05-18-25
It
was time to ramp up the conditioning. Last year, before undertaking the
Devil's Gulch-Mission Ridge death march, we did 15 miles on the Ingalls
Creek Trail. It was good training as we finished the Devil's-Mission
trip stronger than the year before. Gary and John were on board for the
trip. I saw a trip report for the Swauk Discovery Trail and suggested
we add that on to the Ingalls trip to possibly see the additional
flowers shown in that report. It is just off our route at Blewett Pass.
The day before John was coming down with a cold and dropped out. Gary
and I were in for the trip. We wanted an early start and Gary picked me
up at 5:55 am. We headed east and soon met some light rain. Conditions
were poor up to and beyond Snoqualmie Pass. Heading north on Highway
970 we began to see some blue sky. The wind at Blewett Pass was
forecast to have gusts of 34 mph in the morning and increasing slightly
later on. We stopped at the pass for a minute and the wind was more
like a steady 5 mph. Perhaps it would not be too strong in the
afternoon when we would be back. We drove north of the pass and then up
the road to the trailhead. We arrived at about 8:05 am. The lot was
mostly empty. We were packed and on our way at 8:15 am. That was
exactly the time we started last year when we also hiked the trail on
5-18. This time it was the 45th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St.
Helens. Gary was out hiking on that date too.
The wildflower show began right at the start. I saw some prairie stars then some irises behind the outhouse. Arrowleaf balsamroot were blooming though a bit past prime. Lupine were right at prime in many places on our route. Higher up the balsamroot were at peak too. Indian paintbrush were blooming too. We saw red, orange, and yellow varieties. Peas were blooming and false Solomon's seal as well. We hiked at a steady pace when we were not stopping to take photos. The creek has plenty of water and it was loud when we came close to it. In places we had most of the blooming flowers in the same place. It was pretty impressive. Soon, we were adding vanilla leaf and arnica to the flower show. What we did not have was a crowd. We saw some backpackers coming out. One group was at the wilderness limit of twelve. That represented a good percent of the people we saw all day. While there are dozens and dozens of trip reports each week for popular wildflower hikes farther east, there were only a couple for Ingalls Creek in the past month.
One flower I always look for is the calypso orchid. The bright pink color is bright but they are only a couple inches tall. They grow in forest with bare ground. I always see them but I'm sure I miss a lot of them. Most often there are only a few in one spot. My vigilance paid off and I saw one then more and more. Most were right near peak. The color is one that is very hard to get camera to autofocus. I ended up with a lot more blurry photos than crisp ones. Shooting something that is only a couple inches tall and tends to bend over and point down is doubly frustrating. I did get a few keepers. We started to see some purple, well past prime, trillium. As the trail ascended the trillium started to look fresher. We saw them in small and huge patches on much of the upper half of our route. At about the 5 mile mark we reached the spot where we usually have lunch. There is a small campsite and next to it is a spot to drop down to a flat spot on the river. It was only 10:58 am and there were campers at the campsite. We chose to continue on.
At about 5.5 miles we reached the campground at the trail junction with the Falls Creek Trail. The crossing would be very challenging with spring snow melt raising the water lever in Ingalls Creek. We were surprised to not see a single tent there. Most likely the group of 12 spent the night there. Now we had a decision to make. Our goal was to get in about 15 miles. The afternoon wind forecast left a trip on the Swauk Discovery Trail not a sure thing. If we cut this trail too short we might not reach our goal. If we did 15 miles here we would not be interesting in adding another 2.75 miles on the Swauk Trail. We decided to go on a little further. On my first trip up this trail with Janet, we went slightly off trail and found a neat spot with flowers seen only there for the trip. I go back each year. We had a larger side creek to cross after the junction and it was fine to rock hop. I brought poles in case of tough crossings but they stayed on my pack all day. We had another round of balsamroot and lupine to enjoy. At the spot we left the trail and found some phlox. Then I noticed some Columbia Lewisia. Then we both noticed the purple patch of shooting stars. I expected to see them on the Umtanum Ridge trip. So far this year I had not see any.
Shooting stars are like calypso orchids in being pink and fooling my autofocus. I had many more blurry shots. It was windy in this spot and that did not help. I had success using the 5x telephoto in getting much better focus. A few turned out very good. We took a longer break here for lunch and just enjoying the view. Across the valley on the north side we noticed a lot of very light green trees. They are larch trees. The thick forest and lower elevation suggests they are Western Larch. The orange needle show might be pretty good in early November. We packed up to go at 12:16 pm. We decided to go another half mile up the valley. That would get up to 6.5 miles in and 13 miles total. If we did the Swauk trail it would take us over 15 miles. We could now see up to spires near McClellan Peak in the Enchantments. At one point the creek was really rumbling. It sounded like a freight train. We headed over to the creek and saw the small falls where the narrow constricted creek fell.
