Enchantment Lakes - Lower Lakes Part 1

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At 6800 feet elevation Lake Vivian is the lowest of the Enchantment lakes, but was the highest Jamie could go. After some scouting, We decided that Jamie would rest at the lake and I would take a two hour whirlwind tour by myself of the other lakes. Any time longer and Jamie would begin to worry as there was no one else around to call for help.

The Enchantment Lakes lay in a high altitude valley with Prusik Peak on the North, Little Annapurna and McClellan Peak on the South and Dragontail Peak and Aasgard Pass on the West. The trail heads West and up from Lake Vivian and through Aasgard Pass at 7800 feet. Most of the Enchantment lakes are along this route and are connected by small streams. My tour headed along this route.

The first notable element of the Enchantments is the barren, but beautiful surroundings of the lakes. Besides a few larch trees the area was made up of only solid rock, turquoise lakes and snow. The second notable element is the triangular shaped Prusik Peak which can be seen throughout the area. The higher I went the more jagged the peak appeared.

From Lake Vivian I jogged up to Leprechaun Lake which is looked over by McClellan Peak. There was areas of snow, but mostly I was running along a clear trail around the lake. After Leprechaun Lake I followed a series of incredibly beautiful and crystal clear streams which looked more like tide pools. I soon made it up to Sprite Lake. Though small, this clear lake and its colorful surroundings made for one of the most beautiful parts of trip. Time was ticking away and after taking a few pictures the lake was behind me.