This is Part 2 of our 5 day Enchantments backcountry camping experience. On day 1, we hiked to Colchuck Lake and then up Aasgard Pass into the Upper Enchantments Zone on day 2. Now over the next 3 days, we will be making our way further into the Core Enchantments.
Day 3
We wake up and break down our camp at Isolation Lake. We want to take full advantage of the 3 nights we have in the Core Zone so we intend to camp in each of the 3 Core basins. With that, we don't have very far to go today... we have around 2 miles +/- from the Upper to Middle Basin in front of us.
We make our way around Isolation Lake and Tranquil Lake. The rugged and mostly rocky landscape gives way to lush meadow and we catch our first glimpse of the amazing fall larch trees. The plateau ends abruptly with an amazing view over Crystal Lake below and from this point, the trail heads down a steep draw to Inspiration Lake.
We make it down to Inspiration Lake which has granite rising steeply on three sides. We continue just a bit further to Perfection Lake and find the perfect camp spot for the night. Our site sits above Perfection Lake with views of both Prusik Peak and McClellan Peak. We get our camp set up and then it's time to explore.
Since we only hiked a couple of miles so far today, we do a side hike to Pusik Pass which is a short hike from our camp. We hike around Inspiration Lake and then descend down to the shore of Perfection Lake. We pass through tall larches and grass meadows and begin our short ascent up the pass. It only takes around 30 minutes and we reach the pass which sits below Prusik Peak. It offers incredible views of all 3 Core Basins, the upper, middles and lower. This has to be our favorite view of the trip so far!!
We enjoy the view for a while before making our way back to camp and then head over to Inspiration Lake to take a swim and set up our hammocks to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. We have dinner on the lake shore before we head back to camp.
We watch the moon rise above Perfection Lake and then call it a night.
Day 4
Today we have another short distance in front of us. We only intend to hike another 2 miles +/- from the Middle Basin to the Lower Basin. We reluctantly pack up our camp above Perfection Lake and make the trek back around Inspiration Lake and down to the shore of Perfection Lake.
We make our way around Perfection Lake to Sprite Lake, which is connected to Perfection by a narrow slot of water. We take in one final view back upstream to Perfection Lake before continuing on. Further down the trail, we descend along a fast-flowing creek out of the Middle Enchantments.
The Lower Enchantments are marked by McClellan Peak on one side and Prusik Peak on the other. We make our way to Leprechaun Lake and find a great campsite near the lake. After we set up camp, we head nearby to Lake Viviane to have some lunch... we then explore the area, taking in all of the incredible views on our final day in the Core Enchantment zone.
Day 5
Today is sadly our final day in the Enchantments. We break down our camp and begin the very long, 10 mile hike from Leprechaun Lake back to our car at the Snow Lakes Trailhead. We make our way down to the bottom of Lake Vivian, and say our final goodbyes to the Core Enchantments before continuing on.
From here it is a very steep descent to the Snow Lakes trail. The stretch between Lake Viviane and Upper Snow Lake is long and slow going. At some points the trail even goes across slick granite slopes. Finally we made it down to the shores of Snow Lake. We continue around Upper Snow Lake to Lower Snow Lake before finally making our way down to Nada Lake.
The trail down to Nada Lake was steep again but nothing like the section between Vivian and Upper Snow Lake. We make our way around Nada Lake and things become pretty uneventful. The hike is mainly through the trees, following along a creek, down through the valley.
A little more than 5 very long miles later, we finally make it back to our car! We are both relieved and saddened to be finished. This has been an incredible experience and one that will stay with us forever!
We head into the town of Leavenworth to celebrate the amazing weekend!
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13 сен 2024
