Trip Reports

We originally wanted to get the Enchantments loop in as soon as the permitting season ended, but since a few people bailed, we determined the three of us would be able to do the loop in a day. We packed one 40 liter bag with food and gear, and each had trekking poles. The ranger station was no help on being able to tell us trail conditions.

Coming in from Seattle and after sleeping in the back of our car Thursday night, we dropped the car off at the Snow Lakes trailhead and hoped to catch a ride up to Stuart Lake trailhead. After two dudes named Chris and Dave offered to give us a right up to Eightmile trailhead in the back of their truck (thanks guys), we only had 1 more mile to get to Stuart Lake trailhead. We left eightmile at 7:45 The temp showed 42 degrees at the start and there was a light layer of snow all the way up to Colchuck lake. We started at Stuart Lake trailhead around 8am.

While hiking along the trail, the woods smelled like someone had baked apple pie or fall cookies. I guess that's why they call this area the Enchantments. Once we arrived at Colchuck lake, the fall colors were in full effect, and the larches up on the mountainside were golden. It wasn't raining at all and we could see to the top of Aasgard pass. The snow was a couple inches deep around the base of Colchuck lake, and the loop around the lake was a lot more precarious than expected, especially along the boulder fields. There was a warm wind and the clouds above were moving quickly. Colchuck lake was at a lower than normal level as well. Due to the snowy conditions on the trail, it took us a lot longer to get to the base of Aasgard than we had expected.

Going up Aasgard pass wasn't so bad, trekking poles helped a little with stability. The upper half of Aasgard had a foot of snow or so. When we got to the top of Aasgard, visibility was good. We could see all the way to the lake below and the mountains off in the distance. The valley was still full of fog. The temp was 56 degrees, and it hadn't rained on us yet. It took about 2 hours to get to the top of Aasgard pass from the base, and we got to the top before 2pm. We had lunch at the top and experienced our first bit of light rain. On the Enchantments side, the visibility was not quite as good.

In the Enchantments we experience off and on light rain, and cloud cover with pretty good visibility. The larches were golden and it was very scenic since the whole area had a good dusting of snow. Along the trail, snow moderate, the deepest parts coming to below our knees, but our hiking boots and gaiters were fine for the most part. It was a combo of snow trekking and Rock walking. Snowshoes would probably be needed with another foot or two of snow.

After realizing that we'd need to book it to get to Snow lake before it got dark, we picked up the pace a bit. After leaving the Enchantments area, there wasn't really much snow on the trails. Just a light dusting on areas where there weren't rocks. We didn't encounter any ice. We finally saw some other hikers once we had reached upper Snow lake at about 6:30. Snow lake was quite low due to the repairs of the dam that were being worked on this year (as noted from other trip reports).

The rain was off and on the whole way down, but we never experienced heavy rain. After dropping down the boulder field, it was too dark to see Nada lake. Car lights finally came in to view a couple hours later, and we made it to the car about about 10:20.

There was a good deal more snow than we expected (would have been nice if the Ranger station new a little bit more about conditions) so our trek took quite a while longer than expected. But we had a ton of fun and weather and visibility held out for us.

