.Hike Mondays.: Enchantment Lakes

Monday, July 11, 2016

ENCHANTMENT LAKES 2016: Stuart Zone

I have been slacking in getting pictures and trip reports up on the blog. I promise it's not due to a lack of hiking or adventure town, I've just had a lot on my plate, because I am a lucky soul who is blessed with work and projects.

Several of us entered the Enchantment Lakes lottery this year, and a few of us were awarded permits. We only ended up with permits for the Stuart Zone, for late June, and early October. The following are some pictures from our late June trip.

Here is the website for the permit application in case you are interested in applying,

.... (CLICK HERE) I'VE ALSO NCLUDED AN EXCERPT FROM THE WEBSITE BELOW...

Overnight Permit Season Expanded

Starting this year, the limited entry overnight permit season for the Enchantment Permit Area will increase by six weeks to help manage increased visitor use and resulting resource damage at this popular destination. Permits for overnight stays will now be required from May 15 through October 31.

Due to the overwhelming popularity of this unique area, all overnight visitors must obtain a limited entry FEE permit for trips planned between May 15 and October 31. Demand for overnight permits far exceeds the number available, therefore advance reservations are highly recommended. A pre-season lottery is held in February through early March of each year to allocate the majority of permits. Following the pre-season lottery, remaining permits are available on a first come, first served basis through the recreation.gov advance reservation system. A small number of permits are available on an unreserved daily walk-in basis.

PLEASE BE AWARE: While permits may be reserved as early as May 15th, early spring snow and weather conditions may not allow road access to the Stuart Lake or Eight-mile Lake trailheads during the early part of the season. Even if road access is possible, traveling and camping on snow is highly likely during May and June. Please familiarize yourself with the change and cancellation policy if you choose to apply for permits during the early spring or late fall.

Colchuck Lake

Jeremy's friend, the very un-shy Buck

View from lookout just outside of Colchuck

From the trail to Stuart Lake, looking up and over the pass.

View from our campsite on Stuart Lake.

Hiking back down from Horseshoe Lake. Fun group this year!

At the Stuart Lake Trailhead with Adam and Dale.

Colchuck Lake in all it's glory.

Monday, January 4, 2016

August 2015: ENCHANTMENT LAKES HIKE: CENTRAL CASCADES, ALPINE LAKE WILDERNESS, ENCHANTMENT WILDERNESS

I'm a bit late in posting about our epic Enchantment Lakes trip which was back in August, but better late than never I suppose. It is almost time to enter the lottery again for the 2016 season, so I figured I should get these up before I have another year of photos to share! The trip was just as we'd expected. So so so breathtaking, and the most challenging hike most of us have ever done. We came in the from Icicle Creek Rd, coming in from the lower lakes instead of tackling Aasgard Pass and the Colchuck Trailhead. We did this because our camping permits were only for the snow lakes area, so we could only set up camp here. We figured we'd come in, tackle the biggest first climb, sleep at upper snow lake, and then hike around the next day without all our gear in the upper enchantments. This was essentially a good plan and worked out, but we could have really used an extra day, and I realize even more now why the "core" lottery permits are so hard to come by. It would be nice to be able to move through the lakes with several days, and camp wherever there are spots.

Re-organizing before packing everything in to the other car. "Don't need that, don't need that, don't need that".... You know, that kind of re-organizing.