The Enchantments Wilderness in Washington is home to some of the most pristine backpacking in the state. If your lucky enough to win a permit to hike this area, do everything in your power to make it happen! The growing number of people wanting to backpack these trails grows year after year, so be sure to enter for a permit.
In 2018 I entered the Enchantments lottery and won a permit to Eightmile Lake. We did a unique portion of this trail turning it into a thru-hike instead of the out and back.
On this blog post I will cover what we experienced on this trail, how you can plan for it, and what to expect.
What Are the Washington Enchantments?
When I first moved to Oregon in 2013 and started getting into hiking, people always talked about the Enchantment wilderness. The Enchantments are a protected wilderness area in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness outside of Leavenworth, Washington. The pristine lake wonderland of granite has goats, blue water, larch trees and hard hiking.
Where Are the Enchantments?
From Portland: About 6 hours
From Seattle: 3 hours
Unfortunately people who have been before continue to apply year after year, not leaving opportunities for others to experience. Since I went twice, I have not entered again. I wish others did the same as I believe everybody should get to experience the Enchantments.
Acquiring a Permit For Enchantments Washington
Permits are required to sleep overnight in the Washington Enchantments area from May 15- October 31st. To get permits to hike the Enchantments you must enter the online lottery system when it opens in February. And a lottery it is indeed!
People enter year after year with no luck. I was able to hike the Core zone the year prior with a friends permit win. The core is the most desired zone due to being able to see the most of the area, and sleep at multiple lakeside destinations. They only grant 28 groups of up to 8 people making your odds about 50/50. A limited number of same day permits are available at the ranger station as well.
Eightmile Lake Permit Process
This year was my first time entering for the permit, and won for Eightmile Lake area.
In recent years it has gained popularity and many people do what is called the “death march” hiking the entirety of the core zone in a day. This is 18 miles of 5,000 feet of elevation gain and 7,000 feet of elevation loss. You have to start extremely early and keep a pace to accomplish this.
Hikers say it takes 12 to 14 hours! You can do this hike two different directions: start at Colchuck Lake Trailhead and end at Snow Lake Trail Head, or the opposite. Starting at Snow Lake Trail ads 2,000 feet of elevation gain to your hike. If you don’t want to do the entire thru hike many people day hike to Colchuck Lake or into the core itself.
Bavarian inspired town Leavenworth is located at the base of the Enchantment wilderness. Many hikers will get a hotel here pre or post hike since it is the closest place for a clean shower and yummy food.
Backpacking Eightmile Lake
Eightmile zone of the Enchantments will grant you views of Dragontail Peak and Colchuck Lake, but is not connected so you’re likely to find more solitude from day hikers on this part of the area. I do think this attributed to me winning a permit, as I entered in June which can be a risky time for weather.
Elevation: 6,200 feet of gain
Duration: 17.3 miles
We got a campsite close to the trailhead at Icicle Creek Campground, because I could book this site in advanced it was a good place to meet friends coming from multiple cities to meet before starting the hike in the morning. Moreover, also had to shuttle one another from our ending destination.
While we didn’t do this hike as an out and back, we decided to make it a through hike and exit on the outside of the Enchantment Wilderness Boundary and exit through Rock Island Campground.
Our Itinerary for Eightmile and Caroline Lakes
Day One
We hiked from the Eightmile Creek Trailhead to Eightmile lake for the first night. It’s 3.3 miles and 1300 feet to the lake with beautiful views of the core Enchantment zone behind you. We encountered rain and high winds that day, so unfortunately when we got to camp we hid out in our tents for the night.
Day Two
We woke up to beautiful blue skies and sunshine for our hike up the next day. Spirits were high! We hiked up to Lake Caroline for our next campsite. From Eightmile Lake you climb 2,000 feet to reach Lake Caroline in 4.5 miles. It was a beautiful hike, spirits were high. Once we got to our designated camp we were greeted with goats enjoying their evening. Goat TV if you will!
Day Three
On this day we hiked up to “Windy Pass” at 7200 to have beautiful views for miles. While this portion of the hike was rewarding and beautiful once we descended towards Trout Lake where we planned to camp for the night, the trail disappeared. This portion of the hike was suggested by a local of Leavenworth. After getting lost for a solid hour, we finally found the trail. There was some bushwhacking involved and we were all exhausted. Eventually, we found the fire pits and camp. Nothing felt better than that night!
Day Four
We had 5 miles to exit down to the trailhead that day. For some of us, it felt like a breeze. Others were tired, sore, and a bit defeated after the day was longer than normal the day prior. All in all we had a great experience that will live forever in our memories.
Pass
If you don’t want to complete the hike we did, many backpackers will hike into Eightmile Lake and day hike to Caroline Lakes. You’re more likely to see goats at one of the Caroline Lakes area, not as much at Eightmile.
Have you hike the Eightmile Lake area of the Enchantments? I would love to hear of your experience in the comments.
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