Wow, what a perfect day of hiking! When I arrived at the Esmeralda Trailhead parking lot (the same one used for Lake Ingalls) at 9am there were only 5 other vehicles (plus two about a half mile down the road, probably parked there the day before when there were hoards of people out). I proceeded to hike to Lake Ann and saw not a single soul until I was heading out at 3pm. I've been to Lake Ingalls and yes, it's a lovely hike. But I highly recommend changing it up and going to Lake Ann for the larches one year. It's otherworldly, and it's the first time I've seen golden larches around a lake - their reflection in the water doubles the beauty of it, especially Lake Ann's light green hue surrounded by the reddish hillside. Distant peaks are lovely even if not Mt. Stuart. So many colors of plants and rocks all along this trail right now, with the almost constant sound of the Teanaway river and frequent creek crossings in the first couple miles. Despite a prediction of 80% chance of rain, it didn't rain at all on my hike! The trail is in great shape - ignore the hike description that claims it's overgrown and hard to follow, it's not. Super easy to follow, decent grade. I highly recommend actually going down to the lake from the pass, it's just so lovely near it especially when it's surrounded by the golden larches, which look like they're reaching their peak soon! When I came out there were a dozen vehicles in the lot. Pit toilet is clean enough but only serviced once a week, so there was no toilet paper.

A friend and I did a 2-night backpack up to Lake Ann to enjoy some solitude, and this trip not only met but exceeded expectations.  Yes, there were obnoxious yellowjackets waiting for us at the parking lot when we got there, but they were just curious and not in the sting-y mood, thankfully, and once we left the parking lot, there were no annoying bugs - yay! 

The trail is in good shape and easy to follow, though a little rocky in some places.  It felt like a steady grade much of the way on the way up with a few surprisingly long switchbacks once you're near the head of the valley.  Turn around once in awhile, you'll enjoy the view down the valley! Silly us (me, more accurately) didn't look at our maps closely and thought it was going to be a gentle stroll from the junction with the trail to Lake Ann all the way to the lake.  Well, we got a bonus 500-600 feet of elevation gain getting to the ridge overlooking the lake - oof.  But what a view!

Spent two nights at a nice spot overlooking the lake looking west towards much of the central Cascades - amazing spot, with barely another human soul to disturb the peace.  We had an amazing sunset and starry sky the first night, but the rain on the second day that briefly turned to snow in the evening clouded out our second sunset.  

On Day 2 we enjoyed an off-trail adventure past Lake Ann up to the wilderness boundary between Ingalls Peak and some lesser high points on the ridge - what fun! Saw some mountain goat fur up there, but other than that, a mouse coming to check us out at our dinner spot rounded out our wildlife encounters.  Even so, we were glad to have our bear can with us.  Mr. Mouse was persistent!

Saw a few nice looking camp sites in the basin as we hiked up, and saw one other person camp at the Lake on night 1, but it was just us on night 2 - yay!  I thoroughly enjoyed the sense of being out in the wilderness on this trip, even though you're not technically within a wilderness boundary.  I'd do this one again!

Great way to avoid the crowds, hike in the rain! Only 7 cars at the trail head this morning at 9am. Passed more backpackers on my way back. Trail was well maintained. Cloud cover was heavy enough I walked right past the lake without noticing it. Ended up halfway to the Curtis Glacier before I realized. Thank goodness for GPS. Lots of blueberries along the trail and bear scat. No bear sightings today. Wildflowers popping! I bet on a clear day this trail is stunning. Please pack it out, no privy at the lake. About 9 miles with my detour and just shy of 4 hours. Lots of rock fields to navigate, but nothing too technical.

Aggressive yellow jackets in the parking lot at Esmerelda Basin and Lake Ingalls! We managed not to get stung but they were relentless. 

This trip report is a 2 night backpacking trip up to Lake Ann with a day hike out to Van Epps Pass. 

Started on a Tuesday with only 3 other cars in the parking lot. Headed up to Lake Ann via Esmerelda Basin trail. Didn't see a single person all day. Trail is dry and dusty as to be expected - still lots of water sources though. Stopped for lunch at the horse camp - seems like a great camping spot but the creek is all dry. Does anyone know if it runs in the spring? 

We counted about 4 campsites at the lake - 2 at the lake and 2 more tucked back with great views of the valley below. No toilet but this was the first overnight that I didn't actually see any TP around- yay! Pika, American Dippers, Ravens, and Marmots could be heard all day. Spent the first night in total solitude.

Day 2 we dayhiked out to Van Epps Pass. I was not expecting much from this trail, just wanted to explore a bit past the lake. I was pleasantly surprised at how scenic this little hike was. The meadow just beyond Lake Ann is gorgeous with the bonus of marmots running around. The hike down to the pass was varied in vegetation with a very interesting rock cave section and views of the mountains. The trail dumps you out at the jeep road and then a short walk up the road leads to Van Epps Pass. Amazing views of Harding Mountain, Icicle Ridge, Jack Creek drainage, and Ingalls Peak. I scampered up the little knob above the jeep camp for more views. Nighttime back at camp was breezy and little cool. No mosquitoes. Was joined by one other party at the lake that night but we hardly saw them. 

Day 3 the smoke had rolled in. We packed up camp and headed back to an uneventful hike out. Saw only three other people. A little bummed that the smoke obscured our views at the top of the saddle overlooking that lake but was glad we had them on the way in. 

We were very glad to have hiking poles after we turned off for Lake Ann, since the trail is steep at times with a lot of loose gravel. We had temps in the high 60/low 70s with a breeze - I would not hike or backpack this in high temps in the middle of the day. Most of the difficult, steeper parts of the trail are exposed. 

Overall a moderate backpacking trip for those who want something not too easy, not too hard. Plenty of scenery and not a lot of people. 

We arrived at the Esmeralda trailhead around 9:30 am and arrived at Lake Ann by 12:00 pm. The trail was lovely, with lots of streams for the dog to drink water on the way up until the last mile or so to Lake Ann. This part is a bit steeper and it was very hot at that point. Overall the incline was an easy grade and made for a very nice hike. 

We camped at the lake, there were only three groups backpacking. We only saw 3 or so day hiking groups so definitely not crowded. Sounds like there were only 1-2 groups at Esmeralda Basin camping. Heard from other hikers there were a good amount of established campsites.

No mosquitos! Some other large flies and gnats but you can find places where they are not too bad.  

There were lots of Pikas and we hiked past the lake to see a few large Marmots, they whistled loudly to let us know they were there! Views past the lake of Ingalls Peak were amazing. We hiked to a meadow and filled up our water there. Lake Ann is very shallow, not great for swimming but is refreshing to dunk.