The Enchantments — Friday, Aug. 14, 2020

There are already plenty of summer trip reports so nothing new to add regarding route conditions, etc. I’ll only comment on a few issues, specifically some bad decision making and just people in general... 

Fortunate enough to land a Core permit Monday online so I drove over from the Seattle area Friday morning and departed the Stuart TH. This was my 4th overnight trip to the Enchantments, with Colchuck and Snow permits before and day hikes into the Core (at least now only 1 time dealing with Aasgard!). I reached the far side of Colchuck and base of Aasgard with the plan of enjoying the beautiful afternoon/evening and heading up Aasgard in the morning, but after encountering the parking lot shit show, a woman with her dog (within the first 1/2 mile), and dozens of day hikers with absolutely no trail etiquette, I decided to head up. About 2/3 of the way up I spoke with 2 descending climbers who explained how the day before (Thursday) they had to use their satellite communicator to call for help because a group of women ate some mj edibles and 1 had convulsions - helicopter called and arrived. Life decisions, people - on top of everyone’s safety, that will be an expensive edible... 

As the 2 climbers had mentioned, the entire upper area around Isolation Lake was empty so I dropped my pack and had the place to myself for the evening, that is until the group of people stumbling around at 2am woke me up - not sure where they were going, unable to decipher the yelling/arguing as they were speaking another language. Woke up (again) at 6am and had coffee, absolutely beautiful morning and didn’t see a soul until 7:30-8... next thing I knew there were dozens upon dozens of people, mostly college-aged, descending from Aasgard and into the core, yelling to one another like they were 85 years old and pointing at goats like they were purple unicorns. They approached the family of goats nearby my tent and took pics like it was their newborn or the first time they were meeting their niece/nephew, all while speaking/yelling extremely loudly - within 2-3 feet of the goats! People were everywhere, and I knew the crowd would thin as the day progressed, but I had to depart ASAP so I packed up and enjoyed the trip through the Core, despite the crowd. Numerous times I encountered folks who asked if I had seen so and so as they got separated from their friends and commented “google maps doesn’t work up here?! and even “do you have some snacks to spare, we noticed you have an overnight backpack”.... Also encountered a few groups who were off trail and had no clue where to go (yep, no gps or map or anything). 

I was unable to coordinate a shuttle and with coronavirus I knew catching a ride this year to my car at Stuart TH would be more difficult so I was aware of the possibility of having to walk back from the Snow TH. I wanted to stay another night in the Core but with the logistical issue, coupled with the crowd and the insanely hot temperatures expected on Sunday, I wanted to cover some mileage and ended up camping near the Snow Lakes dam (which was bone dry so shoe removal not required the following morning ). Uneventful evening, woke up and left Snow Lake at 8:30. Ran into 2 rangers at Nada checking permits, when I told her where I had camped another group asked if it was crowded. I said I was probably exaggerating but that on the Colchuck side and in the Core I had seen 400 people - ranger said they counted 380 so I wasn’t exaggerating! Reached the Snow TH at 11:30am and was scouting for a truck in the parking lot or one traveling Icicle towards Stuart to ask for a ride, figured it’d be easier to catch a ride in the back vs in a car. Two women were sitting in a ford SUV and the passenger departed, asked if I had seen their daughters who were missing. They had called and were waiting for the sheriff’s department to arrive. Turns out their daughters were day hiking from Stuart TH to Snow TH on Saturday but failed to return that evening. Within 3 minutes the sheriffs deputy arrived while we were speaking and I told him I had seen a ton of people but couldn’t say if I had seen them specifically - had definitely not spoken with them. Just saw in the news a few hours ago that they’re still missing. Hopefully good news will be announced tomorrow! And a big thanks to Brad for the lift back to my car in the back of your truck! But cars parked illegally on the left side forcing it into a one-way. Hate to say it but I think they need to limit day use just like they do on St Helens (like they go with overnight in the Enchantments, but with more people allowed during the day).