    I led my Alpine Larch Spectacular backpack for the Cascadians last week, 10/7 – 11, to the Enchantments. I drove over Tue evening and stayed in Tumwater campground to be at the Leavenworth Ranger Station at 7:30 to try for a permit through the morning lottery. As I had a party of 4 including myself and there are only permits for 5 individuals given out, I could hardly believe my good luck when my name was drawn second after a solo hiker. The plan was to go to Colchuck Lake on Wed, up Aasgard Pass on Thurs, spend a couple of days up amongst the larches & lakes, and then descend Aasgard pass & return to the car on Sun, but just as a precaution I left my truck at the Snow Lake Trailhead. The forecast was for sunny, but cold weather the entire time.
    We arrived at Colchuck Lake in mid-afternoon and set up camp on the north side of the lake with a good view of Colchuck, Dragontail, & Aasgard Pass. The lake was very low due to construction on the dam and we were able to easily explore the east side of the lake. That evening we were treated to a very colorful sunset.
    The next morning it was up & over Aasgard Pass. Knowing that we had all day, we took our time. We left camp about 10, started the actual ascent about 11, and were on top about 2. The last 600’ or so of elevation gain were very icy with a couple of extremely treacherous spots. By the time we were on top I was having second thoughts about descending that way and was glad I had left my truck where I did. After lunch at the pass, we made our way through the upper & middle basins and down the chute to Talisman (Inspiration) Lake. This chute was also very icy and gave us a taste of what going down Aasgard might be like. We set up camp in a very nice spot at the NE corner of Talisman.
    Much to our surprise, we woke the next morning to low clouds, which, after a few hours, did not show any sign of burning off. I was planning on taking a leisurely day hike though the lower Enchantments that day, but wanted sun, so we decided to go up to Prusik Pass instead with a thought of perhaps going down to Shield Lake where none of us had ever been. Once on the pass we found we had cell phone service & one of the party called his wife who got on the internet to check the weather on the NOAA site and informed us that the forecast was for mostly cloudy that day, but sunny on Sat & Sun. There was, however, an arctic air mass moving in & they were going to have near record lows in Yakima Sat night. The low for the Enchantments was going to be something like 16.
    Given the weather for the day, we decided to go down to Shield Lake. We didn’t see the beginning of the easy route down the gully and instead followed a cairned route down a rib to the right of the gully. This was also very icy & treacherous and confirmed our decision from earlier in the day to go out via Snow Lakes on Sun. Once down in the larches, however, the walking was easy & beautiful. But after the exertion of the prior couple of days, this old man was pretty tired, so I just puttered around the south shore of Shield Lake while the others went on to Earle & Mesa Lakes. Then it was back over Prusik Pass and dinner under cold, gray skies.
    Much to our surprise, we woke Sat morning to overcast, which, once again, did not show any sign of clearing. We decided to pack up and, if it did not clear up, we would take our camp down to Snow Lake in the late afternoon to shorten the hike out. If it did clear up, we would make camp lower down in the basin. Matt & Jay decided that they were going to climb Little Annapurna and Bob decided to slowly walk through the lower basin and perhaps head down mid-afternoon if it wasn’t clearing. I spent an hour or so around Talisman, then packed up and, about 11, headed down myself. By the time I got to Sprite Lake, patches of blue were beginning to show. I had lunch by Leprechaun Lake and by 1:30 or so it had become very nice. I was finally getting to see the Enchantments again in all their autumn glory. When Matt & Jay arrived we decided to stay & set up camp above Lake Viviane. Poor Bob was already down at Snow Lake. The rest of the day was spent photographing golden sunlit larches.
    Sat night was supposed to be the cold night, and cold it was. When I looked at my thermometer at 7:15 Sun morning it read 10°. Matt & I spent an hour or so photographing in the morning light, then it was time to have breakfast, pack up, & head out. We were on the trail a little after 10 and down to the dam at Snow Lakes by noon. The hike out from here has a reputation of just being a long, boring walk, but I found it quite pleasant: easy walking, views from time to time, and nice fall color. We were out to the truck by 4.
    Although there were plenty of other campers in the area, it never seemed crowded, except on Sat when all the thru-hikers went by. Then it was almost like a parade. I’ll bet there were almost 200 of them. The weather wasn’t quite what I hoped for or expected, but the larches, lakes, & granite slabs were beautiful nonetheless and this old man was able to get in there, perhaps for the last time.

Did the Enchantments via Asgaard pass. The weather was cold at the start and stayed that way until late afternoon on the way out via Snow Creek. The larches are about at their peak but the weather this week will probably put an end to that.

There was a small bit of compacted snow on the top 500' of Asgaard that made the footing a bit treacherous. After the top it wasn't a problem. I was amazed at the number of people we saw heading up the pass. I have never seen it so crowded. I presume it was the lure of the larches.

