Ingalls Creek — Friday, Apr. 10, 1998

Central Cascades > Blewett Pass

The weather report for the weekend looked awful, but I knew of a few rain shadows in Eastern Washington that might provide the unlimited sunshine and warm temperatures my wife and I were looking for. We decided to hike Ingalls creek. Leaving Kirkland at 8:30AM, it started to rain hard from North Bend to just before Snoqualmie Pass when the rain turned to light snow. We passed through several other storm systems but were greeted by blue skies over the Teanaway and Blewett Pass. As we decended from the pass we ran into a fierce sleet storm and I was getting concerned our sunny day was history. As we turned left aproximately 13 miles from the pass onto Ingalls Creek Road, the rain diminished. One mile later, at the Ingalls Creek trailhead, the skies were blue heading up the valley and the temperature was warm. The trail is approximately 50% covered by snow for the first two miles with snow coverage increasing to 90% by three miles. Snow depth is one to two feet and melting fast because of the warm weather. We traveled approximately 3.5 miles but could have easily gone further. A lot of sunshine and beautiful views of Ingalls Creek and surrounding mountains. Don't forget your sunglasses and sun screen.