Trail Report: The Enchantments Traverse, WA USA

You'll see a lot hiking 20 miles in 14 hours, and the Enchantments Traverse has a lot to offer! The trail report below was written by Women in the Wild member Corrine Graham as she recounts her thru-hike on September 14th, 2024. Photos were also taken by Corrine.

Stat Summary

Date Hiked: September 14, 2024

Distance: 20 miles / 32 km

Elevation Gain: +/-5000 feet / 1500 m

Time: 14 hours total including 2 hours of breaks

Season: July-October

Permits: Self-issued at the trailhead for day hikers. Overnight permits require a competitive lottery permit issued in February.

Trail Logistics

The Enchantments are typically thru hiked from the Colchuck Lake Trailhead to the Snow Lakes Trailhead. This allows for an ascent of Aasgard Pass (rather than descent) and saves ~1,000 feet of additional elevation gain if climbing from the Snow Lakes Trailhead. The trailheads are approx. 30-minute drive apart, making it relatively easy to self-shuttle. Alternatively, Leavenworth Shuttle provides shuttle service from the Snow Lakes Trailhead (https://www.leavenworthshuttle.com/mountain). I recommend leaving your vehicle at Snow Lakes Trailhead and shuttling in the morning so your car is waiting for you at the end.

Camping

Eightmile and Bridge Creek campgrounds are both on Icicle Road and provide easy access to both trailheads. Eightmile has 60% reservable sites and 40% first come first serve. Bridge Creek is first come first serve except the group site is reservable. We had a reserved campsite at Eightmile Campground for Friday night. This allowed for an early start and easy access to both trailheads.

The Hike

We arrived at the Snow Lakes Trailhead at 4:30 am to pick up our last hiking partner who stayed in Leavenworth the night prior. She had flown from Toronto to Abbotsford and driven down to Leavenworth just for this hike! We drove up to the Colchuck Lake Trailhead and began hiking at 5:30 am. Both trailheads were very busy as this is an extremely popular hike, especially in September.

Two hours and 2,000 feet of ascent brought us to the stunningly blue Colchuck Lake. Low clouds hovered over Dragontail Peak, providing a moody atmosphere as we assessed the infamous Aasgard Pass. We circumvented Colchuck Lake, hopping over massive boulders, and with nowhere to go but up began our ascent of the pass.

Aasgard Pass climbs over 2,000 feet in a mile, like taking the stair climber 2 steps at a time. The route is roughly marked by cairns but is generally a free for all as hikers try to find the surest footing through the scree. We each hiked at our own pace and by 11 am we were regrouped at the top, happy to finally be in the Core! It was quite chilly at the top, layers are definitely recommended for this hike, including a hat and gloves.

The Core Enchantments is one of the most idyllic and beautiful mountain settings in the Pacific Northwest. The best part of the entire hike is wandering around more than a dozen alpine lakes with names like Perfection, Leprechaun, and Inspiration while marveling at iconic Prusik, McClellan and Annapurna Peaks. We were a couple weeks early for larch madness. Having hiked the Core in 2020 in early October, I can attest that it is definitely worth seeing! Having started the hike as strangers, the three of us bonded over our shared excitement and wonder at the incredible landscape we were passing through.

After a foot soak and snack at Leprechaun Lake, we prepared for the inevitable descent to the Snow Lakes Trailhead. The trail is relatively easy to follow, with a few exposed sections and rock scrambling from Lake Viviane down to Snow Lakes. After Snow Lakes, the trail becomes easy to follow and continues down, and down, and down. One of our very fit hiking partners decided to trail run the last 5 miles in an effort to get back to Seattle at a decent time. The remaining two of us picked our way down the hill, lamenting sore joints and very tired feet. We watched a storm roll in up Icicle Creek and felt a few raindrops but dodged the majority of the storm and arrived at the Snow Creeks Trailhead just before dark at 7:30 pm.

Water

Available along the majority of the trail.

Facilities

There are backcountry toilets along the trail beginning at Colchuck Lake that are well signed and varying in privacy. No TP is provided.

Trip report and photos are by Corrine Graham.