This two-night trip was a lollipop route starting and ending at Ingalls Creek trailhead. Day 1 went up and over Stuart Pass after a side trip to Ingalls Lake, then down upper Jack Creek to camp at the Van Epps creek junction (22 mi, 4500’ gain). Day 2 was up Van Epps creek to the Pass, over to Lake Ann, down Esmerelda Basin, up the Iron Peak trail, along County Line trail 1226.1 past Volcanic Neck and Navaho Pass, a side trip up Navaho Peak, then down into upper Falls Creek to camp (23mi, 8000’ gain). Day 3 was down Falls Creek back to Ingalls Creek and out to the trailhead (8 mi, 200’ gain).

There were numerous ripe thimbleberries and the colors were changing on the huckleberry bushes and other vegetation on higher parts of the Ingalls Creek trail. Bugs were nearly gone, except for an occasional fly and frequent bees or hornets (thankfully only one mild sting on this trip).

Trail conditions

Ingalls Creek:
logged the whole way up to Stuart Pass. Frequently the trail is overgrown with moderate amounts of vegetation, but not enough to slow you down. All trail junctions are well signed. After the first few dry miles, streams begin to cross the trail at fairly regular intervals most of the way up to Ingalls Pass.

Lake Ingalls - Stuart Pass way trail:
There are 3 “trail” junctions toward Ingalls Lake leaving the main trail up to Stuart pass. The first (bottom most) option goes through a campsite into the large meadow at 6050’ - I turned around at this point. The second option leaves the main trail just a bit higher up the hill at about 6160’, contouring West to a meadow, then steeply up SW through a notch/ramp in the rock bands, then along the bench to the lake (a few moves on Class II rock). The third and highest option is just a short ways above option 2, just below Stuart Pass and was not explored (looks like more side hilling than option 2).

Jack Creek (Stuart Pass to Van Epps junction):
A mile or so of the Jack Creek trail is recently burned and the trail has been largely obliterated through the burn area. It’s amazing how deep the ground gets burned and eroded away through such areas - several inches to a foot or more gone - enough to wipe away the grade of a trail. With a careful eye, most of the burned trail can be followed thanks to recent foot prints, but in a few areas it becomes completely lost in the ash. Plan some extra time to navigate through this section. Above and below the burn the trail is in pretty good shape and was recently logged. The Van Epps trail junction is clearly signed. There are a few creek crossings running well from the Pass down to Van Epps junction.

Van Epps trail and Van Epps Pass:
This very lightly used and overgrown trail was also recently burned for about a mile. I found it impossible to discern the trail through most of the burn area. This section of the trail was bushwhacking over lots of burnt fallen trees and through deep ash. While reading the map got me close, checking GPS coordinates allowed a quick and efficient way to find the trail again where it reenters unburned forest at approximately 4750’. The trail become obscure right before you reach an old road bed - just follow the road uphill to the mine area, where the main road from Van Epps Pass juts off to the left (South).

There’s no water along this trail between the bottom near Jack Creek until you are most of the way up to the mine, above the burn area. There are a few good flowing water sources along the road from the mine to Van Epps Pass.

Van Epps Pass to Lake Ann:
A short way below the Pass, check your map closely and stay left, then right at road junctions, and then take a final left onto the signed trail junction for Esmeralda Basin. The trail is easy to follow - just a few wet areas and an occasional downed tree. There are a few places to get water before you reach Lake Ann.

Lake Ann to Esmeralda Basin trailhead:
Well used, easy to follow trail with signed junctions. After you descend a ways South down from the pass above Lake Ann, there are with frequent water sources most of the way to the trailhead.

Esmeralda Basin trailhead to Iron Peak trailhead cutoff trail:
This dusty and rocky horse trail gets you about a mile south to the Iron Peak trailhead without having to walk along the even dustier road. Even with a map and a good estimate of my pace, I likely would have missed the left turn going 100 yards up to the road and the Iron Peak trailhead had it not been for my GPS. There’s some purple flagging marking this left turn, but not much of a trail that I could see.

Iron Peak trail and County Line 1226.1:
Iron Peak trail is well-graded and maintained with no water most of the way up to the pass. On the East side of the pass at about 5800’, there’s a faint unsigned trail junction contouring off to the right - stay left at this unmarked intersection. If you’re interested in Turnpike Creek trail, I did not notice a left turn or a sign for it, even though I was watching out for it. There’s water running at the camp area at the Fourth Creek junction, which is well signed.

The trail from the top of Fourth Creek over to Volcanic Neck was well signed and in pretty good condition with a few water sources. From Volcanic Neck pass through upper Hardscrabble basin, and then up to the next pass East, the trail is less used and more rustic but there are water sources - just follow rock cairns where the trail fades through meadows.

After you go over the next pass to the East (about 800’ SW of point 6680’), the trail is hard to follow, but it’s open country and easy to see where you want to go - the Stafford Creek/Cascade creek trail is clearly visible below you. I could hear water not far down to the right (South) just below Navaho Pass.

