Larches are starting to turn, but not prime yet. I'd say another week or two. We went on to Van Epps after. We came down on the ridge which had an easy to follow trail.

Warning! The Teanaway 100 mile race is this weekend. Starting and finishing at Salmon La Sac, it runs from 5:00 AM Saturday to 9:00 PM Sunday. Here is the route https://caltopo.com/m/DTGF   and race info https://teanawaycountry100.com/race-weekend .

Well, this is my favorite hike but I haven't been here in a while. I'm super out of shape and decided to try to tackle it, as a jump-start for myself.

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I made it close to the top, but not actually all the way up. Because of my fitness level it took me twice as long as it did last time I hiked this Trail & i just knew it wld be smart to turn back at the point where it gets super steep.

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For some reason it's not letting me select Fall Foliage, but there is definitely an array of yellow to green and red in the leaves, some wildflowers, Indian Paintbrush and some cute periwinkle colored Bells, some purple wild daisies and a few other species of flower. Definitely end of the season, but still nice to see.

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There are a lot of loose rocks on the trail,  and horse pucky since this Trail is shared with horse Travelers, if you're new to this one.

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A few downed trees that are really easy to go around or over, and some streams in a couple muddy patches that you have to navigate carefully, but really not so bad and nothing that would prevent you from going forward.

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There are some flies, but not so bad as Lake Colchuck which has a serious biting horse fly infestation problem when I was there a few years ago, and I won't be returning to there.

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But, hopefully the horses don't bring horseflies to the Lake Ann Trail. The regular flies were annoying but i had no bug bites the entire way, w/o bug spray.

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Keep an eye out for wasps and weird bugs that you don't want flying onto you, but I only saw 2 wasps anyway. Some weird large bugs on the trail I've never seen before too and ants but easy to avoid.

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This was a more popular day than the last couple times I was here, like others have said about a quarter-mile of vehicles on the road before the trailhead. Most people went for Lake Ingalls, but I did encounter about five parties on the trail up to Lake Ann.

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I'm not sure why people say that the road conditions are bad, it's a pretty well maintained FS gravel road with barely any potholes. You can go 25mph, just slow down around camps/mind your dust. It is a little bumpy from rain water or stream overflow making waves, but it's still not bad at all unless you expected it to be paved which is ridiculous. If you're a fancy pants with a fancy pants car I wouldn't recommend taking it on any gravel road, but that's about all of the warning I would find necessary.

TRAIL ACCESS
I arrived at the busy Esmerelda Basin TH at 12:30 on a Saturday. The road in was long but well graded. Cars lined the road for about a 1/4 of a mile from the trailhead lot but I found an open spot about 100 yards from the trailhead.
TRAIL CONDITIONS
The first section up the trail to the junction was steep but it leveled out almost immediately once I turned left off onto the Esmerelda Basin Trail. The trail was easy to follow and climbed gradually on a series of long switchbacks. There were a few shallow water crossings, which my dog appreciated. It was mostly shaded for the first two miles but opened up as the trail gained elevation. The views also opened up: stunning granite peaks, lush meadows, and reddish ridge lines. The trail changed dramatically once I turned onto the path for Lake Ann. It got markedly steeper and less stable underfoot. Lots of rubble and loose dirt. It was also exposed and did I mention steep?! Not my favorite. It mellows out for a bit at the basin before the final push to Fortune Creek Pass. But the final push is just as tough as the earlier section. It felt a bit never ending. I was so happy to get to the pass! The trail down to Lake Ann was steep and soft in areas but went quickly. The lake is more like a pond but absolutely beautiful! Crystal clear and calm. There was a group of campers at the lake (parked right on the meadow a few feet from the water- sad!). It took me two hours to get to the lake (4.5 miles). I spent 40-50 minutes at the lake and was joined by another group of day hikers. The hike back took me nearly the same amount of time because the hike from Fortune Creek Pass down to the Esmerelda Basin Trail was slow going.
CROWDS
I met two mountain bikers traveling together on my way to Lake Ann. Two groups at Lake Ann and one solo hiker on my down. So only four groups over five hours. Lots of peace and solitude on this one!
STATS
5 hours total, 4.25 hours active hiking, 9 miles, 2,400 feet elevation gain.

Lake Ann was spectacular as always. I started out about 8am and there was plenty of room in the parking lot on a Tuesday morning. When I left around 1pm there was still room. I only saw a handful of people all day. Most people go to Lake Ingalls. 

Wildflowers are a bit sparce for the Esmeralda Basin, so perhaps I am a bit early. There are plenty, don't get me wrong, but definitely not the awe inspiring peak I have seen in past years. Lots of paintbrush though, and those are my favorite. 

Bugs were not an issue at all except around the lake, where some kind of giant fly was driving my dog insane. She had several bugs on her at one point actually, but it was that damn fly, or whatever it was, that was obnoxious and relentless. It only bothered me a little. I swear when we left the lake it followed Daisy all the way up the ridge and harassed her up there too. Lol. No mosquitoes that I noticed.

I only heard one marmot, which was highly disappointing as they are usually sending each other tons of messages when I am up there. I actually saw this little guy run across some snow as I was climbing the ridge from the lake. I heard and saw quite a large rock fall up above the lake that must have lasted 30 seconds or so and made tons of dust. 

Road in is a piece of crap but you can make it in any vehicle. I've seen it worse and I have seen it better, so meh. It is what it is. I am hoping my truck starts tomorrow. It was not happy.

My dog, Daisy, I adopted one week ago today. I was fostering her but she is a keeper. She was badly abused and has PTSD and is doing so much better already. We get each other. She has a long way to go but I am so thankful to have her and to help her finally live her best life. She's such a sweetheart. Maybe my Piper and Marlee sent her to me, I don't know. 

I anyone knows an easy way to make my photos smaller so I can share them here, I would love to know. Not sure if just cropping will work? 

Be safe and have fun out there!