The Enchantments Thru-Hike Trip Report

July 25, 2021

From my watch...

Mileage: 20.21 miles

Elevation Gain: 4,877 feet

Moving Time: 10:29:09

Elapsed Time: 14:07:51

No pets, foot travel only, 8 person group size limit, no fires, overnight permit required.

Map:

The Enchantments!

Washington's "crown jewel"!

This magical hike deserves all of the hype (the area is literally named after how beautiful it is), but the buildup and suspense made me nervous.

The prior Tuesday, I took a break at work to wonder what I'd do on the weekend. I glanced at my hiking list and searched up the Enchantment thru-hike shuttle. Saturday was booked, but there was one spot left for Sunday's 7AM shuttle. It was later than I'd like to start, but it'd do.

I booked it.

Sunday morning, I woke up around 3:20AM to leave by 4. I drove 2.5 hours to Leavenworth and claimed one of the last few spots in the Snow Lake parking lot around 6:30AM. Geez.

To get to Stuart Lake Trailhead, my starting point, I used the Loop Connector Shuttle. I'd definitely book again; for only $24, I didn't have to worry about hitch hiking during a pandemic, biking the road, or shuttling a second car on the long drive. The driver was super friendly and gave trip beta. He drove safely and got us to the Stuart Lake trailhead just after 7:20AM. Now I just had to walk back to my car!

The other nice thing about the shuttle was that I got to befriend fellow hikers. During the day, we would leap-frog each other and became a mini-tramily (trail-family).

I started hiking with Tara, a young woman my age who had also just moved to Seattle. She was from Colorado and it showed– Tara's the fastest hiker I've ever met. A true mountain goat. I only managed to keep up with her until Colchuck Lake, then I never saw her again!

I met two other women my age, Lexi and Kate, at Colchuck Lake. They had taken the 6AM shuttle. The Loop Connector Shuttle brings everyone together!

We navigated the boulder field around Colchuck Lake together, and I really enjoyed getting to know them. The terrain here was slow-going, but time flew!

Finally... it was time for the famous Aasgard Pass. ~2,000 feet of gain in ~0.75 miles. It was difficult, but stunningly beautiful.

The views only get better as you climb. I also saw my first mountain goats!

I stopped to eat and Lexi and Kate pressed on. It was getting hot, the temperatures in nearby Leavenworth would reach 95 degrees. The constant climb on the loose rock and gravel was exhausting. I wanted to get off the climb before the sun got any higher, but it felt like I couldn't move any faster than I already was… which felt like slow motion.

Stay to the left, stay to the left, stay to the left.

That's all everyone tells you about climbing Aasgard Pass. And you should, to avoid getting cliffed out by the waterfall. But, I'm here to tell you that there's such a thing as staying too far to the left.

I scrambled up a chimney, pausing mid-way up to gaze up at the car-sized boulders perched precariously at the top. The climbing was chossy and loose. I thought about the recent, massive rock slide the shuttle driver had told us about on the drive in.

"If there was anyone on the route, people would have died."

"Car size boulders were crashing down the slope almost to Colchuck Lake."

I knew I could make it to the top of the chimney, but I didn't want to trigger a rock fall event or end up even further off the ideal route. I decided to carefully downclimb instead, and met two people who had followed me to the chimney base. We found a better path and climbed the rest of Aasgard together.

There was a tricky move I had to pull myself up at the top, but overall, the climb was loose but straightforward.

I had made it to the high point of the trail: 7,841 feet.

I snapped a few more photos from the top as I chatted with my newest friends, and then left to find water. I had finished my two liters before I finished Aasgard Pass.

Luckily, I didn't have to look far. I had made it to the Core Enchantments Zone.

In the future, I'd start the thru-hike earlier and hit Aasgard Pass climb as early as possible. I wore sunscreen in the morning but didn't reapply... so don't be like me. And don't forget to sunscreen your ears like me either! The sun exposure was brutal in this section.

Luckily, watching Colchuck Lake shrink as I climbed and the mountain goats wandering nearby were an excellent distraction. I drank 4-5L of water on this hike, but you only need one bottle and a filter– there's plenty of places to fill!

Isolation Lake, one of the first lakes, was my favorite of the entire day. It was beauiful, and appropriately named– because I had it all to myself!

The shuttle driver had told us this trail was extremely busy on Saturdays. The line of parked cars stretched far down the forest service road even in the early morning hours, the lot long full. Weekdays, and even Sundays, he said were no problem.

