Two weeks ago, a friend and I had plans to hike into the Enchantment Lakes region of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness near Leavenworth, WA, to climb an easy alpine classic; Prusik Peak has a striking ridgeline, and is one of the most photographed peaks in Washington state. My buddy and I have aspirations to some harder routes in the alpine, and being new to each other, we want to hit some easier objectives before striking out on more committing lines. For you non-climbers; that’s about making sure you move safely and efficiently as a team. Prusik Peak has great quality rock, some nice exposure (some of us think of exposure as nice!), and awesome views. And, Prusik Peak is just plain pretty:
Prusik Peak: The easy route goes up the left skyline at 5.7, ~5 pitches
note: i took all these pics in high-resolution; click images for more detail!
The Enchantment Lakes area is ruled by a strict permit system from June 15 through October 15, to keep the numbers of people tromping about down to a dull roar. Without this limitation, this pristine and sensitive alpine region would be literally loved to death. There are only 60 hikers a day allowed up there during permit season, and the rangers told me that for the 2015 permit lottery this spring, over 12,000 applications came in from all over the world. HOLY GUACAMOLE! I don’t like being limited on where I can go in the wild, but in this area, I’m all for the permit system. If ya wanna get in there, do it outside of the permit date span, or be ready to apply for a permit next year between Feb 15 and March 2. And have plan B ready, because the odds are low!
I spent the two weeks prior getting a bunch of amazing backcountry food prepared (recipes posting on the blog soon!) and we got all geared up to go.
But… no.
The weather decided to turn soggy, which for this exposed ridgeline is a game-stopper. We bailed on the peak-climbing plan, but I had the entire week free (my birthday!), had all this food prepped, and I’ve wanted to get into The Enchantments for years. So I decided to go in on a solo trip.
Frankly, I was both disappointed and relieved that my climbing buddy bailed on the backpacking-without-peak trip. I haven’t told him that yet… so don’t spill the beans. See, this trip involved more than one objective for me: Aside from climbing a fun alpine route (now planned for June!), it was a litmus test for me; I had no idea if I could actually handle carrying a big pack up 5500 feet over ten miles in one day, and I didn’t want to find out I couldn’t, with anyone else nearby! I know my climbing partner would’ve been cool with it, but… this was easier on my ego, and it made for a worry-free hike in.
Why the concern about carrying a big load? When I got sick with Hashimoto’s, I couldn’t do anything physical; climbing a flight of stairs became nearly impossible. Seriously! For someone who previously enjoyed trail running above 10,000 feet for 2-4 hours a day, this was a tough change. For a few years, I tried to get back to hiking, trail running and yoga, and was stopped every time – my body just couldn’t handle it. I’ll leave the physiology of that for other spaces, but suffice to say that with autoimmunity, sometimes a person’s body has severe micronutrient deficiencies, metabolic issues, and core-level exhaustion, and it feels like pulling a two-ton sled just to get from bed to kitchen.
The Pig, sometimes affectionately called “Piggiletta”
The kinds of trips I want to do involve a big multi-day pack with climbing gear added into the mix – you’re looking at 40-70 pounds of backpack on a petite 115 pound frame (moi). So you can imagine how nervous I was about this trip – I used to do stuff like this all the time, but it had been about 6 years and a world of hurt in the meantime.
So on my solo venture, I decided to break it up a little; do what I could, push my limits, and see what happened. The first night, I hiked in three miles and 1400 feet vertical to a sweet little campsite, perched under a famous rock climbing route called Outer Space (also on my hit list). It felt really good to put The Pig down at camp! There were a lot of switchbacks getting up there, and I knew I had a whole lotta that coming in the next few days.
a beautiful slow stream crossing in the woods
snail on the trail!
Next morning I woke to an all-day misting rain, and slogged up about 6.5 miles and 2600 feet vertical to upper Snow Lake; I wanted to go higher, but it would’ve meant a really big push late in the day to reach the next good campsite. I opted to stop at Snow Lake, and spend a sweet evening enjoying the view of surrounding peaks, listening to nearby waterfalls as they cascaded down the valley walls. The evening was topped off nicely with a frothy cup of coconut milk chai (recipe posting soon!):
coconut milk chai… heavenly!
The next day would be my push to get up to the high basin, where I’d basecamp for a few days and explore the magical, alpine, Enchantment Lakes region famous for mountain goats galore, alpine larch, and the other-worldly, Tolkein- and Arthurian-esque views that had inspired names such as Lake Viviane, Gnome Lake, Naiad and Sprite Lakes, Aasgard Pass, and Dragontail Peak. Yeah!
I woke to a gorgeous sunrise over Snow Lake:
sunrise over Snow Lake
On day three, I started out early, hoping to get up high in time to explore a bit before the snow got too soft. So far there hadn’t been snow on the trail. As I climbed, there started to be some drifts, and it took frequent searching to keep on the trail proper. At one such stop, out of nowhere I heard a friendly, “Hello!”. This voice totally surprised me. I answered “Hello!”, not sure where the voice had come from. Then I heard, “I’ve broken my ankle and I’m waiting for a rescue!”
Errrrkayyyy.
I turned around and (ooh, there’s the trail!) there was a young woman perched on a rock with all her gear spread out, smiling and waving. A total surprise! For the deets on the ensuing helicopter rescue that I took part in, click here!
