Alpine Lakes Larches (and Goats!) - Oct. 10-11, 2014

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Oh cool! Our guidebook said it was "strictly a rock climbing route" (or something like that), so I didn't even look. Next time...

Ha ha! You have now encountered your first instance of taking the text from the Spring/Manning guides (Spring took the pics, Manning wrote it) with a grain of salt. They are infamous for overstating the difficulty/potential hazards of off trail routes, scrambles etc. Don't get me wrong, I have a whole bunch of them and they are good reference material, but I've learned to ignore some of it as hyperbole.

[BeaverDawg]

Wow! Were were just up there on Monday 10/13 and did Lake Stuart the day before. Absolutely stunning scenery. Your pictures are incredible. Thanks for sharing your trip.

[romann]

Spectacular trip report! Thanks for sharing.

[bobcat]

Thank you for reminding us about this amazing display. It is one of those iconic Northwest destinations I have never done but enjoyed vicariously through your stunning photos.

[RobinB]

Thanks again, everyone

Were were just up there on Monday 10/13 and did Lake Stuart the day before.

Oh nice! Did you make a loop out of it? (I'm already in the process of planning routes for next summer.)

[BeaverDawg]

Oh nice! Did you make a loop out of it? (I'm already in the process of planning routes for next summer.)

No...we just did the out and back. Perhaps next time.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Loop? How so? Just curious, not aware of a loop including Ingalls and Stuart Lakes.

[RobinB]

Loop? How so? Just curious, not aware of a loop including Ingalls and Stuart Lakes.

Okay, I think you're right. Looking at a map, someone would have to cross Jack Ridge to get over to Stuart Pass from Stuart Lake. It's probably doable off trail, but I don't know how steep it would be...

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Okay, I think you're right. Looking at a map, someone would have to cross Jack Ridge to get over to Stuart Pass from Stuart Lake. It's probably doable off trail, but I don't know how steep it would be...

Yeah it's not far between the lakes as a crow flies, but not real easy to get between them on land. It is possible. On an aborted attempt at climbing the upper North Ridge of Stuart, we approached from Ingalls Lake and Stuart Pass, then off trail up to the ridge and Goat Pass. We bailed off and traversed east below Stuart and descended to the headwaters of Mountaineer Creek. We hit trail again downstream from Stuart Lake. Going directly downhill from Goat Pass to the marshy meadows uphill from Stuart Lake looked steep and not very inviting. Would be better with snow on the slopes than bare ground. We just exited via Stuart/Colchuck Lake TR and arranged to get picked up there.

It's the loop part that really threw me off though. Depending on how far you wanted to go, if you did cross Jack Ridge and get down towards Stuart Lake you could follow the trail downhill, then go up to Colchuck Lake, part way thru the Enchantments, drop down Crystal Creek drainage down to Ingalls Creek, and then probably have several options for eventually getting back where you started.

[RobinB]

It's the loop part that really threw me off though. Depending on how far you wanted to go, if you did cross Jack Ridge and get down towards Stuart Lake you could follow the trail downhill, then go up to Colchuck Lake, part way thru the Enchantments, drop down Crystal Creek drainage down to Ingalls Creek, and then probably have several options for eventually getting back where you started.

Yea, I really ought to have looked more closely on a map before saying the loop thing. Do you know if there's a reasonable route down the Crystal Creek drainage?