Elevation Gain: Approximately 5000 ft.
Time: 8:00 am - 8:30 pm
Weather: Partly cloudy, a light 5 minute rain, and some glorious sun breaks.
You cannot hike in Washington without being asked, "have you hiked the Enchantments?" The "Enchantments" are an area in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. It has 5 sections that are restricted to special permits, but the main trail is a 19 mile point to point hike on the east side of the central Cascades. Until Sunday, my reply was always "no," at which point the person asking would launch into the most astonished description of the beauty and awe of the place. Now I have done some amazing hikes, and I have done some pretty awesome hikes. Rarely when hearing about "the hike I have to do" do I feel that impressed. It is like an overhyped movie. When people love a place or have a special place, it does not always hit the other person the same way. After finally doing the Enchantments, I feel it hasn't been hyped enough to match its beauty. This was one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever done. And it could be the best Washington has to offer.
It started with sitting around my house for two days and feeling like I had to get out and do something big. Creighton and I had been discussing doing this hike as we drove back from the Wind Rivers. It just worked better to go Sunday, but it is a long drive. We decided to go camp near the trailhead Saturday night. I sent the obligatory text to other hiking friends and I got a bite from a friend who loves to hike but only occasionally can make it out with me. He has been on some of the best weather snowshoes that Creighton, Gil, and I have had in Mount Rainier. He too has wanted to hike the Enchantments since moving up here 4 years ago.
We woke up around 6 am, packed up our little car camp, and got our day packs ready. We were driving by 7:15 am and parked at the trailhead by 7:45 am. Filled out the day use permit, geared up, and took off into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. There was a nice familiarity as the hike began in the trees. It was like coming home after two weeks of cruising outside Washington. We were using the Lake Stuart trail for the first 2.5 miles. We hiked at a brisk pace, slowly gaining a bit of elevation. It took about an hour to get to Colchuck Lake trail junction. From here we climbed a good 1500 ft in a mile and half. The trail was steep and rugged. We reached the Lake and countered around to the south, where we took a nice long break in the big boulder field. It was 10 am when we stopped.
The next mile is up to Aasgard Pass. It gains 2200 feet over that mile. You would not be surprised to read, if you are an avid reader, that Creighton zoomed up to the top. He was up in an hour and he said he was "power striding," which is not running. I think he now wishes he had ran it to see how quickly it would go. My friend and I walked up without breaking and made it in an hour and a half. We saw three marmots on the way. You know how I love marmots, and my other friend had never seen one before. When we reached Creighton, I asked if he saw the marmots and he said no, but he had seen a mountain goat up on the pass waiting for us. I have never seen a mountain goat, and I was a tad jealous.
We continued on the trail, now up in the Enchantment Lake Basin, and I was leading the three of us. I was scanning for goats; I wanted to see my first one. I saw a white rock that looked like a goat. Then the rock moved like a goat, and there it was. My first goat! It looked like it was on the trail so as we walked we got closer and closer. Soon we were within 30 feet and it didn't mind us a bit. I got a picture or two, and I was completely tickled. We walked along and started feel a bit of rain. We found a good sized rock and took a break while the rain sprinkled on us for about 5 minutes. I took a video of the goat moving, which killed the battery in my camera. After a little discussion, we decided to climb up Little Annapurna, a 8440 ft peak in the basin. It was a pretty easy walk up. I did a little bouldering work and some snow walking, but it wasn't too steep.
From the top, the peak to the south, McClellan Peak, was calling our name too. We walked down and across a saddle joining the two. The views were better from McClellan. We made our away down to the lakes, and we just had to jump in Crystal Lake. I wish the camera was working because we jumped in the clearest water. I guess it helps when it still has chances of ice floating in it. The sun was out, and we warmed ourselves with its rays and snacked a bit. We took off around 4:30 pm to head back down.
At the pass, there were about 6 mountain goats walking around together including a little one with little horns. It was so cute. We took a wide berth to avoid making any goat angry. Then we took an hour to walk down back to Colchuck Lake. The brutal walk up was an even more brutal walk down. We took a nice long water break after we hit Colchuck Lake. Then it took about two hours to make it down from there.
A magical place for sure. One I will get a permit for overnight camping soon. I might even try to get up there this winter.
Orchid: Mountain goats!
Onion: Dead battery in camera.
Picture:
Google Map
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