Enchantments in a Day

Enchantments in a Day - Part 1

Back in 2004 Jamie and I backpacked to the Enchantment Lakes and I've since wanted to return. For this time I opted to do the hike in one day which is a bit of a challenge as the easiest route is 18 miles with over 4000' of elevation gain. After a few years of trying to coordinate the hike my sister and I finally were able to go at the end of the summer. We took the easy route which involves a one way hike from the higher elevation Stuart Lakes trailhead and ending at the Snow Creek trailhead. My brother-in-law was kind enough to drop us off and pick us up at the two trailheads. We started the hike early in the morning in the dark and after a few miles we reached Colchuck lake. This lake with its clear turquoise water would of been a good destination by itself, but it only served as the base for the hike up to the Enchantments. Aasgard Pass serves as the entrance to the Enchantments and it could clearly be seen as we hiked around the lake. Unfortunately the pass was 2000' above us via a steep scramble amongst boulders and rocks.

We knew what we were in for so the hike up to the pass wasn't that bad. Along the way we got in great views of Dragontail Peak and Colchuck Lake. We were surprised to see some trail runners pass us on the way up to the pass. I don't like the idea of trail running through the Enchantments. It's like gulping down a glass of fine wine. Also the runners with their sparse backpacks are expecting those of us who are carrying the proper essentials to help them out if they get in trouble.

After reaching Aasgard Pass we took final look back to Colchuck lake and then started hiking though the upper Enchantments. The upper area consisted of clear blue lakes in a granite basin bordered by Dragontail Peak and Little Annapurna. During my last visit I didn't get up to this area as I didn't have time and it was covered with snow. The snow was mostly gone this time making the barren area looking like a moonscape. We took a lunch break at Isolation Lake and took in the beauty of the surrounding landscape, but we couldn't stop long as there were many more miles ahead of us.

We continued across the upper basin walking pass smaller lakes and tarns. As we went further down more and more vegetation started appearing including the larch trees. The trees had yet to turn to their golden fall color which wouldn't happen for a couple more weeks. We would of encountered foul weather if we had gone later so I'm glad we went when we did.

We made it through the upper basin and down to Inspiration Lake at the top the lower basin. This is where I had stopped previously when going the other way.