasn't having it so I turned around. Saw some other goats but they were doing goat things. Just a reminder to be mindful of wild animals

Otherwise, the meadows are absolutely gorgeous. Patches of snow still lingering. Bugs weren't horrible, but definitely got a few bites when I stopped. I also camped along the Teanaway River the night before and that was a skeet fest!

Friendly reminder to slow on the road when you pass other cars. It's rude to spray them with rocks

We arrived about 11 a.m., lot full, we became the second overflow car. When we left, there were about 10 overflow on the road. No problema. Our trail to Ingalls Lake was sparsely populated. 

There were still some modest snow fields on the other side of Ingalls Pass, for which my good boots and a trekking pole were necessary and sufficient. They'll be gone within two weeks (maybe one week?). It's easy to lose the trail for bits after Headlight Creek, coming and going. Watch for the cairns, look ahead to detect a trail.  GPS tool always a good plus. 

Such a lovely, varied trail. Clouds blocked the top half of Mt. Stuart while we were at the lake. Still quite lovely. There was snow around the lakeside; we lunched higher up in the rocks. On the trip, we met chipmunk, marmot and goat.

Fantastic day on a fantastic trail. This was my first time (!) doing this popular trail and I'm very grateful I finally got the chance. 

The trail is just a delight start to finish - no boring parts, fairly even grade. For a popular, widely trafficked trail, it definitely had its wilderness adventure component for me as well - the last approach to the lake out of Headlight Basin is extremely tricky, especially with melting snow bridges that obscure where the already obscure trail should be. It was unclear whether I was supposed to go on the snow bridges or around them, and I embarrassingly found myself offtrail and stuck scrambling on boulders a few times. Once I even wished I wasn't traveling solo, which is rare for me. Keep alert, have navigation and gps that's as accurate as possible, and if you're heading for something that feels dangerous, chances are you're offtrail! This report will be moot in a week or so after everything melts out, anyhow. 

I hung out at both the lake and on the way back, the pass - which is really splendid and a worthy destination in itself. However - the lake is truly spectacular. Hard to define why, has to do with the shape of things, and scale, and sunlight/cloud combos, and possibly also that challenging approach that makes arrival something splendid. The walk from the pass through the basin is also not to be missed, especially with some lingering snow - dramatic and special, in an "I'm in the backcountry but still feel totally safe and protected and am only carrying a daypack" kind of way. 

I started on a weekday at 7am and walked slowly - had the trail mostly to myself, there were a few folks at the lake who were mostly quiet, and I passed a few groups coming up on the way down, but the parking lot was only 1/2 full when I got down. The weather was ideal - not too hot, windy with changeable clouds, peekaboo glimpses of Rainier from the pass, warm enough to sun on a stone at the lake and then chilly enough to stop sunning and keep moving. It's exposed for a lot of the hike, though - on a super hot day would recommend starting early!

Road is fine, some potholes, my aged sedan did just fine.