Distance (RT): 11.3mi/18.2km
Gain: 3761ft/1146m
Total Time (moving): 10hr

Gear (used): Hiking boots, poles, helmet
Gear (unused): N/A
Gear (should have brought): N/A

Bugs: None at basin (camp), Lake Ingalls, nor South Ingall's peak

8 cars in the parking lot (a Wednesday evening). No anomalies on trail. Quiet at basin; only one campsite taken. Night winds became intense by 10pm but not significant. Quiet at lake the following day with only a few early-morning hikers.

Climbed up through the col between South and Ingall's, which was uneventful. Turn left (south) for minor scrambling up and then through a narrow rock crevasse before reaching the backside (west) face. Peak will be in sight from there with minor class 2 scrambing.

Descended on the south side of the peak via unconcerning class 2/3 downclimbing to reach the ridge line. Here you can then head straight down via some minor route finding back into basin and camp.

Bottom Line:

This day felt more like late September (minus golden larches) than early August - cold and windy (the NWS forecast even listed the possibility of snow showers in the morning)! Recent rain has tamed the dust, and the trail had a nice tacky surface. Quiet, with just a few cars outside the main lot at Esmeralda Trailhead. Clouds were a bit stubborn over Ingalls Peak and fog started to accumulate around Mt Stuart into the late afternoon. Larches are green but there are hints of fall color in the understory. There are some flowers in the few wet areas, but mostly past (no nearby Bean Creek Basin from 3 weeks ago, or Goat Rocks from 2). No goats today but lots of fur clumps around :)

Stats:

• Distance: 10-1/4 miles
• Vertical: 3050 ft
• Duration: 5-1/4 hours
• Road/Parking: North Fork Teanaway Road is in great condition with just a few (shallow) potholes and some washboard surfaces. It is definitely doable by any car. There is parking for ~20 cars at the trailhead lot, with overflow available along the (downhill only) side of the road. Toilets. The forest cleanup 5+ years back or so has paid dividends - looks good!
• Weather: Mix of sun and cloud to mostly cloud; chilly with temps 40-50Fs; breezy. No bugs, perhaps because of the breeze. This hike definitely felt fall-like - luckily, I packed those layers!
• Water: There is no filterable water up to Ingalls Pass - all the seasonal streams have dried up, with just some ground seeping on a switchback a few hundred feet from the pass itself. The trail is exposed and would be hot in better weather. Otherwise, there is some water in Headlight Basin, and of course you have the lake. I carried water and a filter. 
• Flowers: Most of the trail up to Ingalls Pass has Pearly Everlasting, and long grass. Once you get near the pass, there are a couple of flower patches near some wet areas from ground seeping, and then spotty flowers in Headlight Basin. But the summer has been very dry, and the bloom is limited/past. Among the notable flowers: Aster, Heather, Arnica, Penstemon and Blue Bells. This is not really known as a flower hike anyway :)
• Trail: The trail is in good condition. There are a couple of blowdowns to step over early in the ascent, and a few muddy spots from ground seeping just below Ingalls Pass. A lot of the cairns have been knocked down beyond Headlight Basin if case you are not familiar with the trail up to the lake - it can be confusing at times. There are two routes on the final scramble - IMHO, the route to hiker's right that seem to traverse farther out is the more trail-like and easier route. The frontside up to Ingalls Pass is dry with no water. There is a little water in Headlight Basin where the creek usually spills over the edge in a waterfall (itself dry). The trail is rocky at times, and poles are helpful. No goats today, but lots of stunted trees in Headlight Basin with clumps of fur, fur the goats might have been wishing for with the wind chill today! NOTE: Dogs are not permitted on this trail right from the Ingalls Way junction at the bottom, due to the goat population.
• Takeaway: The trail is very dry with limited flowers, and only a few snow patches on the surrounding peaks to give the landscape some contrast. The lake is optimal for swimming and rafting if you can get a warm day in the coming weeks. My favorite times here for photography are late spring, with its combination of snow and flowers, and of course fall for the larches, especially with an early snowfall. Right now, the terrain has a beautiful starkness that is more reminiscent of the southwest than WA. Unique and beautiful!

