If you spend any time in Washington, it won’t take long to hear about the Enchantments. Just outside of the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, the Enchantments are part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness filled with pristine glacial lakes surrounded by towering granite peaks. Many consider it one of the most beautiful areas of the state. Because the fragile area is so popular, a permit is required to camp overnight. Most permits are awarded via a lottery in the spring, but because so many people enter the lottery, an individual only has a 2% chance of actually winning a permit! I’ve heard stories of people who have entered the lottery for six or seven years and have been unsuccessful every time.
Instead of waiting for a permit they may never get, a lot of people chose to thru-hike the Enchantments, starting at the Stuart Lake Trailhead, hiking 20 miles, and then exiting at the Snow Lake Trailhead in a single day. I put this hike on my bucket list after doing a day hike to Colchuck Lake (the first lake you will pass on a thru-hike) last fall. I was completely in awe of Colchuck and knew that I would return one day to see the rest of the Enchantments.
Colchuck Lake
After spending the night in Leavenworth, my three friends and I set out from Stuart Lake Trailhead at 5am on September 12. The sun didn’t rise until 6:30am, so we hiked the first few miles in the dark. This part of the trail is in the forest, so we didn’t miss any big views. If you decide to start before sunrise, make sure not to miss the left turn to Colchuck Lake about 2 miles from the trailhead!
We reached Colchuck Lake shortly after sunrise as the golden light illuminated the clouds above Dragontail and Colchuck Peaks. We took a short snack break before continuing along the west side of the lake towards Aasgard Pass. There is a large boulder field at the south end of the lake, but we followed navigational cairns and soon found ourselves at the base of the pass.
Climbing Aasgard Pass
Aasgard Pass is infamous. To reach the top of the pass, one must climb 2200 feet in a little less than a mile. It is steep and the ground is loose and rocky. My group set a slow but steady pace and reached the top of the pass in about an hour and a half. On the way up, I admired the summit of Dragontail Peak thrust high into the sky on our right and the turquoise blue of Colchuck Lake below us.
Mist Pond
Towards the top of the pass, we began to venture to the right and popped up at a small tarn named Mist Pond. Fed by a receding glacier, the milky blue-green Mist Pond lies at the base of Witches Tower, a formidable peak. I loved everything about it: the color of the water, the jagged granite ridges, and the moody clouds filling the sky. Even though Mist Pond was small, it ended up being my favorite view of the entire hike.
After taking a small break at Mist Pond, we started hiking again, eager to explore the Core Enchantments. The Core Enchantments are the main event of this hike. The first big lake of the Core Enchantments is Isolation Lake, which became my second favorite lake. Isolation Lake was a rich, clear blue color set against the harsh granite summits of Dragontail Peak and Witches Tower. It absolutely took my breath away. I was truly mesmerised by everything around me.
Isolation Lake
In an attempt to get a better picture of Isolation Lake, I began crossing a rocking isthmus between Isolation Lake and the lake next to it. I wasn’t really paying attention to my foot placement and ended up slamming my right foot very hard into a rock. This caused me to trip and fall, scraping up my legs on the way down. When I stood up, I noticed that my right big toe really hurt. At first, I thought I’d broken it. I forced myself to move my toe and realized I could do without too much extra pain. I decided that I would be fine and would just have to push on through the pain. (Based on the Google search I did when I got home, I believe it was just a minor sprain).
The Upper Core Enchantments
Thankfully, my group was ready to take a longer lunch break which allowed me to rest my toe before continuing the hike. We sat on a large rock looking down into the rest of the Core Zone. The valley, flanked on the north by Prusik Peak and Crystal Lake Tower in the south, was filled with lakes and tarns glittering in the midday sun. I could see green larch trees dotting the hillside and was delighted to notice that a handful of them had already turned a vibrant gold.
Once we finished lunch, we began to wander through the Core, pausing to take photos and filter water from crystal streams. My head was on a constant swivel trying to take in the beauty all around me.
The Middle Core Enchantments
We soon descended to the next set of lakes in the middle of the Core: Inspiration Lake and Perfection Lake. Whereas the upper Core had been defined by sharp granite peaks thrust into the sky, the middle and lower Core were filled with fluffy larch trees set against the spectacular backdrop of Prusik Peak. We made our way along the edge of the turquoise Inspiration Lake and admired the golden larches above and around us. The trail then curved along the banks of Perfection Lake and gave us great views of Little Annapurna to the south. Vibrant red huckleberry bushes lined the trail and added to the explosion of fall colors.
The Lower Core Enchantments
After another quick break at Sprite Lake, we passed through even more groves of green and gold larch trees to reach the last lakes of the Core Enchantments: Leprechaun Lake and Lake Viviane. Lake Viviane especially offered amazing views of Prusik Peak. I did my best to enjoy the last few moments in the Core. Hiking through the Core was an amazing, enchanting experience and I wasn’t ready to leave.