Our plan had been to cross Prusik pass and exit via Toketies creek but all reports indicate this is a disaster after the '94 fires. Just as well as was quite dark by the time we reached the Toketie junction near the Snow Creek wall.

A group camped below Nada Lake had a pretty good fire going and I suggested that it seemed like a dumb idea. They said the sign prohibited fires above 5000' and they were below that (probably 4950')but it still seemed like a dumb idea to me.

The water level at Snow lake is down about 20'. I don't believe I have ever seen it this low in the 30+ years I have been going there.

A great way to spend a day and we loosened up with a hike up Carne on Sunday to get our fill of Larches.

To accomplish an Enchantment Lakes through-hike, Duane and I left Seattle at 3:30 a.m., dropped off a car at the Snow Lakes trailhead, and were on the trail at Mountaineer Creek by 6:30.

With sunrise at 7:12 and sunset at 6:27, we would have less than 12 hours of daylight. The NOAA forecasts made it clear that temperatures would be below freezing for most of our day. The NOAA forecast (given for 8236 feet) was a high of 28 degrees and a low of 14. Our plan included a summit of Little Annapurna at 8440'.

We used our headlamps for only 20 minutes or so. The day dawned with thin white clouds lifting and blue sky visible in the distance.

When we arrived at Colchuck Lake at 7:45, the clouds were still not totally lifted, but some blue sky was visible. There was small amount of snow around the lake, especially at the south end, making the shoreline particularly beautiful. Many of the larches still had a greenish cast to them, but some were already golden.

The ascent to Aasgard Pass was mostly snow-free at the bottom. The creek was partially frozen, and there were numerous puddles of solid ice. Some rocks had ice on them also, so it required a bit of caution. Patchy snow cover began while we were still below the rock buttress. About halfway up, the sun appeared over Aasgard Pass and illuminated the beautiful surroundings. But it lasted only a brief few seconds, and despite the forecast of "Sunny", we would not see it again.

The last 150 feet of vertical featured some picturesque frozen waterfalls above the trail and treacherous ice on the trail. The only way to negotiate the ice was to locate and step on rocks that did not have black ice on them. Even so, there was one narrow chute that offered no footing. I straddled the chute and used both hands to grip dry boulders above. Even a light dusting of snow over this section will hide the un-iced rocks that offer safe footing, making this an extremely dangerous area.

The ascent took us a full 2 hours. Atop Aasgard Pass, a frigid wind was blowing, as expected. But the cloud layer had settled in over the peaks, hiding the top of Dragontail for the rest of the day. As we walked through the upper basin, we debated whether to summit Little Annapurna. Clouds drifted in and out, sometimes obscuring its summit and even that of Prusik Peak. We decided to start up the peak while monitoring the weather. Because it was already 11:30, we knew that a summit attempt meant finishing our hike by headlamp. We continued up. At the top, we enjoyed excellent views of the Flagpole Needles. But views to the north and east, Brisingamen Lakelets and Snow Lakes, were muted by wispy clouds.

A hiker we encountered heading down from Aasgard Pass had warned us that there was only one other tricky section to negotiate: the chute descending to Inspiration Lake. By careful choice of rocks to step on, we were able to avoid slipping on the ice in that chute. Snow and ice would not be a problem from here on out.

At this point, we tried to pick up the pace, anxious to get down to at least Snow Lake before daylight waned. But the colorful larches were numerous around Perfection Lake. We kept stopping to take more pictures, and drink in the beauty. Together, we would take 375 photos before the day was over.

Upper Snow Lake was quite a spectacle. Because the dam at the outlet had been repaired in September, the lake had been drained to an unprecedented level. I was expecting to see a new dam, but it was the same old dam with fresh patches of concrete, and a new trash rack to hopefully prevent clogging.

We left the dam at 6:22, five minutes before official sunset. There was enough ambient light that we made it through the talus to Nada Lake and beyond before getting out our headlamps again.

