THE ROAD. The dirt segment is long, but very good. I was mostly 25-30 mph in a Ford Fusion.

PEOPLE. Only a few vehicles at the Esmeralda Basin TH lot this Wednesday when we arrived 8:30 a.m., and a few more at our 9:45 start. Met 15-20 on the trail, mostly in pairs, never crowded. 

TRAIL. Walk in the park til nearing Ingalls Pass. Icy/slippery for a while on the other side. (We met a guy returning from his hike that started at 4:45 a.m. -- he reported much more caution-requiring slippery and icy parts so early.) From Ingalls Pass you descend to the small, lovely Headlight Basin, with great views over its eastern edge to Stuart. A ways after Headlight Basin, the trail deteriorates -- fine for now, but I wouldn't want to do this part under ice and snow. Needed hands for some parts, and some head-scratching.  We "enriched our hike experience"  with a couple route-finding mistakes, the first and worst when hitting a place where the trail seemed to tee into up-to-the-left and down-to-the-right options. We should have gone down to the right.  

WATER. There is running water in the creek at Headlight Basin, and still water at Lake Ingalls. 

WEATHER. The season is turning. A happy dose of larch gold remains, though it is mostly gone. Stuart mostly (and entirely in our time at Lake Ingalls) resembled this hiker: head lost in the clouds. Temp on arrival at the TH lot was 27 degrees. Later varied from lower to upper thirties.  Still some ice on parts of the Headlight Basin creek in late afternoon. Very pleasant, apart from the cold wind reminders of mountain weather. There were periods above freezing with many snow flecks dropping from above. Big cloud cover over Ingalls Peak, threatening or not?  With good weather and longer daylight, excursions up around Ingalls Peak would have tempted. Not this day. My friend has  been out the "trail" on the left side of the lake (as you approach the lake) is doable but not very nice (though it connects you to more). So on this day at the lake, we just ... chilled ... 

SUM. The snow-frosted sparse trees and ridges around the valley up through Headlight Basin: wonderful. Grand view of Mt. Stuart off the basin lip. Lake Ingalls, even on not its best day, quite nice. The stretch from TH to Ingalls Pass has some nice views too, with not-long forest stretches. It's a hike where you're never paying dues to get to the good part. 9.3 miles, 2500' gain, a relaxing amble. Fine day. 

Dogs are NOT allowed on the Ingalls Way Trail including at Headlight Basin and Ingalls Lake. Please respect these restrictions, they are in place for good reason. It was disappointing to see several people willfully and knowingly ignoring the rules and continue with their dogs into this restricted area. The signage is clear not only at the trailhead, but also on the WTA trail description & forest service website. 

Road was filled with muddy puddles but no problems for low clearance vehicles. Stayed overnight at the TH to start at 5:15 AM, made it to Ingalls Pass at dawn. No snow on trail after heavy rain the previous night, but a hard frost had set in at the pass and in Headlight Basin. I hiked to the lake then to Longs Pass, where I scrambled around in both directions, then beat it off the ridge in a hurry when it started snowing and visibility dropped. It was mostly clear and sunny from around 9 to 11 so I'm glad I got an early start. Although the larches were past their prime, I got some nice photos which are linked.

I drove in Sunday night to sleep in my vehicle for an early start on Monday morning and watched several groups descend the trail in the dark and pouring rain. Monday morning starting out at 37º and blue sky. Had lunch at the lake where it started snowing and which made the rocks slippery upon descent and the mud even more slippery. Trail strewn with larch needles but still a few trees bedecked in bright gold.

Gorgeous hike up to Lake Ingalls today! The parking lot was mostly empty at 7:15am when I arrived. The trail is in great condition - one or two easy blowdowns at the beginning and then just a couple muddy spots along the way. As the trail description states, route finding via cairns is needed as you approach the lake - if you'd rather avoid that navigation over rocks, it is a worthwhile hike just to go to Ingalls Pass. Most larches are past their prime, but some were still bright.

Saw several dogs on the trail - dogs aren't allowed at Ingalls Pass or beyond to the lake, so not a good trail to take dogs on.