We finally nailed a lottery of the core Enchantments this year. We started out on Sunday July 23rd from the Colchuck/Stewart Lake TH. It was hot starting out, about 90 degrees, and got better as we gained elevation up to Colchuck lake. Having fully loaded packs made this 4.5 mile and 2200 foot elevation gain a little rough for our 8 member party. We started the trail around 11am and got to camp on the far side of the the lake (right before the boulder field) at 4pm. The mosquitos were terrible and we felt we all had to bathe in Deep. A refreshing dip in the lake and a quick dinner as we stared up at our foe for the next day...Aasgard Pass.
The next morning we were delayed getting out of camp as getting 8 people moving is like herding kittens, we left camp at 9:15am to head up the pass and the sun was already making it's way to exposing our path. Surprisingly enough, even though it's 2000+ feet of elevation gain in under a mile we took it in stride and made it to the top of the pass around 2pm.
We took many breaks and followed the well marked cairns put in place by the rangers (who check permits fyi). The pass is completely snow free, and expect to see mountain goats. Day 2 ended with has continuing on from the pass and staying at Inspiration Lake. There are several camp spots along Inspiration lake, we crossed the small creek and headed to the far right side to a nice over look of Enchantment lake. Again we fought the mosquitos but were entertained by the locals (more mountain goats) and the spectacular starry night display.
Day 3 began with baby goats bleating and their 12 cousins waking us at 5:30am. We took our time today to get out of camp to head to our final destination at Snowy Lakes. Just as we had the night before, the mosquitos were feasting on us in the morning.
As we walked out of the core Enchantments it was difficult not to stare at the scenery every 2 steps. The trail is again very will marked with cairns. The only part that was nerve wrecking was the decent after Vivian lake. There are several granite faces that one needs to be mentally prepared for and a firm grip on granite rocks to make it down without incident. Fortunately all of 8 of us did just fine and the 4 miles that we did on day 3 took us 5 hours to complete because of the picture taking and the many "bouldering" we had to do.
Our last night we stayed at Upper Snow Lake, about 1/2 mile from the dam crossing at Lower Snow Lake. Tonight we got a reprieve from the bugs, and everyone enjoyed a swim to wash the dirt off and to soak their tired feet. It was gourmet night as we all tried to eat as much of our left over food as possible. We watched the local Osprey pick dinner from the lake and enjoyed our last sunset of our trip.
Our final day was a long 7 miles out to the Snow Lakes TH. We got an early started at 7:30 am, which we are very thankful because as you depend 4000 feet from Snow Lakes it heats up considerably. The last 2ish miles to the TH is an old burn area with little shade and very dusty. You walk switchback after switchback, and even when you see the road from up high you still have about a mile of switchback to go. We got to the TH at 12:45pm and the car measured 90 degree out.
After experiencing this amazing trip, I'd have to say I wish we had gone for longer. There's so much beauty to see and I feel like we had to walk by so much of it.
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