The rest of the journey was just a slog. Even though the forecast was for a low of 22 degrees at 2000 feet of elevation, we were comfortable walking a fast pace. For the last two miles, we could see cars driving along Icicle Creek road. We couldn't tell for sure in the darkness, but it appeared that some of them were entering the Snow Lakes trailhead parking lot late at night.

At almost 9:00 p.m., with just a few hundred yards to go, we met a pair of guys hiking up the trail by headlamp. I noticed that their packs were small, but it didn't make sense until a couple minutes later when we met two more hikers, wheeling a rescue gurney. They had gotten a report of an injured climber at Snow Creek Wall, 2 miles in. Snow Creek is between the Wall and the trail, so if the injured climber saw us and shouted out, the sound of the creek must have drowned him out. We never heard or saw anything to alert us.

Update: The Wenatchee World reported on Saturday that the fallen climber was in stable condition after a "technical rescue that required ropes".

Our group of four (3 Australian born Seattleites and 1 Australian born Londoner) had been looking forward to this trip since we were lucky enough to get passes in the lottery earlier this year (thank you Leavenworth Ranger for drawing out our application!). The best hiking in Washington state we’d be told. We weren’t disappointed!

We headed out from the Snow Lake trailhead (having earlier shuttled a second car to the Stuart/Colchuck Lake trailhead) at about 9:30am on day one. We were thinking of camping at Snow Lake on the first night, and heading to the core enchantment zone the next morning, and so we took things pretty easy – a few rest/snack breaks along the way and a leisurely lunch at Nada Lake. The Snow Lake trail gets immediately down to business, switchbacking up a steep (but not Aasgard Pass steep) slope which at times is exposed and, on the day we climbed it, HOT! (Not complaining, as HOT is brilliant compared to wet and cold! Thank you Leavenworth Ranger station, for choosing such great dates weatherwise!)

While “unremarkable” seems too harsh a word, the 6.5 mile trail to Snow Lakes is a formative affair – a means to approach something spectacular really! Highlights were the climb up after Nada Lake which is quite scenic and gives great views back down over the lake, and there is an interesting “waterfall” (more like a spout - see picture) that kept us entertained there for some time. The campsites at Upper Snow Lake are quite good, although by the time we arrived around 5:30 (told you we took our time!) most were taken. All of us went for a quick dip in a stream running into the lake, filtered some water, rigged up some ropes to hand food, cooked up some dinner and turned ourselves in for the night.

Day 2 dawned warm and sunny, with us once again thanking the Ranger for choosing such great weather dates for our trip. We ate, packed up our camp and hit the trail at 9:20am. The trail immediately begins climbing, alternating between tree cover and open boulder sections. The trail is marked by cairns – thank goodness as some of the exposed boulder sections would otherwise be very difficult to find! After an hour of solid upwards climbing, we reached the Enchantment Lakes sign, and a welcome party of goats. Lake Viviane looked great in the morning sun and we stopped for a bite to eat. Continuing on, there is a “toilet” to the left of the trail as you round Viviane’s side. It’s quite a walk from the trail, but the views back to Snow Lake are fantastic – a real “loo with a view”!

We had planned to camp that night somewhere in the vicinity of Perfection or Inspiration Lake. A group of hikers heading in the opposite direction recommended their previous night’s campsite to us – at the south end of Inspiration Lake just before the climb up to the upper Enchantments, and overlooking Perfection Lake. We decided we would try that out, and spent a few hours wandering along the trail taking pictures and remarking on the scenery before arriving there. The trail in the enchantments zone is easy to follow, again thanks to cairns on the boulders where required.

We set up our tents and had a late lunch before deciding to backtrack a little to head up Prusik Pass for the afternoon. Clouds began to appear on the horizon but didn’t look threatening so we headed out from our camp. Just as we were walking down to Perfection Lake’s edge, the rains started – we had been expecting afternoon rain or storms as seems to be the norm for these mountains, but the hail that rained on us was certainly not expected and kept us quite amused for the duration of the storm (only around 20 minutes). We had donned rain gear and taken shelter in a small clump of trees at the lake’s edge when the rain started, preferring the wisdom of staying put in a storm rather than climbing to higher grounds! Once we were sure the storm was over, we set out again up to the pass, and then turned right at the top to scramble up closer to Prusik Peak. A scramble route easily found, and we spent quite some time at a rocky plateau taking photos of Prusik and the lower enchantment lakes that could be seen from that vantage. Returning to camp, we had dinner and filtered water for the next day, and enjoyed a fantastic sunset and moon rise over Perfection Lake. What a place to camp!!

