Enchantment Lakes - 23 hour death march (hiking pics)
NorthCascades
Posts: 10,968 Member
The 'Chants are the most coveted hiking and climbing destination in my state, and probably either of our neighbors. Every year 50,000 people apply for overnight permits; 27 are allowed to camp per night for the roughly 4 months it isn't fully buried in snow. I've been trying for 10 years, finally decided if I'm going to see it with my own eyes, I'll have to do it as a day hike.
I've long been intimidated by the prospect, I didn't think it was possible except for the very strongest few. The place, known locally as Shangri La, has a reputation for being heartbreakingly beautiful, but unspeakably difficult. Everybody says it's harder than you can begin to imagine, and even hearing that for a decade, I didn't appreciate how tough (or gorgeous) it would be.
It took us 4 hours to go 1 mile. This was after the trail ended, picking our way up an endless boulder field in the hot sun. I was on the verge of heat exhaustion at times, then we made it to Aasgard and both started shivering.
I brought 3 friends, we mostly split up, and we were able to leave a car on each end of the route. (It's 2 trails and cross country between them.)
In short: we hiked a rude trail which took us to a portal to another world.
In the upper basin, this feeling came over me, I could die there and then and it would be perfectly fine. I still regret leaving.
The upper basin was austere. Rocks, tundra grass, and lakes and streams with perfect stepping stones. You couldn't design a better place. The lower basin had more life, mostly larch trees. Photography and poetry have no power here, it's an impossible place to capture. There's no way to understand without experiencing it.
Because we took so long coming in, and because Jack wanted to enjoy evening light in the high meadows, we got benighted. It wasn't exactly planned, but we knew it was a distinct possibility and came prepared. We hoped to make it out of the really dangerous parts before dark, and were mostly successful. We hiked through the night and finally arrived at the road just after dawn. We got lost a few times in the woods, crossing talus and camps (with many side trails), but we took turns having common sense, and I brought a GPS.
I saw a shooting star from the spillway between Snow Lakes. How often do you get that on a day hike? 🙂
My Garmin credits me with 29 miles; 6,800' of ascent; 8,900' of descent. 22 hours 40 minutes car to car! We never stopped for more than about 10 minutes at a time, and not many times.
No trip to the Enchantments would be complete without goats.
Jack looking at our immediate future.
This kid was cute.
Aasgard
I didn't realize the upper basin would be a river!
Perfection Lake
I was going for contrast between the warm evening light at the top of the frame, and the cold blue water. I wound up cropping from the top and maybe ruined the effect I was going for.
My buddy, in the lower basin.
Did I mention the waterfalls?
It was very important for us to get below the infamous via ferrata section before dark. They put rebar in after somebody died here descending in the rain. Neither of us wanted to test our luck descending by headlamp. But we made it in plenty of time and didn't need to use the rods; slabby fun land is made of grippy granite.
Jack takes in the very long march ahead of us as sunset spreads across the far ridge.
A mom and her kid. So many goats!
This is what the last ten miles looked like.
I've long been intimidated by the prospect, I didn't think it was possible except for the very strongest few. The place, known locally as Shangri La, has a reputation for being heartbreakingly beautiful, but unspeakably difficult. Everybody says it's harder than you can begin to imagine, and even hearing that for a decade, I didn't appreciate how tough (or gorgeous) it would be.
It took us 4 hours to go 1 mile. This was after the trail ended, picking our way up an endless boulder field in the hot sun. I was on the verge of heat exhaustion at times, then we made it to Aasgard and both started shivering.
I brought 3 friends, we mostly split up, and we were able to leave a car on each end of the route. (It's 2 trails and cross country between them.)
In short: we hiked a rude trail which took us to a portal to another world.
In the upper basin, this feeling came over me, I could die there and then and it would be perfectly fine. I still regret leaving.
The upper basin was austere. Rocks, tundra grass, and lakes and streams with perfect stepping stones. You couldn't design a better place. The lower basin had more life, mostly larch trees. Photography and poetry have no power here, it's an impossible place to capture. There's no way to understand without experiencing it.
Because we took so long coming in, and because Jack wanted to enjoy evening light in the high meadows, we got benighted. It wasn't exactly planned, but we knew it was a distinct possibility and came prepared. We hoped to make it out of the really dangerous parts before dark, and were mostly successful. We hiked through the night and finally arrived at the road just after dawn. We got lost a few times in the woods, crossing talus and camps (with many side trails), but we took turns having common sense, and I brought a GPS.
I saw a shooting star from the spillway between Snow Lakes. How often do you get that on a day hike? 🙂
My Garmin credits me with 29 miles; 6,800' of ascent; 8,900' of descent. 22 hours 40 minutes car to car! We never stopped for more than about 10 minutes at a time, and not many times.
No trip to the Enchantments would be complete without goats.
Jack looking at our immediate future.
This kid was cute.
