Lake Ingalls — Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022

The road to the trailhead is a dusty and bumpy 10 mile road but any car would be able to make it. Arrived to the trailhead just before 8am Sunday 10/09. The parking lot was full but easily found a spot along the side of the road not far from the trailhead.

It was a steady incline to the first viewpoint of the larches and mountains which are beautiful! We chose to take the rocky route to the left on the way to the  lake which was fun and saw some more gorgeous views and golden larches. Saw and heard mountain goats (a momma and baby climbing a hill along the way and another two on the far side of the lake). There’s a scramble at the end that can be a bit challenging to figure out how to get up and over but there are cairns in place so follow those. The lake was stunning and calm. 

On the way back down, we took the other trail which was lovely and filled with fall colors. It was awesome to see two different views of the trail.

A lot of the trail is exposed so you’ll want to wear and bring sunscreen. Luckily didn’t have any issues with bugs. Overall, a great hike and will definitely go back again and for backpacking!