Day 3 we headed out right on 9:20 again, bound for the upper enchantments. The trail (marked by cairns) climbs up and through a pass at the south end of Inspiration Lake that would be slippery and require some careful footing when wet (particularly if headed in the opposite direction and therefore walking this section downwards). We wandered through the upper basin, following cairns, taking photos and commenting on how moon-like the scenery is. We had planned to scramble up Little Annapurna and a group of hikers we met that had camped in the upper zone the previous night indicated that there is a “trail” marked by cairns up to the top of Little Annapurna. We consulted our map and compared it against what we saw and, not having found the start of the trail, headed up what we thought was the safest option, avoiding the areas still snow covered and climbing in the least sloped sections. We had left two of the four backpacks and some of the heavier items from the remaining packs under a rock in what looked like a pretty good hiding spot. While I carried a pack up the scramble, I was grateful for the lighter load!! At one point on the scramble up we stumbled across some cairns and followed them for a time, but lost them perhaps a third of the way from the top. We continued upward choosing what looked like the safest option whenever there was a choice, and ended up approaching the north eastern side.

What a view! It was clear enough to see Glacier and Mt Baker to the north and Rainier to the south west. The view of the Enchantment Lakes basin was spectacular. We took some time at the top to take in the view and take some photos, then started heading back down. We picked up the trail marked by cairns from the top and followed this most of the way down – cairns are always much easier to see when descending aren’t they! We repacked our gear and headed on, planning to stop for lunch at one of the lakes we had seen from Little Annapurna.

As it turns out, our lunch spot was “the highest lake in Washington state”, according to a fellow (solo) hiker who leapfrogged us that day and whom we had seen at the top of Little Annapurna. I’d be interested to see if this was true? The lake is at 7,700 feet and isn’t named on the topo map we have – is it the highest in the state?

Armed with that alleged knowledge however, we determined that it was a must for a swim – how many people can say they’ve swum in the highest lake in Washington after all! I quickly volunteered to be the photographer of such an auspicious event while the other 3 took off some layers of clothes in preparation for the event. (It was a hot day, we were only in shorts and shirts!) Sufficiently chilled, we packed up again and set out to tackle the long walk down to Colchuck from Aasgard Pass. What a descent! It took us 2 plus hours (shudder to think how long it takes going up it, but I’m from the school that would prefer climbing up to heading down any day so the descent was particularly brutal in my opinion). We found a campsite quite late (6:30pm maybe) by the side of Colchuck, opposite the little lake to the west. All of us went for another swim (why not we say), set up tents and had a great last night out dinner. We were entertained during the night by a fascinating storm, with lightning and thunder rivaling anything any of us had seen before. (Keep in mind we grew up in a tropical climate where fierce storms are a daily occurrence in summer. While the rain at the Colchuck storm didn’t rival an Australian summer storm – not hard enough and the drops not fat enough – the brightness of the lightning and echoes of the thunder around the mountains were the best show of their kind we’d all ever seen and heard!)

We woke to a wet camp on day 4. We had planned to spend the morning sitting in the sun and swimming, but the weather was average (a fact we had no trouble accepting – with such great weather for the first three days we were more than grateful of the conditions we’d managed to do the bulk of the hike in. Instead, we ate breakfast and packed up in between rain showers and headed back out to the trailhead, finishing at around 2pm. What an amazing area to spend a few days in!

I'm proud to say I've done Aasgard Pass and even prouder to say, I have no desire to ever do it again. Though, I hear that the Snow Lake way to reach the Enchantments can be as grueling, just in a different way (distance).

