Ingalls Creek — Friday, Jun. 14, 2024

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.