Anne being lifted up
Anne nearing the helicopter
Fast forward five hours:
The helicopter flew away, and suddenly the absolute quiet of the wilderness seemed almost loud… have you ever experienced that type of thing? The sudden silence comes crashing in on you like a wave. I’d been crouching down to avoid the loud wind from the helicopter rotors, and moments after it flew away, I was suddenly ALONE in this amazing, quiet, wild place… I stood there for a moment, and asked myself, “Did that really just happen?”
So I shouldered my pack (*grunt*) and continued up the trail into the basin, emerging from treeline at Lake Viviane, a picturesque alpine lake nestled under a long, circular cliff-band below towering Prusik Peak. It was so exciting to finally be out of the forest and into the alpine zone!
View of Leprechaun Lake from helicopter landing rock. My camp is just down the hill toward the lake.
I pushed up for another mile, and popped out at Leprechaun Lake (6900′). It had snowed in the past few days, and on the way up, the only tracks I’d seen were those of Anne who’d been flown out (obvious from her small prints!), those from two guys who’d bailed off Prusik Peak (they’re in the rescue post), and the two sets from the Mountain Rescue guys who’d been flown into the high basin and hiked down to us. They were the only ones using hiking poles, so they were easy to pick out. I followed the rescue guys’ tracks up through the snow to a rocky knoll, where the footprints ended… and realized that was right where the helicopter had landed to drop them off. How cool would it be to hop out and suddenly be in the wild, beautiful alpine zone? Elevator up, please!
Once I got to Leprechaun Lake, I dropped my pack and cruised around looking for a campsite – it’s still pretty snowy up there, and there were very few dry spots to be found. I really didn’t want to camp on snow. After a wander, I found the one flattish, snow-free spot in the basin, near where I’d dropped my pack. Woot! Camp it was! I set up my tent and prepared a well-earned dinner.
my home for two days, with Prusik Peak in the background
The next day was my birthday, and I planned to day hike up to Aasgard Pass to see if it was truly as steep and unforgiving as everyone reports. And, I wanted to take a look at the back side of Dragontail Peak, which is one of the longer objectives on the hit list for the summer.
Birthday morning dawned with a cloudless blue sky! I packed up a daypack, grabbed my poles, and took off. I wandered up through the upper Enchantments toward Aasgard Pass, oggling at the gorgeous peaks and pristine (yet still-frozen) lakes as I went. It sure felt good to walk without The Pig! I had some delicious chocolate as my birthday cake – earl grey green tea-infused dark chocolate… so good!
“birthday cake” with a killer view
This place is much different in late-spring conditions than in summer. All the lakes were frozen, with a small portion at the outlets melted out. There was snowcover everywhere but the highest knolls. I’m planning to go back this summer, and I look forward to seeing how it changes with the seasons!
Alpine Larch just starting to bud its needles. I thought all these trees were dead, until I realized they were all Larch with fresh needles just starting to come out! How cool! Click the image for a better view.
snowbridge – see the tracks on the left?
The hike through the basin was under bluebird skies, so hot I took it down to my tank top! I love me some vitamin S (S for Sunshine!). When I got to Aasgard Pass, it immediately got cloudy and windy, so I bundled up and spent about 20 minutes checking out the views before heading back down. Here’s the view down Aasgard toward Colchuck Lake, the other approach into The Enchantments. Where the slope rolls off to where you can’t see it, it becomes much steeper, requiring crampons in icy conditions:
Colchuck lake from Aasgard Pass
And the view in the opposite direction, looking out toward McClellan Peak and Little Annapurna:
McClellan Peak and the left side of Little Annapurna from Aasgard Pass. Those are my tracks coming up the basin.
Before I left, a nice man came up the pass, and he took my photo for me. Yes, that’s a mountain goat in my shirt; her name is Ruby, she’s my escort:
me and Ruby the goat on Aasgard Pass
On the hike down, I got to see one of the classic shots of Prusik Peak; viewed from the high basin, sitting pretty with all that alpine splendor surrounding it:
I got back to camp in early afternoon, and heard voices up above; turns out two guys were climbing Prusik Peak right above my campsite! I grabbed my binoculars, hiked up onto a knoll, and watched them ascend the peak from my perch. It was a great way to spend my b-day afternoon!
Next day, I woke to a thick fog for the hike down. It made the alpine environment feel mystical, and reminded me why this area has names with a fantasy-esque flair. Here’s a shot of the outlet to Lake Viviane, as I passed it on the way down into the trees:
mysterious Lake Viviane on the hike down. all that white in the background is snow covering the lake ice.
I hiked out to the trailhead in a drizzle. It’s an unforgiving 11 miles, with 5500 feet of elevation to lose. I’ve never been much of a hiking pole user, but I’m grateful to have had them this time; they saved my knees on this long descent! On the way out, I saw some pretty sights:
I was thankful for this great bridge!
Avalanche lilies on the way out
My car was a welcome sight, as were the dry, clean clothes I’d left in there for the drive home. A successful journey, a really cool adventure with the helicopter rescue, and I found out I’m totally capable of carrying The Pig up into the hills again!
Stay tuned… two weeks later I went in to climb Mount Shuksan, and had a different sort of adventure! Post coming soon!
Parting shot: The best birthday view ever!
Prusik Peak from my tent. Not bad for a front porch view! Happy Birthday to me!