We camped at Colchuck Lake, enjoying a long leasurely afternoon as we were there about 12:30. Getting ready mentally for the next day up Aasgard. On the trail the second day by 6:30am, taking nearly another hour to make our way to the other side of the lake, after crossing the large boulder field that lies at the bottom of Colchuck Peak and taking lots of pictures. Up the boulders/rocks of the gulley that is the trail to Aasgard Pass. Took us 3 hours to go up that insanely steep 3/4 of a mile. Goal was to get up before the sun was beating down on us. We made it just in time.

Once up and over, we had great views everywhere. It was a clear day and the high clouds didn't start forming until mid afternoon (giving us shade on the way back down Aasgard). We spent about 3 1/2 hours in the Upper/Middle Enchantments before heading back down. The larches aren't turning yet, but we saw a lot of fall foliage colors in the underbrush along the way. No bugs to speak of.

Enchantments are beautiful. If you've been there, you know. If you haven't, go -- you'll want to see this. I can't speak for the route in via Snow Lake. As for the Aasgard way, wow and ouch!

This trip was conceived during a ski trip to the Methow last winter when Ace volunteered to get passes to the Enchantments. Our party included Yoyo, Blissman, Cisco Kid, Cascade Dreams, Ace and Dale -- a fantastic group! Our first day involved the grunt up and over Aasgard Pass via Colchuck Lake. We were fortunate to have some clouds and a slight breeze to save us from the heat. The trail is getting more defined all the time, although eroded in places. We saw several parties on the way up. We were greeted at the pass by a lone Billy Goat. Several of his buddies soon joined us. We spent the first night at Lake Brynhild. There were several parties camped in the Upper Enchantments. More than I had seen on previous visits. That night we were entertained by 10 - 12 goats with three kids. We watched with awe and envy as they did some major slab work with ease. We then saw an interplay between two kids that was pretty amazing. They were perched on a step slab pushing each other around and around in what looked to be a game of "push the goat off the rock"! We couldn't get enough. A fabulous sunset and to bed. Yoyo awoke to lightening that night which was to visit us every night of the trip. Day two was a day of leisurely exploring and a walk to Little Anapurna for Ace and myself, while the rest looked to scramble East Dragontail. We met back in camp by 4:00 PM and moved down to Talisman Lake. We were the first of only two parties to camp here. The bugs were many, but tolerable at the upper basin, but they were awful at the lower lakes. Mosquitos galore! After a quick dinner, we escaped to the safety of our tents while the mosquitos waited outside. That night we had some thunder, lightening, and a short, but intense rain. Day three involved a scramble of Cannon. I'd done this on an earlier trip, but wanted to do it again. I especially love Druid Plateau. The scramble is very straightforward. Up to Prusik Pass where you can pick up a cairned path which you can follow to a small gully and stream about 1/4 mile from the pass. You then contour up and around the left side of a slabby hill until you reach a rather large tarn with lots of larch. Go to the far end and up a shallow, lush and flowery gully until you are at the base of a granite wall with some steep rocky gullys. Pick your poison and follow it up to the top of the wall. You will emerge onto the wonderful Druid Plateau. Spend lots of time here and look down into the valleys and over to the rock basins and cliffs that border the plateau. There really could be Druids here. The summit of Cannon is obvious from here, but the easier route is the north side as it's a bit gentler here. The scramble to the summit is over extremely large boulders covered with lichen. It requires some large steps and a bit of nerve, but it's worth it. We began hearing thunder and seeing lightening on the summit so we didn't linger there. However, we just couldn't leave the plateau so we spent enough time for the storm to pass by us. The Druids were with us today! The plan for day three was to spend the morning exploring the area and then moving down to Snow Lakes in the early afternoon. Yoyo and Cisco scrambled McClellan while Ace, Blissman and myself spent the morning exploring Crystal Lake and taking photos. We then went to Snow Lakes for our last night. The trail down is rough, but interesting and we found ourselves at Snow Lake in no time. We snagged a great camp with a nice beach and a rock peninsula that juts out into the lake. The mosquitos were terrible in the woods, but virtually gone on our rock so we finally got to relax without being attacked by the vicious beasties! We spent much time swimming and loafing until our nightly thunderstorm and lightening which was quite close this time. It was fun to watch, but the rain caused us to flee to our tents again. Day five was the hot, hot, hot hike out to the trailhead. It was really hot. Extremely hot. Stifling hot. I could almost see the waves of heat radiating off of the rocks. The bridge over Snow Creek made a nice waiting place while waiting for Yoyo to shuttle the other drivers to the Colchuck trailhead. A fine meal was had by our hungry scramblers at Ducks and Drakes in Leavenworth. Followed by various stops for chocolate, ice cream, and Coca Cola!