Aasgard
I didn't realize the upper basin would be a river!
Perfection Lake
I was going for contrast between the warm evening light at the top of the frame, and the cold blue water. I wound up cropping from the top and maybe ruined the effect I was going for.
My buddy, in the lower basin.
Did I mention the waterfalls?
It was very important for us to get below the infamous via ferrata section before dark. They put rebar in after somebody died here descending in the rain. Neither of us wanted to test our luck descending by headlamp. But we made it in plenty of time and didn't need to use the rods; slabby fun land is made of grippy granite.
Jack takes in the very long march ahead of us as sunset spreads across the far ridge.
A mom and her kid. So many goats!
This is what the last ten miles looked like.
17
Replies
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Gorgeous pictures!! Sounds like an amazing experience.1
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Oh my god! Simply amazing! You are something else, sounds like such beautiful and really trying hike. Thanks for posting and for the pictures too!2
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Great pics! Hike sounds beautiful and difficult. Night hiking is something that a lot of people don't do but it has its own amazing rewards.
Also feeling a bit jealous. I've had a couple of injuries this summer and haven't been hiking as much as I planned.
Thanks for sharing!1 -
So much beauty to behold........your photography is wonderful, thank you for a peek into such a glorious place.... a place most of us will never tread!1
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Wow! Fantastic place and beautiful pictures. Thank you for adding to my bucket list lol1
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I spent 50 of my 60 years living in the Pacific Northwest, but have lived in Oklahoma for the past 10 years. Thank you for posting the wonderful pics. Everything that is grand and majestic about the Northwest. Feeling a bit homesick for the beauty.2
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Sounds like an amazing experience. Awesome pictures.1
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Thanks for the photos @NorthCascades - I die a little inside when I think that I have to get on an airplane to get anywhere near something like that. Beautiful just doesn't cut it.1
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lalalacroix wrote: »Great pics! Hike sounds beautiful and difficult. Night hiking is something that a lot of people don't do but it has its own amazing rewards.
Also feeling a bit jealous. I've had a couple of injuries this summer and haven't been hiking as much as I planned.
Thanks for sharing!
Sorry to hear about the injury. You'll come back stronger and with more determination. 🙂
You know I've always avoided night hiking, especially through rocky terrain. It was much easier than I expected. I bright a bike headlight that was an artificial sun, and a battery pack which just barely keyed through the night. It made playing "where's the next cairn?" a lot easier.
I might do some hikes that'll put me in a summit for sunrise or sunset after this.2 -
Stunning, h.1
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Thanks for sharing that. I'm too old to hike like that but enjoy seeing your pictures!!1
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NorthCascades wrote: »My Garmin credits me with 29 miles; 6,800' of ascent
Damn!1 -
OhioViking79 wrote: »Wow! Fantastic place and beautiful pictures. Thank you for adding to my bucket list lol
Ha ha, I hope you have better luck with the permit lottery than I did. If so, I'd love to join you. 🙂
If you ever do decide to go don't hesitate to reach out for info for planning purposes.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »My Garmin credits me with 29 miles; 6,800' of ascent
Damn!
The 10k down was real hard on my knees, too. Oddly I never hurt anywhere near as much as I expected to.
I took your good advice about shoes. Tore then up pretty good but it was worth it.1 -
Awesome! So glad you got to go and planned appropriately so you stayed safe. Thx for the pics, as always.1
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Wow. Thank you for sharing the photos: So amazing, and I hear what you're saying about photos not being able to capture it.
You wrote:I've long been intimidated by the prospect, I didn't think it was possible except for the very strongest few.
And you learned something very cool about who you are, too. Kudos!
(Bolded emphasis mine.)
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NorthCascades wrote: »lalalacroix wrote: »Great pics! Hike sounds beautiful and difficult. Night hiking is something that a lot of people don't do but it has its own amazing rewards.
Also feeling a bit jealous. I've had a couple of injuries this summer and haven't been hiking as much as I planned.
Thanks for sharing!
Sorry to hear about the injury. You'll come back stronger and with more determination. 🙂
You know I've always avoided night hiking, especially through rocky terrain. It was much easier than I expected. I bright a bike headlight that was an artificial sun, and a battery pack which just barely keyed through the night. It made playing "where's the next cairn?" a lot easier.
I might do some hikes that'll put me in a summit for sunrise or sunset after this.
Yeah you really should. I find it quite a bit spooky to hike at night and obviously there is an additional chance for injury and getting lost. I've had to turn around due to such rocky terrain because it didn't seem wise to continue. And I've encountered a couple of animals last second that scared the crap out of me, but I think of that as part of the hike.
Starting hikes before sunrise is really amazing! It's incredible to watch the sky light up when surrounded by mountains. We are possibly going on a early morning hike on Sunday to a lake surrounded by tall peaks. We will be bringing our 12 year old. She loves to hike early in the day, mostly cause she loves wearing her headlamp.3
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