After that, it was time to head back. We took fewer photos on the way back. The wind dropped as we descended. Now the sky way mostly blue. It was warm in the sunshine and still cool in the forest. Before we reached the usual lunch spot we found another spot that dropped down to creek level. This make a great spot for a last break spot. We were about 5.2 mile from the trailhead. We had well over an hour solitude before we finally saw another hiker. The lighting was now much different than in the morning. I found a few better photos but most were not quite as good. I did add to my macros close up photos of tiny flowers seen at the off trail spot. One larkspur was especially colorful and tack sharp. It might be the best larkspur photo I have taken. In the last 1.5 miles we started to see more day hikers. Some coming in and others going back. We reached the trailhead at 3:57 pm. In just a few minutes we were on our way back.
As planned, we turned off the highway at Blewett Pass. It was a bit windy but nothing like the 37 mph gusts forecast for the afternoon. At the Swauk Discover Trail lot there were 8-10 cars. The lot is bigger than I expected. I once snowshoed to Tronsen Head from the Blewett Pass sno-park. On the way back we snowshoed a part of the trail. I had not seen it without snow. Photos in a report earlier in the week showed both Tweedy Lewisia and bitterroot. I hoped to see both. We started out counterclockwise. It was cold in the forest. Some glacier lilies were still at their peak. We saw more trillium too. As the trail left deep forest balsamroot, lupine, penstemon, and more were in bloom. Not a bad show so close to the car. The terrain looked possible for Tweedy and bitterroot. Unfortunately, we did not see any in the first mile. When we saw some rocky ledges it screamed Tween Lewisia. I went a little above the trail and found some in bloom. A few minutes later we had more in bloom right alongside the trail. Mission accomplished. We saw bitterroot in bloom at Umtanum Ridge. Now we had added Tweedy too.
The trail crossed the road and climbed to the top of Point 4525. On the upper slope Gary noticed blooming clematis. Nearby were onions. We never did see any bitterroot but the flower show were really good. The trail back was in forest and grassy fields. We arrived back at the trailhead at 6:05 pm. The Ingalls hike covered 13.12 miles with 2045' of gain. The Swauk Discovery hike covered 2.70 miles with 430' of gain. for the day we hiked 15.82 miles with 2470' of gain. That was right in line with what we hoped for. The wildflower show was really excellent. We had desert flowers like on Umtanum Ridge and trillium, false Solomon's seal, calypso orchids, and vanilla leaf as seen on forest spring hikes. It was a nice combination. The drive home was no problem. After a stop for shakes in Cle Elum, I arrived home before sunset. It was a long day between getting up at 5:00 am and getting home at 8:25 pm. it was well worth the time.
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Trips - 2025
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The wildflower show began right at the start. I saw some prairie stars then some irises behind the outhouse. Arrowleaf balsamroot were blooming though a bit past prime. Lupine were right at prime in many places on our route. Higher up the balsamroot were at peak too. Indian paintbrush were blooming too. We saw red, orange, and yellow varieties. Peas were blooming and false Solomon's seal as well. We hiked at a steady pace when we were not stopping to take photos. The creek has plenty of water and it was loud when we came close to it. In places we had most of the blooming flowers in the same place. It was pretty impressive. Soon, we were adding vanilla leaf and arnica to the flower show. What we did not have was a crowd. We saw some backpackers coming out. One group was at the wilderness limit of twelve. That represented a good percent of the people we saw all day. While there are dozens and dozens of trip reports each week for popular wildflower hikes farther east, there were only a couple for Ingalls Creek in the past month.
One flower I always look for is the calypso orchid. The bright pink color is bright but they are only a couple inches tall. They grow in forest with bare ground. I always see them but I'm sure I miss a lot of them. Most often there are only a few in one spot. My vigilance paid off and I saw one then more and more. Most were right near peak. The color is one that is very hard to get camera to autofocus. I ended up with a lot more blurry photos than crisp ones. Shooting something that is only a couple inches tall and tends to bend over and point down is doubly frustrating. I did get a few keepers. We started to see some purple, well past prime, trillium. As the trail ascended the trillium started to look fresher. We saw them in small and huge patches on much of the upper half of our route. At about the 5 mile mark we reached the spot where we usually have lunch. There is a small campsite and next to it is a spot to drop down to a flat spot on the river. It was only 10:58 am and there were campers at the campsite. We chose to continue on.
At about 5.5 miles we reached the campground at the trail junction with the Falls Creek Trail. The crossing would be very challenging with spring snow melt raising the water lever in Ingalls Creek. We were surprised to not see a single tent there. Most likely the group of 12 spent the night there. Now we had a decision to make. Our goal was to get in about 15 miles. The afternoon wind forecast left a trip on the Swauk Discovery Trail not a sure thing. If we cut this trail too short we might not reach our goal. If we did 15 miles here we would not be interesting in adding another 2.75 miles on the Swauk Trail. We decided to go on a little further. On my first trip up this trail with Janet, we went slightly off trail and found a neat spot with flowers seen only there for the trip. I go back each year. We had a larger side creek to cross after the junction and it was fine to rock hop. I brought poles in case of tough crossings but they stayed on my pack all day. We had another round of balsamroot and lupine to enjoy. At the spot we left the trail and found some phlox. Then I noticed some Columbia Lewisia. Then we both noticed the purple patch of shooting stars. I expected to see them on the Umtanum Ridge trip. So far this year I had not see any.
