Last weekend's splendid color made me want to see larch again this year. So I contacted Julie for her upcoming trip to Lake Ingalls, as there is a healthy population at Ingalls Pass and basin. A slow start, as always with a large group (we have 9). One lady was 45 minutes late because she misread the time. We all weighed our packs using Julie's spring scale. Varied from 21-35 lb. Mine was ~27-28 lb, including a bottle of champagne and a big candle. Jenny started a group messaging inside meetup to arrange a surprise celebration. Friday was Julie's birthday. After a long stop at a busy Starbucks (lines at bathroom and counter) in North Bend (misty and chilly then at 11am), and dilly dally at TH, by the time we started hiking, it was sunny but already past 1pm. Considering we met at 7am, this is quite ridiculous. The good thing is that Pryanka lives very close to me. I walked to her house, and we drive to the meeting spot, so I could sleep an extra 40 minutes.
Parking lot complete full, and cars align the road. It's like a parade going both up and down. Tons of people. Natalie, Jenny and I were ahead of our group. Paused for a couple of times for photo. Some red, mostly brown on the way up. Only at Ingalls Pass (2:55), you start to see larch. We set up our camp by a creek in the higher Headlight Basin. Plenty space here. However, quite busy with other groups, especially a Korean group who got probably drunk, sang and talked well into the night.
At 4pm, still no sight of last 3 of our group. Didn't want to wait any longer. Natalie and I took off to Lake Ingalls, and arrive in less than 30 minutes. A couple of pictures later, we walked along the eastern shore to the north side of the lake. At 2 points, had to scale rocks without good footing. But we made it. There, saw a goat right on trail. As we walked closer (within 10'), he ran away. We walked a bit further north towards Stuart Pass. We scrambled up a small butte, saw more peaks, and maybe Glacier Peak. As it was getting late, we didn't go all the way to Stuart Pass (maybe only 1 mile away). On the way back, met a ranger with a big shovel. He told us that the western shore is easier, so we took his advice. Back to the camps at 6:15.
Shortly before 7pm (dark already), we started wine and chocolate. Presented Julie a card we all signed along the drive in the cars, and sang happy birthday. By 8pm, the night sky was brilliant. We didn't manage to stay out until the moon rise: getting chilly. My candle shined nicely in the dark. Saw a bright shooting star.
Sunday 10/4. Got up when the sun was already on my tent, ~7:15. The larches are more golden in the morning sun. Frost on ground. Almost some ice on my rain fly. But soon melted. Someone chewed a bit of my sandwich in the night. A family of 3 goats at the camping area. Women chat a lot, well into 9am. Julie showed us hiking options. We all headed towards Lake Ingalls. A few went to Stuart Pass. Natalie and I tried to climb Ingalls Peak. 
The higher you are, the more extended view there is. At some point, I could see Mt Rainier! Pretty straightforward at first. We saw 5 guys in front of us climbing, so we followed. By the time we reached a straight gully, it got a bit tricky. Also we were close enough to see that they had helmets and ropes. I gave up. Natalie went to a saddle NE of the gully, but I don't see the point going there. 
I retraced my steps, went up to the south ridge where the terrain is reasonable. It's an excellent choice. The view to the west is splendid. Saw many snowy peaks. There is a better and higher top I should have gone to, more to the south. It has a flat top that you can sit. I headed down at 12:30, hoping to get to our camp by 1:30, our agreed meeting time. Met more climbers going up, all carrying ropes, not all had helmets. I took the higher boulders for awhile. However, when I reached the trail, it was the lower trail. It still baffles me how I could have missed the higher trail. I got confused for quite awhile, going back and forth looking for the camp, even got a few hikers concerned after seeing me a few times. Eventually, it dawned on me to check my GPS location. All ended well, except that I felt guilty of letting people wait for me.
