Enchantment Lakes: Day 1

I'm back! And here to tell you all about our hiking trip in the Enchantments. It feels like forever ago (cause it was), and I've probably blocked out all the painful parts, but I'll do my best to tell you all about it.

We left Thursday after work and headed to Leavenworth with Matt and Gemma. We were all pretty anxious/excited/not quite sure what to expect as we mentally prepared on the ride up. After getting to the hotel (the oh so glamorous Bavarian Ritz), we found the rest of the group already checked in. We then proceeded to go from room to room to see how everyone else had packed and feel how heavy our packs were. We made plans for the morning, and called it an early night.

The next morning, we got up early and met at the Bavarian Starbucks for one last dose of civilization. I was nervous, and everyone laughed when I said so.

We left for the trailhead at about 8am. We downed some homemade banana bread and chocolate muffins (thanks, Amanda!) and weighed our packs with a luggage scale. The night before I had the lightest of the group, but after I finished packing and filled up my water, I ended up with the heaviest out of the girls...36.7 pounds, ouch! Clint won heaviest pack out of the group with an impossible weight of about 45 pounds. Isn't he great carrying all the heavy stuff for me?

Alpine Lakes Wilderness trailhead

mmm, baked goods

reading up on trail conditions

Gemma and Matt

Matt, Matt and Duane looking oh so happy

Ben weighing his bag

Clint weighing his monstrous bag

group shot before hitting the trail

We got started on the trail around 9am. The first mile or so is pretty grueling...steep and not much to look at. So, right off the bat you're hating your life decisions. We made quite a few stops to catch our breath as a group, then continued on.

here we go!

looking back down at the street and
trailhead parking lot

Ben, Clint and Duane

Gemma and Amanda

The weather turned out to be perfect for us. Even though it was cloudy, it made it cool enough to hike in while not getting rained on.

After a couple miles, we got past the steep part and stopped for a real break. We had a quick snack, took a look at the map, and then it was back to the trail.

yay hiking!

figuring out where we are

first sign of pretty scenery

pains me now to even look at that pack

treacherous hiking

Duane and Matt

crossing over Snow Creek

Around noon, we stopped for lunch. We were about halfway to the lake where we'd set up camp, and I was quickly getting tired. The break for lunch helped, although putting that pack back on after taking it off to rest was miserable. My shoulders and hips were aching, but I wasn't about to be the weakest link, so I kept quiet and hiked on.

 

sometimes the trail didn't even look like a trail...

close up of Godzilla rock

marching along

 

After almost a full day of hiking, we finally came to our first Lake! It was cool to finally see what we had come out there for, and definitely energizes you a bit. We took a little break to take pictures and check it out.

Nada Lake

the guys

and the girls

Clint not paying attention, weird

"like"

Even though we felt close, we still had a couple more hours before reaching Upper Snow Lake where we would camp...so, we kept moving.

view of the Snow Lake drainage - it regulates water
flow to the Leavenworth fish hatchery

Duane is strong, he does crossfit

ginormous shroom

hiking along the shore of Nada Lake

 

things got really rocky here

never-ending hike

checking out the Snow Lake drainage from up close

Over an hour later, we reached the Snow Lakes, right between Upper and Lower. We had made it! Along the trail, we came across an older couple doing the hike in the opposite direction as us, and they gave us a tip on a good place to set up camp. Now that we were here, we followed their directions to find it.

so much drift wood

Upper Snow Lake in the back

Lower Snow Lake

 

dam that separates Lower (left) from Upper (right)

cool drift wood everywhere

Clint stopping to filter some water from Upper Snow Lake

We found camp, and it was the perfect spot. Off the trail a bit so there would be no through traffic, and right on the shore of Lower Snow Lake. We had plenty of room, and started to set up the tents.

Clint at work while I supervised and documented

creating a clothesline

good job, Clint!

dinner menu, Backpacker's Pantry and
instant mashed potatoes - yum!

Once camp was set, it was time to eat! Clint and I started to get our dinner ready, and pulled out the carton of wine. The two Matts and Duane had gotten fishing licenses, so they got busy fishing. Matt (Storey) and Duane had all the luck catching 5 smaller fish for dinner, while Hagerman had none...whomp, whomp.

better luck next time

baiting the hook

slippery little suckers

got em

"like"

Clint happy watching while drinking his wine

Duane in his Mariner's bearded beanie drinking whiskey

coated with flour and spices

then fried up! yummy

dinner time

bug spray - camping necessity

whiskey - another necessity

Once we were all settled in with our dinners made and our comfy warm clothes on, we sat around where there would have been a campfire (they aren't allowed in the Enchantments) and relaxed. We compared war wounds...aches, pains, blisters...but we were just happy to have the first day behind us.

It started to get darker (and colder), so we all called it a night and headed to our sleeping bags to warm up. We were all exhausted, so even though I was laying in the dirt in the middle of nowhere, I was happy to finally get some rest and fell right asleep.