One day through hike of the Enchantments, my first time but I went with a friend who’s done it several times. It’s absolutely spectacular—hard but fully worth it. I hike regularly but was a little worried since this is the longest distance and most elevation I’ve ever done, but I did lots of training hikes (Mt Teneriffe and Mailbox Peak for elevation, Olallie Trail for distance, and Nordrum Lake for both) and I think it made all the difference.
Lots of people mention going up Asgard or the last few miles as being the worst parts, but for me it was one spot where we had to scramble along this boulder above a stream right before Inspiration Lake. I was fine with the rest of the scrambling the hike requires, but this spot was tricky and sheer enough to set off my fear of heights, although my friend was fine. But I wasn’t the only one—while we were taking a break at Inspiration, a hiker who came after us referred to it as “the death scramble” but let us know that there’s a better way around it: if you keep right and go slightly higher on the slope, there’s a less noticeable but much easier path. So if you want to avoid the death scramble (or save your energy avoiding an unnecessary scramble), that’s the way to go!
The views everywhere were incredible—no visible smoke. Three short snow field crossings (no spikes needed, but poles were nice) and one glissade that’s well established (so you don’t pick up too much speed) and extremely fun to slide down. Saw 14 mountain goats, including several babies! A few flies and bees in the Core, but no mosquitoes till we got to the Snow Lakes, where they were present but not awful. Thimble berries ripening on the descent from Nada Lake.
If, like me, you’re tempted but intimidated by this hike, I’d say definitely train for it, but do go! The beauty is stunning, and the variety of landscapes you cross—the breathtaking alpine lakes, the fascinating lunar-like panoramas of the Upper Enchantments, the wildflower meadows of the Core lakes, the tropical blue-greens of the Snow Lakes, the powerful waterfall crashing along above Nada—is almost unreal for a single hike. I loved it, and am already wondering about hiking it again.
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