Higher resolution pics available at the Instagram link below ;)

Arrived at 9:30 am to an almost full parking lot on a Tuesday morning in early August. No TP in the outhouse at the trailhead. We were on the trail by 10 am. Half our party was new to pack packing, so we took our time for snack breaks and photo ops along the trial and lunch at Ingalls Pass. We were two middle aged adults and two teen age boys. We made it to the pass at in about 3 hours each carrying 30 lb packs. The temperature was 77 degrees and I was glad it wasn't hotter. There is a decently long section mid way to Ingalls Pass that is treeless and in the full sun.  

The trial was in great condition. Very similar to how I remember it, from a few years ago in the fall when we came to see the larches, with only a few rocky spots until you get to Ingalls Pass then the west side trail is quite rocky until it drops to the meadow in Headlight Basin.  It gets rocky again after the meadow and stays that way all the way up to the lake. In full sunlight, the last bit of trail up to the lake was easy to follow if you took your time and paid attention to little clues. On a foggy day or in tricky lighting it could be very challenging to navigate as many others have mentioned in previous trip reports.

We met various day hikers on the trail but it never felt crowded. There was only one other party camping overnight in Headlight Basin with us. We took the "high road" or west side of the loop trail that rings Headlight Basin to find our camp spot. There was water in the stream in the meadow but beware the back country toilet, marked on the All Trails and CalTopo maps, is truly full. 

After setting up camp, we continued up the rocky trail to the lake for a late afternoon swim. No goats at the lake at 4pm and only a few people. After a super chilly but very invigorating dip in the lake, we headed back to camp. As we were making dinner, we did spy  2 goats up on the west sidewall of Headlight basin. Scraps of their shedding fur was caught in the trees in several places around camp but they did not choose to visit us.

A few clouds rolled in around sunset and it was quiet windy most of the night. By 5:30 am the wind had died down but it started to rain lightly but steadily. We had a quick breakfast in our rain gear, packed up quickly and headed back. The younger set, with good knees, bounded back to the car more quickly. The seasoned crowd wisely took their time noting that there are still 4 or 5 kinds of wildflowers to be seen. The lupine are done but the paintbrush and others are quietly lurking near the trial if one takes the time to notice. Young ones took an hour off their return trip. The older ones did not. All in all a very enjoyable overnight. Less cars in the lot at midday on our return probably because of the rain and possible thunderstorms foretasted for the late afternoon. No way would I want to be up in that basin or near the lake in a thunder storm. 

We arrived at the trailhead at 9:30 and had no trouble finding a parking space. We hiked to the camping area and easily found a campsite. The creeks at the beginning of the camping area were mostly dried up or moving very slowly but there was one about .2 miles up the trail to the lake that we could have used. Instead we got water at the lake. The lake is about half a mile up of fairly difficult rocky hiking from the camp area. I was really glad we didn't have our packs on. The lake was well worth the effort! There were no bugs to speak of until evening, and even then not bad at all. We did see a group of goats but steered clear of them. A lone one came to visit in the morning but didn't venture into our camp. 

Climb of Ingalls Peak via South Ridge (5.6 variation) on 7.28.25.

Skipbees' report from 7.23 covers the trail conditions pretty well so I'll just add a few notes about the climb.

The summit register is full, so please bring a new notebook if you're headed up this way!

WATER ACCESS: We crossed 3-4 little creeks before cresting the ridge to drop down to Lake Ingalls. The first was at about 3.8 miles in with the classic view of Stuart. We didn't see any running water past the lake or on the climbing route.

APPROACH: Snow-free to the base of the climb. We headed westward from the lake up slabs which led into a gully and up on a mostly-cairned route that led us to the start of the climb. The last bit of the approach was a bunch of tedious, loose scree (I dropped down and back up to get around the final rock buttress thing).

There were two parties of two ahead of us, and we were the final ones up for the day.

CLIMB: We climbed with a 70m rope and took the 5.6 crack variation on the crux pitch. Slippery serpentine made things a little more exciting than they looked. My partner led everything, I followed and cleaned. We did four pitches, and then made the final scramble to the small summit.

Rap stations/bolted anchors all looked in good shape. Four raps back down to base went smoothly (maxed out the 70m for sure).

We picked our way back down to the lake, my partner jumped in for a quick cold dip and then we slogged back out to the car.

BUGS: Just one or two mosquitoes, but the ginormous flies were out and about. It was a bit distracting while belaying, when they are circling you like jets!

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