Trip Date: October 9-10, 2020
FROZEN LARCH OUTING: TEANAWAY MOUNTAINS
South Ingalls Peak Climbing Trip
Ingalls Pass
Headlight Basin
Ingalls Lake
Ingalls Col
South Ingalls Peak (7641′)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Central Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Teanaway Mountains
Area: Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Starting & Ending Point: Esmerelda Trailhead at end of North Fork Teanaway River Road (Elev. 4250 feet)
Way Points: North Fork Teanaway River & Ingalls Pass & Headlight Basin (trail hike)
Campsite: Headlight Basin outcrop (Elev. 6350 feet)
Sidetrip: Ingalls Lake & Ingalls Couloir & Ingalls Col (trail hike & rock scramble)
Summit: South Ingalls Peak (rock scramble via North Ridge)
Approximate Stats: 10.2 miles traveled; 4200 feet gained & lost
Related Posts
North Ingalls Peak + Headlight/Fortune Peak – June 22, 2008
North Ingalls Peak via South Ridge – October 12, 1996
North Ingalls Peak via South Ridge – August 5, 1984
North Ingalls Peak via South Ridge + East Ingalls Peak – June 18, 1978
South Ingalls Peak via North Ridge – October 1976
Full Trip Report
I try to do a Frozen Larch Outing every year in mid-October, but it doesn’t always happen. Sometimes, the weather is just too foul; other times, there is a general lack of interest. This year, Brooke was so eager to experience the quasi-annual and semi-rational adventure, it didn’t really matter that we had a storm looming in our forecast. As it turned out, she got a full meal deal.
Day 1: Trailhead to Headlight Basin + Summit Climb
Eileen, Brooke, and I drove to the end of the North Fork Teanaway River Road on Friday morning, hoping to avoid most of the weekend crowds. However, the ½-mile-long row of cars lining the narrow roadway showed this to be a false hope, for Ingalls Lake has become a seven-days-per-week destination. Miraculously, though, we found a parking spot only two dozen paces from the Esmerelda Trailhead kiosk. An auspicious beginning indeed!
Heading up the trail with backpacks on, we were surprised to see a relatively small number of hikers—probably because we were all going in the same direction. Upon arriving at Ingalls Pass (1.7 hours + 2200 feet from TH), we took a long break to admire the larch-studded view of Ingalls Peaks and Mt. Stuart.
A short descent into Headlight Basin led to a glacially polished rock outcrop overlooking Ingalls Creek Valley. We quickly pitched our tent on the outcrop, then followed the lower (alternate) trail over to Ingalls Lake (0.7 hours + 350 feet from camp). I hadn’t been here in more than a decade but was immediately reminded why this is one of the ten most famous alpine lakes in Washington: the granitic countenance of Mt. Stuart towering above the rock-rimmed indigo water is beyond description!
From Ingalls Lake, we parted company with the scads of day-hikers by scrambling westward up a long series of rock slabs, domes, and ramps leading to Ingalls Col. The entire Ingalls Peaks massif consists of rust-colored peridotite, an ultramafic rock that originally formed at great depth in the earth’s mantle and was later pushed up by tectonic action.
Master geologist Doug McKeever has explained to me that peridotite is composed of both olivine and pyroxene. (In contrast, dunite is composed almost entirely of olivine.) Along tectonic shearing surfaces, the peridotite recrystallizes into slickensides of green or black serpentinite—so named for its mottled, serpent-skin appearance. Brooke didn’t know anything about these rocks, but she quickly discovered that the rough, weathered surface of peridotite offers extremely fun scrambling, whereas the glassy surface of serpentinite is frightfully insecure.
We worked our way into a small gully and then veered rightward to gain Ingalls Col between the north and south peaks. This gave us a good close-up look at Dogtooth Crag and the legendary south ridge of North Ingalls Peak.
From Ingalls Col, we turned sharply to the left and continued scrambling up chunky Class 3 rock. Shortly above, an easy gravel slope took us to the summit of South Ingalls Peak in late afternoon (2.3 hours + 1600 feet from camp). Dark clouds could be seen moving in from the southwest, confirming that the predicted storm was on its way.
Hastened off by a chilly breeze, we retraced our steps down to Ingalls Lake and then elected to follow the high (main) trail around the top of Headlight Basin. Our hope was that this high route would get us back to camp sooner. It didn’t. It actually took more than twice as long, such that we didn’t reach camp until 7:30pm (3.0 hours + 300 feet from summit)—well after dark.
Day 2: Nighttime Storm + Headlight Basin to Trailhead
Shortly before midnight, I woke to the sound of raindrops hitting our tent fly, and the first gust of wind hit us a bit later. The forecasted storm had finally arrived. We spent the next several hours lying awake and bracing the interior of our tent as it was buffeted by frequent gusts ranging up to 40 mph. Around 4:30am, the wind decreased somewhat but the rain transitioned to wet snow. Brooke was getting a true mountaineering experience here—and loving it!
After eating breakfast in our tent, we frantically packed up and headed back over Ingalls Pass. Surprisingly, the foul weather did little to dissuade weekend hikers; we passed a steady stream of rain parkas coming up the trail. When we reached the trailhead at 10:30am (1.9 hours + 150 feet from camp), the parking lot was again overflowing.
Route Map & Profile
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Photo Gallery
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