But alas, we still had over 10 miles to hike to reach our second car at the Snow Lake Trailhead. I took one last look at Prusik Peak towering over the crystal clear waters of Lake Viviane, promised myself I would be back one day, and started the long descent to Snow Lake.
The descent to Snow Lake
In some ways, the descent from the Core to Snow Lake is more infamous than Aasgard Pass. It is steep and there isn’t really a trail in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, you must follow navigational cairns and walk down granite slabs. Thankfully, my shoes gripped the granite well and I never slipped. If the weather had been bad or the rocks wet, it would have been much more dangerous. We slowly traversed the granite until eventually we reached a real trail that continued down through the forest. After dropping over 2200 feet since leaving the Core, we arrived at Snow Lake. We decided to take a quick break to eat our final snacks before the long slog out to the trailhead.
Snow Lake
During our break, we looked at our map and realized we still had about 9 miles to hike. It was already 3pm and we were getting tired. Thankfully, the trail was less steep and was mostly free of large rocks and roots which allowed us to hike faster. After leaving Snow Lake, we began to descend to Nada Lake, the last lake of the hike. I actually thought the view of Nada Lake was quite beautiful. It was a blue crescent nestled in a lush valley between two granite peaks.
As we approached Nada Lake, we hiked past a geyser resulting from an opening in the Snow Lake dam. The dam is opened in the summer to allow more water to flow from Snow Lake down into the valley. We marveled at the sheer volume of water flowing through the valve and how high the water was thrust into the air. We could hear the roaring of the geyser until we reached the far end of Nada Lake.
Nada Lake and Geyser
The hike from Nada Lake to the Snow Lake Trailhead was largely unmemorable. We were all tired and in pain so we hiked in silence. I did my best to ignore how much my feet hurt and focus on the sound of the river in the valley below us. Thousands of feet we descended, down switchbacks and through old burn areas. Everytime I thought I was about to come around a curve and see that we were almost out of the valley, I was disappointed.
The sun was beginning to set, painting the clouds above us pink and gold when we reached the final set of switchbacks. I counted twenty switchbacks on the map. Only twenty more switchbacks and I would complete the Enchantments thru-hike. I counted the switchbacks as I hiked: one, two, three . . . nineteen, twenty. At last, the descent was over. We crossed a wide wooden bridge over Icicle Creek and arrived at the Snow Lake Trailhead at 7pm, 14 hours after leaving the Stuart Lake Trailhead.
I was relieved, exhausted, extremely proud of myself, and yet also sad that it was over. The Core Enchantments are a magnificent place and one thru-hike was not enough time to explore and enjoy the amazing landscape. I don’t know if I will ever get a camping permit, but I keep entering the lottery every year. At the very least, the thru-hike, or some variation of it, will become a yearly tradition, I hope. The Enchantments are a very special place and will always be close to my heart.
Golden larches in the Core
Tips for Thru-Hiking the Enchantments
- To park at the trailheads, you will need either a Northwest Forest Pass or an America the Beautiful Pass.
- Most people start at the Stuart Lake Trailhead and hike out through the Snow Lake Trailhead. Stuart Lake Trailhead is at a higher elevation than Snow Lake Trailhead, so you will save yourself some climbing by starting at Stuart Lake.
- If you don’t have a car to park at each trailhead, there are shuttles that can take you between the trailheads at the beginning or end of the day. This must be arranged before you hike. My group had two cars, so we did not use the shuttle.
- Though the true distance is debated, I clocked 19.88 miles, 4,844 feet of elevation gain, and 6,867 feet of elevation loss on my GPS tracker.
- We started at 5am and finished at 7pm for a total of 14 hours. We did take a lot of time in the Core, though. It was worth it to me since that is the prettiest part. We picked up the pace significantly after Snow Lake.
- In addition to normal hiking gear (the Ten Essentials-link), I would recommend bringing a headlamp, a water filter, a power bank, and extra layers.
- The headlamp made it possible to start in the dark (and finish in the dark if needed).
- There are a lot of places to filter water along the way, so it doesn’t make sense to carry it all. The filter is much lighter.
- I use my phone for a lot of things while hiking: camera, navigation, GPS tracker, bluetoothed to my inReach, etc. It would have died if I hadn’t brought a power bank to charge it halfway through.
- At high elevation, the weather can change quickly, especially in the fall. Having extra layers allows you to be comfortable and safe in a variety of weather conditions.
- Make sure to have some sort of GPS, whether that’s a stand alone device like an inReach or an app with the route already downloaded like Gaia GPS. Even though there are cairns to help guide the way, they may be difficult to see if the weather is bad.
- I think the best time to thru-hike the Enchantments is mid-late September. By this time, all the snow has melted from the Core, but there are around 12 hours of daylight, so you may only have to hike an hour or two in the dark. Also, the larches will have started to turn golden by this time of year!