Took an unforgettable, 3-night trip to the Enchantments. See my blog post at: www.wta.org/trail-news/signpost/enchanted-indeed

The Mosquitoes were atrocious (the ranger said they were quite a bit worse this year)-- wish I had brought a head net. A few very small snow fields to cross on the trail through the upper Enchantments, maybe 2 in the lower basin. Trekking poles helped but no special equipment needed.

Helicopters were buzzing overhead on our hike in to Snow Lake, ferrying out people and equipment (except for a roll of TP from a portable toilet that blanketed a tree about 50 feet from the ground) from construction of the Nada Lake Dam. They'll be back at work in Sept. on the Snow Lake Dam.

First time through the famed Enchantments. Pleased to say they lived up to their reputation. Started at the Stuart TH on 7/17 and hiked the short distance to camp at Colchuck Lake. Some mosquitoes, tons of flies. Swam in the tarn off to the right of the lake which is remarkably warm and soothing.
Woke up the next morning at 6:30 and began the trek up Aasgard- the only way into the Enchantments IMO. It isn't nearly as difficult as everyone makes it seem. Yes, it is steep but its short and the cairns being difficult to find!!!??? They're every 5 feet and they're hardly "traditional" cairns; they are massive rock piles- seriously 4 feet tall. After making it up the pass we scrambled Dragontail which was much more rewarding than Little Annapurna (which we also climbed). We had to cross the snow creek glacier but this didn't require any special equipment. It took us about 45 minutes from the top of the pass to the summit. Choose this over L.A. Once we descended Dragontail we made the LONG trek down to Snow Lakes and the TH making a full loop. Worth mentioning- you cross probably 20 snow fields. Other than that, great trip. Approximately 11,300 feet net elevation change on the day. Duration: 13 hours with the two scrambles and breaks etc.

We began this hike from the Lake Stuart Trailhead to Colchuck Lake, then up Aasgard Pass and through the Upper and Lower Enchantments down past Snow Lakes and Nada Lake, and ending at the Snow Lakes Trailhead.

We went over to Leavenworth Friday evening and stayed at a hotel there. The next morning, we left our Jeep at the Snow Lakes TH and were shuttled to the Lake Stuart TH. Eileen, a beautiful spirited lady of 81 years, runs this service. At $40, it’s cheaper than taking two vehicles over from Seattle and paying extra FS parking fees. Her contact number is (509)548-7433 She was waiting for us at the pr-arranged time of 5:20 am. She dropped us off at the Lake Stuart TH and we were on the trail by 5:58am.