You'd still have to arrive early to get a parking space in the lot, and Colchuck Lake would probably still be busy, but he was right. The Core was quiet, and I spent hours alone.

The mountain goats are so much more intimidating in person. Luckily, they wanted nothing to do with me.

The goats have a bit of a reputation, as some have been known to harass hikers for the salt in their urine. I would not appreciate being followed by a creature with two 10 inch blades...

It's considered good practice to use toilets or pee in gaps between boulders instead of vegetation in the Core. This alpine zone is extremely fragile and the goats will tear up and destroy vegetation seeking the salt from hikers' urine. I saw at least ten goats, including a couple babies!

The Enchantments are certainly enchanting. As you trek through, it's easy to let your mind wander to future trips... a trail run, the many lakes, the other permit zones, Prusik Peak, Little Annapurna, Colchuck Peak...

The Enchantments alone are full of a lifetime of opportunities. When I grow up, I want to be a mountaineer.

The trail was essentially snow-free, save for a couple of easy-to-cross baby patches.

Navigation was a bit more difficult than I expected. There are a lot of cairns in the Core, but also a lot of campsite/social trails. I was constantly checking my map.

The terrain was awe-inspiring, but rugged.

Around Lake Viviane, the environment transformed into steep slab scrambles broken up by intermittent eroded forest. Some of the downhill scrambles were quite intimidating. A couple I recognized from Aasgard Pass caught up to me on a few scrambles. The woman kindly noticed my hesitancy towards heights and guided me through a few scrambles.

Don't look down, just look at where you're moving next. Don't think, definitely don't overthink, just choose a careful next placement and trust it. Narrate your movements so you can't think scary thoughts. Three points of contact.

A section of down-sloping cliff just below Lake Viviane has rebars drilled into the slab to provide a semblance of traction. I didn't take any photos because I was scared, but below is a photo from my 2024 thru-hike. I worked a lot on my fear of heights and none of the exposure on this hike bothered me at all the second time around!

The Forest Service describes the Snow Lakes/Lake Vivian route as traversing "bedrock slabs where a slip could result in a serious fall."

I have a love-hate relationship with exposure. The illusion of safety emitted from a rope and harness nearly erase my fears completely. Unroped scrambles can paralyze me for minutes as I go back in forth over a move. Would my foot slip?

I always eventually complete the move without incident, but sometimes I have to spend minutes convincing myself the easy move is doable. After, a tsunami wave of joy and relief. Love-hate.

The Enchantments forced me to face my fear of exposure head-on. So. Many. Scrambles. I'm definitely a lot more comfortable in steep terrain, but I still have a healthy sense of fear.

The Snow Zone switchbacks seemed to go on forever. It had been a long day.

Fourteen hours long, specifically.

I thought about crying, but I was too tired to bother. The Enchantments were the most beautiful hike I've ever been on, but they were also a fourteen hour, high altitude, 95 degree, rock scramble extravaganza.

I've done similar, longer, and heavier elevation gain hikes but The Enchantments felt a lot more difficult. I think it's the terrain (very rocky, lots of scrambles) and navigation (there's so many social/campsite trails, it was difficult to stay on trail at the end of a long day). Normally, I think people tend to over-hype the difficulty of hikes online... but this one was difficult! More difficult than I expected.

With eight miles to go, I sent Greg a message from Snow Lakes via my InReach. I'm safe, but I'll definitely be home late...

Flies were bad in the Core and mosquitoes were bad near Snow Lakes and Nada Lake.

People complain about crowds on this hike so I didn't even bother to bring my bear spray... but on a Sunday, I was alone for very long periods of time (especially for the last 9 miles). I saw people at the camp sites, but I only saw three other groups on trail on my way out.

I set myself the goal of getting to the Snow Lakes trailhead before dark. I would be cutting it close.

I picked up my pace and eventually caught back up with my new-found friends, Lexi and Kate. We were all so happy to be reunited, our morale instantly lifted. I abandoned my goal of racing the sun for their company. It was nice to have the comfort of other humans, especially as my mind had begun to wander to bears and cougars and darkness and the long car ride home. Time passed quicker.

We ended up finishing not long after dark anyway.

The Enchantments are rugged, stunning, enchanting. The sparkling alpine waters, wandering mountain goats, jagged granite, and friendly travelers make you feel like a character in a fairytale. Earth is beautiful and I wish we took better care of her.