Lake Ingalls — Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024

Arrived to almost full parking lot at 9 am on a cloudy morning. Road was better than I had remembered, washboards but okay for any car. Bathroom at trailhead had no TP or trash can. Please pack out all trash. 
Cool morning but the climb got us warmed up quickly. Beautiful fall colors from the beginning including red huckleberry bushes, yellow bracken fern and grasses. Lemon colored larches don’t come into view until you are over the ridge at 3.3 miles. But then, Wow! Beautiful views in all directions. We took a left to the high more direct route to Ingalls Lake. Some scrambling and way finding to get to the lake. Heard pikas, saw crows and a hawk but no goats today.  There were some cheeky chipmunks at the lake. 
My stats had just over 9 miles and 2772 feet of elevation gain.
Happy hiking