Winning a permit to hike the Enchantments Washington feels like a winning lottery ticket for the adventurous. In the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, these chain of lakes are heavily protected. With hundreds applications, you never know when the golden ticket will come your way, as winning is rare. I was lucky enough to be invited for a Summer Solstice trip into the Core zone.
With a Core permit you are allowed to camp in any of the five zones of the Enchantments, where Eightmile, Stuart, Colchuck, Enchantment, and Snow permit limit you to camping only in that zone. Designated camp spots and toilets are throughout the Enchantment Washington wilderness, so please abide by all permit rules and use them.
On a trip years later, I returned to Enchantments Washington to backpack the Snow Lake Zone-be sure to read that blog post on a unique route I took on that trail.
The Washington Enchantments: Core Zone Route
We took the advice of many hikers and started our trek at the Stuart Lakes Trailhead. If you go up this route, this means you will have to tackle Aasgard Pass; 1,900 feet of elevation gain in .09 miles. I was most nervous about this part of the trek as a 19 year old boy died glissading down this pass three weeks prior, and Aasgard is well-known to be dangerous and technical.
Day One
The first day we hiked from Stuart Lake Trailhead up to our first campsite at Colchuck Lake; which is a popular day hike for those without camping permits. From the car, we hiked four miles up gaining 2,532 feet to the top of the lake. You will cross boulder fields and the trail will disappear at times, but cairns usually will exist on this part of the trail. Once we got to Colchuck Lake we found a designated campsite and set up for the night. Be sure to head over the boulder field to the right to a smaller Colchuck Lake to go swimming; a perfect spot to relax and unwind as the sun sets. Aasgard Pass stared us in the eyes as we plotted our trek the following morning.
Day Two
With the advice of Meghan Young from PNWOutdoorWomen, I knew that staying to the left of the tree line and water run-off was essential as you hike up Aasgard Pass. She sent me this helpful map beforehand to study. Be it a glacier, It is essential to prepare gear wise as the conditions change for your trip. I had microspikes, crampons, ice ax, and a helmet. I ended up leaving the ice ax and helmet at the car because conditions reported ice was not present with the warm weather.
Aasgard Pass
Our trek up Aasgard started at 8 AM with scrambling across a boulder field prior to crossing the stream of melting water. As you climb be sure to pause and take photos as you go up, the views are spectacular. After you cross the creek, the route will continue to steepen becoming a bear crawl up loose rock and gravel among the larches. As you enter the false summit, you will rest your eyes on the final jaunt to the top; which seems easy after you tackled the first portion. However, you will have to traverse across a snow field which has melting snow underneath you.
We had to be cautious for our team and remain on the foot path created from the backpackers traveling ahead of us. Once you climb the final boulder field you reach the top of Aasgard at 7,800 feet, you enter the Upper Enchantments. At 11 AM we arrived at the top of the summit, feeling as if we stepped into another world.
Leprechaun Lake of Enchantments Hike
We continued the Enchantments Trail to our next campsite at Leprechaun Lake. At this time, the trail is mostly covered in snow making every step count. Trekking poles and proper footing helped me maintain by balance with my 35-pound pack. Most of the lakes in this area were snow covered, but the beautiful icy blue water among the ridged rock provided beautiful views.
Goats In The Washington Enchantments
Goat Warning! The goats are quite friendly, be cautious of them as they are after the sodium in your urine. The ranger’s advice is that you pee on rocks to avoid the goats digging the vegetation to get to your urine. They are quite friendly and accustomed to humans being in their environment, so please be respectful of their home.
Day Three
We woke up around 8 AM to eat and pack up for our final campsite at Nada Lake. As we descended we saw the vegetation change and the amount of snow decrease. We headed down towards Lake Vivian, which was breathtakingly beautiful with the contrast between the snow and the dense forest heading towards Snow Lake.
Pace Yourself
The journey down is no doubt rough on your knees, so remember to take time for breaks and enjoy the views. We continued down as the trail wraps around to the right of Snow Lake towards Nada Lake. When you reach the Snow Lake dam, be sure to take your shoes off to cross the water by walking along the rock wall.
We got to our final campsite at Nada Lake at about 2PM, where we swam in the cold water and relaxed, celebrating our final night. It was extremely relaxing to swim in the water and enjoy our last night at a warmer, lower elevation. Our last day included a 5.5-mile descent down 3,500 feet back to the trailhead, which is full of switchbacks and wildflowers.
ProTip: Pack a cooler of your favorite beverages and yummy snacks for the car to celebrate your accomplishment after!
Hike: Difficult
Fee: *Must have permit for Enchantments Washington. Permit is a lottery system that opens on February 15th of each year.
Directions: From Portland take the 84 East towards Hood River for 100 miles until US-97 towards Yakima/Bend. Head North for 58 miles and continue on I-82W/US-97N ramp to Yakima. After 50 miles take the exit towards I-90 W. After another 58 miles exit towards Yellowstone Trail Rd., turn left to head towards Snow Lake Trailhead.
*Disclaimer: the mileage, difficulty rating, directions depicted on this website are never 100% accurate. Always hike at your own risk, using your own equipment, common sense and knowledge.
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