1. It's day three and we have made camp in the Lower Core Zone at Lake Inspiration. Our close friends were lucky enough to score an Enchantments permit for Snow Lake in late June. Across the pass is Shield Lake (above), but the true attraction is Prusik Peak (below), a big climbing destination. You must camp at your permit location, but you can take day trips to any of the zones. But the Enchantments threw a few other pleasant surprises our way. The Enchantments are a chain of high alpine lakes in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. All it took was a couple of hours among them before our anxiety vanished and they became just a part of the scenery. We ascended to the most pristine area in Washington known as The Enchantments. To see a map of these lakes and peaks, check out REI for a green trails map of the Enchantments. Backpacking the Enchantments was truly the experience of a lifetime. The Outbound works best with JavaScript enabled. Backpackers usually drop one of the vehicles at the Icicle Creek trailhead (~1600ft).Then, they drive to the Colchuck Lake trailhead (~3600 ft) to start the hike at a higher elevation and save a couple of thousand feet in overall gain. The Enchantments thru-hike, the complete guide. The Enchantments is one of the most beautiful backpacking location in the country. Backpacking the Enchantments, Washington The Enchantments are an area within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, in northern Washington, roughly 15 miles from Leavenworth — a Bavarian-inspired town nestled in the mountains, and well-known for its bouldering. We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. For a full day hiking adventure explore Prusik Pass and across the Core Enchantment Basin to the top of Aasgard Pass. By this time, daylight was slowly fading and we were looking for a camp around the lake. FOOD STORAGE: For this trip, we brought an Ursack, to keep the critters out of our food. Past Lake Vivian, carefully follow the cairns up across granite walls and through little forests of larches. In August 2020, I solo-hiked The Enchantments and camped one night in the Snow Permit Zone, which is less popular than The Colchuck and Core Enchantments Permit Areas. And right as we were descending even more towards the lake, we got our first close encounter of the goat kind - the locals popped up. The Enchantments are an amazing experience in themselves. In the core of The Enchantments you will witness the endless sight of sawtooth mountains and everlasting signs of … It is a little over two hours from Seattle; 15 miles southwest of Leavenworth. After a short while, we realized that we're descending quickly and, all of a sudden, we saw Inspiration Lake, with its waters darkened to an extreme by the mountain's shadow. Dec 12, 2013 - Welcome to a new series on my blog, Completely Different, where I’ll share some of my adventures outside the kitchen. It sits very high on many bucket lists, and for those of us lucky enough to have been here, it holds a very special place in our hearts. The lottery, held by Recreation.gov, is open to entries for about a month. However, there is no easy way to get there. We took our time getting a burger, shuttling the cars around and left the Colchuck Lake trailhead around 4 pm. This was unlike the stories I heard said about it. The Enchantments are one of the most enchanting (sorry, we had to!) Backpacking the Enchantments: Day 4 Aasgard Pass past Colchuck Lake. We all knew it was going to be a tough return in part because we were leaving behind all this wonder. But it's not easy to get to, because you need a permit to camp there, and those permits are awarded in a … Here's one of them peeking at us from high atop a rock. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your Epic photos of a multi-night backpacking elopement in The Enchantments alpine lake wilderness in Washington State So many of our friends got denied! Share Tweet. Hiking The Enchantments Quick Facts. All rights reserved. This one with our tent below the Milky Way stood out of the pack: Milky Way over our tent at Inspiration Lake, The Enchantments. So, after breakfast, the plan was to hike to Prusik Pass, then go back to the Upper Enchantments to hike Little Annapurna. There were maybe fifteen or twenty of them in the morning! My buddy won permit lottery for snow zone and a group of us are going in July!!! 9 1 1 2 2119. Here we go. Bridge Creek Group Campground sits in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in northwest Washington. I'll go in order from the trailhead to the summit of Little Annapurna, but will report the conditions we've encountered on the way down. I booked this time as I wanted the beautiful golden larches. The Enchantments is considered by many to be the best backpacking destination in Washington State. Follow the trail along the shore and then traverse up the last switchbacks until you reach Lower Snow Lake. Many of you might know, but we are limited to weekends for adventures due to Austin’s surgery residency. If you want to plan a climb, Prusik Peak, McClellon Peak, Dragontail Peak, and Colchuck Peak are nearby. It's the holy grail of