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Enchantments Lake Basin, September 2003
Chad and I had been hearing about the Enchantments Lake Basin in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of north central Washington state since we were in junior high, and it was high time to go check the area out for ourselves. It is difficult to get permits for this hugely popular area, so we considered ourselves lucky to have a permit for the adjoining Snow Lakes area. Every morning the Leavenworth Ranger Station holds a permit lottery where they release 5 Enchantments permits. We showed up in the morning with our fingers crossed, and ended up being the first name drawn. Hardly believing we scored an Enchantments permit, we took off from the trailhead and started climbing. And continued climbing. And climbed some more. It is a long slog, over 5300 feet of vertical gain over 10 miles (we went in from the east, going past Nada and Snow lakes). After 6 hours we reached Leprechaun Lake and found a gorgeous campsite nestled in some trees and granite a few feet above the lake off the beaten trail. The next few days were spent on day hikes over to Aasgard Pass, Prusik Pass, and down to Crystal Lake, fishing, reading, and soaking up the stunning beauty of the area. Highly recommended. Note: it is technically possible to get a permit for Snow Lakes and do day hikes over to the Enchantments (that was our original plan) but it is a steep, rugged hike from Snow Lakes up to the Enchantments. You probably wouldn't want to do it several days in a row. Definitely try your luck at the permit lottery, or fill out your permit application early.
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