Shooting stars are like calypso orchids in being pink and fooling my autofocus. I had many more blurry shots. It was windy in this spot and that did not help. I had success using the 5x telephoto in getting much better focus. A few turned out very good. We took a longer break here for lunch and just enjoying the view. Across the valley on the north side we noticed a lot of very light green trees. They are larch trees. The thick forest and lower elevation suggests they are Western Larch. The orange needle show might be pretty good in early November. We packed up to go at 12:16 pm. We decided to go another half mile up the valley. That would get up to 6.5 miles in and 13 miles total. If we did the Swauk trail it would take us over 15 miles. We could now see up to spires near McClellan Peak in the Enchantments. At one point the creek was really rumbling. It sounded like a freight train. We headed over to the creek and saw the small falls where the narrow constricted creek fell.
After that, it was time to head back. We took fewer photos on the way back. The wind dropped as we descended. Now the sky way mostly blue. It was warm in the sunshine and still cool in the forest. Before we reached the usual lunch spot we found another spot that dropped down to creek level. This make a great spot for a last break spot. We were about 5.2 mile from the trailhead. We had well over an hour solitude before we finally saw another hiker. The lighting was now much different than in the morning. I found a few better photos but most were not quite as good. I did add to my macros close up photos of tiny flowers seen at the off trail spot. One larkspur was especially colorful and tack sharp. It might be the best larkspur photo I have taken. In the last 1.5 miles we started to see more day hikers. Some coming in and others going back. We reached the trailhead at 3:57 pm. In just a few minutes we were on our way back.
As planned, we turned off the highway at Blewett Pass. It was a bit windy but nothing like the 37 mph gusts forecast for the afternoon. At the Swauk Discover Trail lot there were 8-10 cars. The lot is bigger than I expected. I once snowshoed to Tronsen Head from the Blewett Pass sno-park. On the way back we snowshoed a part of the trail. I had not seen it without snow. Photos in a report earlier in the week showed both Tweedy Lewisia and bitterroot. I hoped to see both. We started out counterclockwise. It was cold in the forest. Some glacier lilies were still at their peak. We saw more trillium too. As the trail left deep forest balsamroot, lupine, penstemon, and more were in bloom. Not a bad show so close to the car. The terrain looked possible for Tweedy and bitterroot. Unfortunately, we did not see any in the first mile. When we saw some rocky ledges it screamed Tween Lewisia. I went a little above the trail and found some in bloom. A few minutes later we had more in bloom right alongside the trail. Mission accomplished. We saw bitterroot in bloom at Umtanum Ridge. Now we had added Tweedy too.
The trail crossed the road and climbed to the top of Point 4525. On the upper slope Gary noticed blooming clematis. Nearby were onions. We never did see any bitterroot but the flower show were really good. The trail back was in forest and grassy fields. We arrived back at the trailhead at 6:05 pm. The Ingalls hike covered 13.12 miles with 2045' of gain. The Swauk Discovery hike covered 2.70 miles with 430' of gain. for the day we hiked 15.82 miles with 2470' of gain. That was right in line with what we hoped for. The wildflower show was really excellent. We had desert flowers like on Umtanum Ridge and trillium, false Solomon's seal, calypso orchids, and vanilla leaf as seen on forest spring hikes. It was a nice combination. The drive home was no problem. After a stop for shakes in Cle Elum, I arrived home before sunset. It was a long day between getting up at 5:00 am and getting home at 8:25 pm. it was well worth the time.
 Iris |
 Peas |
 First Lupine |
 More Lupine |
 Lots Of Orange Paintbrush |
 Ingalls Creek Below |
 Lupine Lined Trail |
 White Lupine |
 Orange & Yellow |
 Blue & White Sky |
 Mariposa Lily |
 Vanilla Leaf |
 More Orange Paintbrush |
 At Creek Level |
 Gary At Work |
 Arrowleaf Balsamroot |
 Penstemon |
 Purple On Black |
 Lupine & Balsamroot |
 Gary & Lupine |
 First Calypso Orchid |
 Red Trillium |
 Hooker's Fairy Bells |
 Ballhead Waterleaf |
 Close Up Calypso Orchid |
 Yellow Violets |
 A Saprophyte? |
 Glacier Lily |
 Gary & Trillium |
 Oregon Anemone |
 Phlox |
 Stonecrop |
 Shooting Stars |
 Broomrape |
 Tiny White Flower |
 Close Up Shooting Star |
 Lighter Shooting Star |
 Columbia Lewisia |
 Darker Shooting Stars |
 Larch Trees |
 Fresh Balsamroot |
 Spires On Ridge |
 White Trillium |
 Strawberry? |
 Gary At Lunch Break |
 Forget-Me-Nots |
 Backlit Balsamroot |
 Colorful Trillium |
 Lupine Again |
 Woodland Stars |
 Colors On The Trail |
 Great Larkspur Shot! |
 Swauk Glacier Lilies |
 First Tweedy Lewisia |
 Another Tweedy |
 Clematis |
 Best Tweedy Lewisia |
 Death Camas |
 Onions |
 Great Balsamroot |
Trips - 2025
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