For those of you who are interested in (or crazy enough to try) tackling this hike in one day, maybe knowing when we reached certain landmarks will be helpful in planning your journey:
We reached the first footbridge at 6:34am and the Colchuck Lake turnoff at 6:57am (about one hour from the TH). The trail up to Colchuck is a wee bit rooty and rocky but an easy enough grade (especially considering what lied ahead). We reached the “no campfires above 5,000 feet” sign at 7:27am, the first box toilet at 7:59am, and Colchuck Lake itself at 8:05am. The reflection on the lake is a sight to be seen in the morning. And NO bugs. Blessed were we. Just over two hours to get to this point. The trail proceeds along the right side of the lake, and toward the far side, be prepared to climb around and over boulders (watch for the cairns or little rock piles and head straight for them) and then hike around to the left to reach the bottom of Aasgard Pass. It took about 35 minutes to get around the lake. After a very short break to gape at the climb ahead, we started up the Pass. Very important: keep a close watch for the cairns. We looked for them constantly and still went off trail in a couple of areas. The hike – or as a recent fellow hiker more aptly wrote, scramble -- to the top is less than one mile with over 2,000 foot elevation gain and it took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach the top of the pass (about 10:25am). This was definitely the hardest part of the entire day and not for the faint of heart. The feeling of success was in our hearts when we reached the top, but then we realized we still had 12 miles to cover. We walked around marveling at the stark landscape. It’s breathtaking and made the climb up the Pass worthwhile. We ate a snack at Tranquil Lake and were visited by four mountain goats along with their kids. They walked right by us. Simply amazing. There was also a marmot playing on the ice and snow on the lake. Needless to say, we had to force ourselves to leave and were on our way at 10:24am. (If you haven’t already figured it out, my camera has a timer on it.)

We took our time ambling through this area of beauty passing small lakes, tarns, and tall peaks along the way. We encountered no one, and the area looks like it may have looked for thousands of years. I cannot describe the feeling up here. We wished we had the luxury of camping for at least a couple of nights but no such luck. The landscape changes as the trail descends, and we encountered more green as we went along. We passed yet more mountain goats and reached Inspiration Lake just before noon. The camera didn’t do the reflections of granite, snow, and trees on the lake justice. We reach Perfection Lake at 12:20pm, walked along the left side of the lake, and encountered more goats hanging out on the rocks, as goats do I suppose. We arrived at Sprite Lake at the end of Perfection Lake at 12:40pm. This is a gorgeous little lake with two waterfalls pouring into it. Next was Leprechaun Lake; I felt a bit o’ kinship to this lake for some reason. I was reminded of a poem I learned when I was a lad back in Ireland.
Up the airy mountain,
Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk,
Trooping all together;
Green jacket, red cap,
And white owl’s feather!

I digress. We then headed towards Lake Viviane. Somewhere along here was the half way mark of our trip. We reached Lake Viviane at 1:11pm, where there were yet more spectacular views. And they were even better as we walked towards the end of the lake. Well I should say ‘climbed’ down. It’s necessary to climb down a granite slab where rebar has been placed in the rock and you must take extra care. One slip could ruin your day on the mountain. Viviane has some great reflections at the end too. This was the last lake in the Lower Enchantments before heading to the Snow Lakes, which can be seen from above. We reached this overlook at around 1:15pm and made our way over rocks and through forest. We got to Upper Snow Lake at 1:16pm or about 1hour and 13 minutes after seeing it from the overlook. It took us about 34 minutes to travel around the right side of the lake and reach the dam that separates Upper Snow Lake from Lower Snow Lake. There was water pouring over the dam and our feet were wet by the time we reached the other side. We took another short break but there was still 6.5 miles to go so we headed off at 3:18pm greatly refreshed from the wee rest and snacks. Down the trail we’re off like the goats we spied above. Nada Lake appeared below us at 3:27pm and we actually arrived at the lake at 3:42pm. This was the last lake of the day. About two miles from the end of our journey, we saw a wall of rock on our left where reportedly rock climbers can be seen but we didn’t see anyone this day. Finally, we crossed the bridge over Icicle Creek at 6:10pm and up a final 50 feet in elevation to the Snow Lakes TH at 6:12pm. That was the longest part of the trip really, the 2 hours and 30 minutes from Nada Lake to here.

So today we walked by spectacular lakes, over all types of terrain, with views of high peaks, deep valleys, flora and fauna. This 18 mile trek took us 12 hours and 14 minutes from trailhead to trailhead including time for short breaks, nearly 400 pictures, and even getting a little lost. This hike can be done in one day but it would be preferable to have several days to spend time hanging out in the Enchantments.

Happy trails.