The Enchantments

The Enchantments, WA

9/30/2020 - 10/3/2020

I very luckily won the Core Enchantments permit lottery in Feb 2020. With Covid, this trip was pretty much the only plans that came to fruition this year. Couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions! Larches were in full effect and a final heat wave and clear skies made for beautiful weather at elevation.

We started at the Stuart lake trailhead at around 11am and made our way to Colchuck Lake for the first night. Found camp at the last site before Aasgard Pass on the beach and spent our first night wondering if we'd be able to make it up the pass. Got a little bit cold this night so I learned my lesson to layer up in the sleeping bag.

Our second day got a late start and we began climbing Aasgard at 11am. This was one of the toughest parts of the hike having to scramble ~2200ft in less than a mile with heavy packs on. Taking lots of breaks though, we were able to make it to the top by ~3:30pm! Once into the core enchantments, we were greeted with amazing landscapes that made the crazy climb much worth it. We made our way down to Inspiration lake for the second night. Walking though the upper enchantments was super gorgeous as the sun was setting. Parts here felt like a enchanted fairytale land.

We got an earlier start the third day and spent some time chilling at Perfection Lake which we all agreed was the prettiest section of the entire hike. Larches, crystal clear water, Prusik pass, and alpine vegetation really made this a perfect place to hang out. We then did the side trip up Prusik Pass and got some nice shots at Gnome Tarn. Path down was difficult to follow though so we spent a little too much time here. Once we joined back on the main trail, it was a long and slow grind down to Snow Lake to make our final descent a little easier.

We spent our fourth and final day at the last campsite at Snow Lake. Our final day was a ~8mi grind downhill back to the Snow Lake trailhead. We passed Nada Lake and got back to the car in ~5 hours. Unfortunately no celebration Leavenworth brats as the place was crazy crowded on a Saturday afternoon.

This truly was a once in a lifetime experience being able to win a backpacking permit and having near perfect weather with the larches out! Really going to remember this one.

~23.6 miles, ~4,500ft elevation gain, 4 days, ~29lb pack. Breakfast/Lunch was mainly bars/cold foods and dinners were dehydrated meals.