From Navaho Pass, there’s a well-used trail going to the summit. However, I missed the cutoff trail going toward Negro Creek/Falls Creek. After summiting Navaho, I just bushwhacked down the SE ridge of Navaho to regain a faint trail at the next pass (steep and loose much of the way). From there, the trail is faint but follow-able to Falls Creek/Negro Creek pass. No water on this segment of trails.

Falls Creek:
The top of the trial is faint in places, but easy enough to follow downward if you pay attention. At about 5300’ the trail becomes lost in a large open flat area with a lot of avalanche debris. The trail picks up again on the West side of the creek at about 5200’ in some open meadows marked with rock cairns. From here down the trail is marked with cairns where it fades in meadows but fairly easy to follow until you get near the bottom. There are a lot of downed trees of all varieties - enough to noticeably slow you down. At the bottom, just before reaching Ingalls Creek, the trail becomes confused in the rocky bed where you cross Falls Creek. After crossing Falls Creek at some rock cairns, I simply went straight down to Ingalls Creek and quickly found a nice log to cross. After crossing Ingalls Creek, it was 100 feet of thick bushwhacking up to Ingalls Creek trail.

Planning for a parking circus at the Lake Ingalls trailhead, I arrived at 8am and snagged one of the last spots. It was about as perfect a fall day as it could be, and it felt like everyone had the same idea. Great day to be in the mountains!

Started up the main trail and soon branched off on the Esmeralda trail. After that, I would only see 7 people the rest of the day. It’s definitely the little sister trail to Lake Ingalls in popularity, but it’s got plenty to offer. The larches, lake, ridges & views made for a super worthy hike.

Early in the day, the lower shady sections of trail had intermittent compact snow and ice, but once breaking out into the south facing sunny slopes higher up, it was mainly bare. The last half mile to the top had several inches of random boot-tracked snow, and it felt more like cross-country than established trail.

It was very windy at the top of Esmeralda Basin. And, the whole area around (99% frozen) Lake Ann was shadowed in the morning. Combined with the winds, it was quite the change of temps from the sunny south side. Not to mention, the descent to the lake is semi-steep and snow covered up to 6-8”. I threw on all my layers and had the whole place to myself. The combination of golden larches around a boulder-strewn frozen lake, in a relative moonscape terrain was surreal.

From Lake Ann I continued north, breaking trail in about 4-6” of untouched heavy snow along the County Line (west) trail. It was pretty easy-going along a mellow mostly flat grade, and in about 45 minutes I was at Van Epps pass. I had no itinerary past this point, but still had time to continue extending.

Van Epps Pt 6728 loomed to the west. It was a fun looking scramble so off I went. It had a mostly snow-free southern facing approach and soon I was on top enjoying awesome 360 views. To the immediate north & below me were the massively scarred remains of the Jack Creek fire. Lots of visible swathes of destruction, but I guess it’s really just nature’s way of giving herself a facelift. Hopefully that all regenerates sooner than later.

Ate a quick lunch and headed back the way I came. Once back at Lake Ann, it was sunny and warm. Zero wind. 180° change from the morning. By the end of the day, snow on trail was turning to slush and mud. Will likely be slick tomorrow morning. For anyone looking for a quieter larch experience, Lake Ann is the ticket! :)

Set out intending to do the "Lake Ann - Ingalls Peak Loop" described in the Falcon guide "Backpacking Washington's Alpine Lakes Wilderness". Got off to a late start, so I camped just a few miles in, on the ridge above lake Ann. Found a great, wind-protected spot with amazing views. Headed down towards Jack Creek the next morning. Lost the trail briefly after descending from Van Epps Pass. The trail is supposed to take a sharp right turn, but neither the guide book nor my 1:100,000 "Alpine Lakes Wilderness Society" map were much help among the criss-cross of 4WD tracks in that area. The trail between that area and Jack Creek was somewhat overgrown and had a few muddy sections. After crossing Jack Creek (not a big deal, thanks to low water levels) I headed up to Stuart Pass. The trail passed through what appeared to be the bottom end of a recent forest fire. Further up, the trail had a light dusting of snow (with a lot of animal tracks, and no human footprints), but was still clear enough to follow. Upon reaching the pass, I was unable to locate the trail leading to Ingalls Lake: All I found was a faint trail just below the ridge, with only goat tracks, and which I stopped following when it appeared to be getting too scrambly. So instead I went down the valley a bit and then over Longs Pass. The Longs Pass trail was easy to find (i.e. there is a sign). Ingalls Creek barely had any water, and was therefore easy to cross. Lots of blowdowns in the lower half of this trail. The trail was a bit faint at times, but nevertheless easy to follow as (after some initial meandering) it went straight up. The very top part was almost a scramble. Arrived back at the trailhead while it was still daylight (and before someone sent SAR looking for me)... Didn't meet a single person on the trail (though my car wasn't the only one in the parking lot).