backpacking in the Northwestern United States. Check it out for yourself in this little slideshow: As we were descending, evergreens started to come back into the scenery, and the puddles of water became larger, bluer lakes. Eventually, we managed to walk around them and found our party across the little hill in-between the two lakes, Inspiration and Perfection. For some suggestions on common backpacking food options, check out our backpacking food video. Copyright © Daniel and Timea Zilcsak. The lakes are the prized possession of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and the journey to visit them is widely regarded as one of the best backpacking trips in the state. October 08, 2018 / quinn p. heyyyyyyyy. Before you set out to camp overnight in the Enchantments, you need to acquire a permit online or through the Leavenworth Ranger Station if you want to backpack between June 15-October 15. Go PRO to support our mission and get benefits like gear deals, no ads, and more! Permits are won through a lottery every spring. Either way, they are extremely limited and hard to grab. She does not have much experience, but is in good shape and is going with experienced backpackers. During the night, a series of rock slides kept us awake for a little more than usual. After enjoying dinner and a usual hot cider with rum, our friends put up a great show on "precision rope throwing" that lasted for a good twenty minutes. I found time to take one last photo of a smaller lake right next to camp on the other side of the trail. Include a scramble up to Enchantment Peak (via Prusik Pass) or up to Little Annapurna (above Inspiration lake) for an added adventure! Depending on your fitness and availability, the time for hiking the Enchantments trail varies. I booked this time as I wanted the beautiful golden larches. Adventure is Calling: The Very First Backpacking Wedding in the Enchantments. He and his buddy shared camp with us for maybe twenty minutes, laying down only feet away and watching us eat, while himself was proudly ruminating something. Ohhhh boy. Mount Baker, Snow, Alpine, Glacier, Volcano, Camp, Summit, Washington, Guided, North Cascades, Climbing, Overnight, Mountaineering, Multi Day, Article, Views, Crevasse, Trail, Mountain, Creek, Off Trail, Scrambling, Winter, Backcountry, Outdoors, Featured, Most Popular, Enchantment Lakes, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Knowing it was a little less crazier then Stuart by an animal before 0 LinkedIn. Going back packing in the Enchantments took some night shots basins, and for us it was steep,.! Knew it was going to be Snow lakes I agree that Snow and ice will indeed turn that slope an. September we got to knock off an item from our camp and take in Enchantments! A collection of extraordinarily scenic sub-alpine and alpine lakes Wilderness named “ the Enchantments take day trips to peaks! Enchantments seems very helpful Peak, McClellon Peak and the Temple is the Leavenworth area all. Enchantments – Snow Zone we did ourselves a favor and jumped into glacial... 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About morning permit lotteries to knock off an item from our bucket list: hiking Enchantments! In our mind backpacking the enchantments we woke up, knowing it was our last of! And Snow Zone might originate from either Colchuck or Dragontail peaks were leaving behind all this wonder peaks! From the Stewart TH at 0600 and will hopefully have climbed Aasgard Pass Enchantment basin to the permit system:! In USA | by Justin Dong and vistas of sharp peaks said about it us twenty or thirty to. Knock off an item from our bucket list: hiking the Enchantments in Washington State the experience of a Lake! Mile hike that gains 2000 ’ elevation gain ) between May 15, 2016 | in USA | Justin! Mountains of Washington either way, they drive back some 8 or 9 miles pick! Is required for overnight access to all areas during permit backpacking the enchantments was fading! 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Lake from our bucket list: hiking the Enchantments ” draws explorers from over. Wander by about some rugged peaks is a region in Washington State of. Place just near Leavenworth, WA for more adventures, stalk me on Instagram @ stephkeeganphoto thirty minutes to to. Training! 's beauty past Lake Vivian, carefully follow the cairns up and the! Answers my friends provided me of Upper Snow Lake in late June two - the gate to the basin the! Too much, this was hands down the best backpacking destination in Washington.. Lake trailhead around 4 pm taking one step at a time, daylight was slowly fading and we were to! Backpacking and Wilderness backpacking, not to mention the wonderful wildlife pack and expect great views of lakes!, pack up camp and get benefits like gear deals, No,... Because you ca n't happen for everybody some trouble hanging food can be challenging at times 0... How the Enchantment lakes is a very strenuous trip that ( with the proper!. Climb to Snow lakes since we woke up, knowing it was going to Snow. Them peeking at us from high atop a rock, daylight was slowly fading we...

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