Ingalls Lake, WA, USA
The objective for me for this weekend was to see the wonder of our state - golden larches. Those are conifers that turn yellow and lose their needles in fall only to reacquire them in the spring time! I specifically browsed the trails for the word "larches" and came up with Ingalls Lake trail.
There was another reason why I wanted to go on this trail: I have actually been on it 5 years ago. We were completely unprepared back then: I was wearing snickers and leggings. We were walking on snow and got snowed on. We got lost and had to rock climb with no harness up and down the mountain... We got dead tired, slipping and falling on the snow every other step... That story has been haunting me for years since and I wanted to prove to myself, in a way, that I was now much more prepared for the mountains than I was 5 years ago...
Interestingly, even though I remembered that I have been on this trail, I didn't recognize any of the views and got to experience all the beauty around me like it was my first time there! So looks like there is a cycle of 5 years, after which I can start repeating all the most beautiful trails of this state :)
Photographer asked as we got out of the car:"Are we gonna go way up there?!" - "Nope", - confidently replied I:
We are just gonna go up to the level of that mountain :)
View to the left:
View to the right:
Fog was our constant companion on this side of the mountain ridge, making everything look exceptionally mysterious:
But where are my larches?! We've ascended 2400 feet by this point, and all the trees around us were conifers, but green ones! Finally, finally I found a golden larch!
But I really should not have despaired: as soon as we reached Ingalls Pass and peaked in the valley below, we were greeted with the view of hundreds of golden larches!
And we not only got to gaze at them from the top, but got to walk through a golden forest!
and look at how different each tree is:
Photographer especially liked this tree: the emerald moss on it was decidedly popping out in the golden forest:
I even got to touch the needles! They were quite unexpectedly actually soft to touch!
There was a small pond on our way, and of course we couldn't pass without taking a couple of pictures of reflections:
One of those cases, when it's exceptionally worthwhile to spend time finding a good location for the shot :)
Ingalls Pass:
Walking around the basin:
It was starting to get late in the day and the trail was not an easy one: light scrambling and path finding was needed at this point:
We almost turned around, worried about getting to the car. Almost, but I'm so glad that we didn't and pushed through and did get to Lake Ingalls!
For we would have missed this gorgeous view! Lake Ingalls is situated in its own basin and has the feeling of a hard-to-reach place, completely secluded from its surroundings. Perfect end to a hike :)
One of the interesting features of the basin was a gray "river" from rocks, crossing the basin. Photographer and I theorized that it was a flow of lava, perhaps, that drew out this different sediment. Any geologists among my friends who could explain this phenomena for us?..
Unfortunately, we could not afford to spend time at the lake and had to rush back. The basin was now filled with the sunset colors:
We left the basin with the last glimpses of the sunset on the clouds forming a magician's hat. Unfortunately, the trick that was pulled out of the hat was pitch darkness for the last 3 miles of the trail... But we were better prepared this time around: we did have a flashlight :)
It was definitely a very special day for both of us :)
There was another reason why I wanted to go on this trail: I have actually been on it 5 years ago. We were completely unprepared back then: I was wearing snickers and leggings. We were walking on snow and got snowed on. We got lost and had to rock climb with no harness up and down the mountain... We got dead tired, slipping and falling on the snow every other step... That story has been haunting me for years since and I wanted to prove to myself, in a way, that I was now much more prepared for the mountains than I was 5 years ago...
Interestingly, even though I remembered that I have been on this trail, I didn't recognize any of the views and got to experience all the beauty around me like it was my first time there! So looks like there is a cycle of 5 years, after which I can start repeating all the most beautiful trails of this state :)
Photographer asked as we got out of the car:"Are we gonna go way up there?!" - "Nope", - confidently replied I:
We are just gonna go up to the level of that mountain :)
View to the left:
View to the right:
Fog was our constant companion on this side of the mountain ridge, making everything look exceptionally mysterious:
But where are my larches?! We've ascended 2400 feet by this point, and all the trees around us were conifers, but green ones! Finally, finally I found a golden larch!
But I really should not have despaired: as soon as we reached Ingalls Pass and peaked in the valley below, we were greeted with the view of hundreds of golden larches!
And we not only got to gaze at them from the top, but got to walk through a golden forest!
and look at how different each tree is:
Photographer especially liked this tree: the emerald moss on it was decidedly popping out in the golden forest:
I even got to touch the needles! They were quite unexpectedly actually soft to touch!
There was a small pond on our way, and of course we couldn't pass without taking a couple of pictures of reflections:
One of those cases, when it's exceptionally worthwhile to spend time finding a good location for the shot :)
Ingalls Pass:
Walking around the basin:
It was starting to get late in the day and the trail was not an easy one: light scrambling and path finding was needed at this point:
We almost turned around, worried about getting to the car. Almost, but I'm so glad that we didn't and pushed through and did get to Lake Ingalls!
For we would have missed this gorgeous view! Lake Ingalls is situated in its own basin and has the feeling of a hard-to-reach place, completely secluded from its surroundings. Perfect end to a hike :)
One of the interesting features of the basin was a gray "river" from rocks, crossing the basin. Photographer and I theorized that it was a flow of lava, perhaps, that drew out this different sediment. Any geologists among my friends who could explain this phenomena for us?..
Unfortunately, we could not afford to spend time at the lake and had to rush back. The basin was now filled with the sunset colors:
We left the basin with the last glimpses of the sunset on the clouds forming a magician's hat. Unfortunately, the trick that was pulled out of the hat was pitch darkness for the last 3 miles of the trail... But we were better prepared this time around: we did have a flashlight :)
It was definitely a very special day for both of us :)