Just Wow - The Enchantments are pure magic

You know what is a good idea to do on a 104 degree day with an excessive heat warning? Go for a 20 mile thru hike with 5000+ft of elevation gain and 7000+ft of descent. Don't you want to travel with us? We have been told that The Enchantments are the Crown Jewel of Washington. Nature has carved out a paradise of granite worn smooth by glaciers, blue lakes strung together by a tumbling and roaring stream, curious mountain goats, all surrounded by snow capped peaks. So, despite the less-than-perfect weather, we decided to go for it. 

We started off the day with an alpine start: 2:45am alarm to be hiking by 4:00am. Here's a pro tip from Dan: Don't have spicy tacos for dinner the day before a big hike 😉 As planned, we hit the trail to Colchuck Lake by 4am-ish and were able get to some viewpoints in time to see the sun lighting up the mountain summits.

Alpine start - partway up we started to have a little bit of natural light

Some trail love

We arrived at Colchuck Lake in time to see the sun's rays lighting up the summits. This lake is set between two of Washington's tallest peaks and is an alpine gem. At baseline, this lake is picture perfect, but to see the sun on the summits and how it reflected on the water was extra sweet. 

The reflection of the sun hitting the summits at Colchuck Lake - looks like gold

The view of Aasgard Pass from Colchuck Lake 

After soaking in the beauty of Colchuck Lake, we made our way around the lake towards the fabled Aasgard Pass. The hiking community talks about what a buttkicker going up the pass is. You climb 1900ft in 1 mile up a scree and boulder filled slope. Luckily, if you get up early, you can ascend the pass while it is still in the shade. We did not find the pass all that terrible (when you are used to hiking in the East, you know how to go straight up as opposed to the switchbacks in the West.

Aasgard Pass

A boulder field heading towards Aasgard Pass

Alpine flowers grow in harsh conditions 

Aasgard Pass still in the shade

Checking out the view from the top of the pass.

At the top of the pass, we saw our 1st mountain goat.

At the top of the pass, we had views to both the north and south. As much as we wanted to linger to soak in the views, we needed to keep moving as it is a long hike. Plus, we had heard so many cool things about the Core that we couldn't wait to experience it. A note about mountain goats - they hang out very close to the trail because they like salty things (like sweaty humans): apparently they can be a little aggressive so you are supposed to give them a wide berth and say "hey goat" when you see them. 

This was one of the 1st alpine lakes that we reached in the Core.

There was lots of snow, but everything was manageable without any gear - although poles were helpful.

Dan went around this goat while chatting to it.

I'm pointing out some goats in this picture. It was so hot that they had the right idea of laying down in the snow.

There was water almost the whole way, so we just treated it as we went so we didn't have to carry as much.

There are glacial erratics everywhere. The trail in the Core is marked by long poles because the snow gets so deep.

The Core is so breathtaking!

As you hike along in the Core, you come to lake after blue green pristine lake. Just when we thought there couldn't be another gorgeous lake, we would round a corner and come upon another crystal clear blue green lake. It was super hot, so we kept soaking our hats and shirts in the water to cool off. I actually would dunk my whole head too. One thing that you can't see in the pictures are the swarms of mosquitoes. It definitely helped to keep moving when there wasn't a breeze. We just tried to embrace the blood donation to the environment 😜

The lakes are a surreal blue green color and there are so many of them.

Water crossings were tricky with all of the snow melt - we had very wet feet!

Between each lake was usually some sort of waterfall or roaring creek.

There were only a few "dry foot" bridges like this one.

So many alpine flowers!

We found a lunch spot without too many bugs and a little shade.

Dunking my head (and hat and shirt) to stay cool 😎

We definitely did not keep our feet dry on this water crossing.

Looking down on the Snow Lakes (the 2nd to last set of lakes). From Snow Lakes, we had about another 7-8 miles left to hike with lots of elevation loss. 

A barely intact snow bridge

Cool glacial erractics are balanced everywhere

Another one of many tricky water crossings

A baby mountain goat (kid) snacking

Taking a dip in Upper Snow Lake

We took an extra long break at Upper Snow Lake to swim, eat, and soak our feet. It was helpful to wait out the heat of the day there before the long, hot hike out.

This the last set of lakes before the long, hot descent.

Trees get so big around here

Yay! Another dry foot water crossing.

I couldn't resist another dip

Holy hot hiking! Glad to be at the trailhead.

The shuttle service picked us up and drove us back to our car. The AC felt soooo good!

Back in town, we got pizza (Kara) and brats (Dan). Dan had been talking about getting a bratwurst for the 2nd half of the hike, so it was great when he was able to get one. Of course, we capped our meal off with ice cream. Dan and I practically knocked each other over as we raced to crawl into bed. Once our heads hit our pillows, we dreamed about the magic of The Enchantments - they are spectacular.