Enchantments Trail Running

I went out to run the Enchantments loop on June 27th, a popular loop for ultarunners and fast hikers who are unable to get one of the few camping permits in the Enchantments Basin. Kathy also went for a girls-weekend with Victoria, Kristin and Leah, and they planned to hike the loop the same day. We expected to run into each other at some point during the day, and meet for dinner at Gustav's afterwards.

I drove out to Leavenworth early Saturday and started my run from the Stuart Lake trailhead at 9am. I followed a nice trail through the forest up to Colchuck Lake, and rounded it in a counterclockwise direction, aiming for Aasgard Pass. At this point I was rock-hopping more than running. Snow covered part of Aasgard Pass, and waterfalls cascaded down along its right side. I headed straight up along the waterfall/stream, and after passing a rock outcropping on its right, I ascended some steep slabs that eventually became unclimbable and trapped me between rushing snowmelt and steep walls, and I retreated back down to the base of the outcropping. From there, I discovered that the hiker's trail went left, and followed it steeply up the left side of the pass.

At the top I took a breather and chatted with some climbers who were planning on scrambling up Dragontail. It looked inviting, but I had no crampons, ice axe or poles. Maybe next time. The Enchantment Basin was still mostly covered in snow, and I travelled cross country, aiming for Little Annapurna. I climbed easy slabs and snow to reach the summit, with beautiful views of McClellan, Prusik and the rest of the Enchantments. After a few minutes, I headed down and picked up a boot track through the snow towards the lower Enchantment Basin. Mountain goats greeted me. I caught up with Kathy and friends, and we agreed to meet at Gustav's after we had all finished.

I dropped down towards Snow Lake and started to run again, enjoying the 5000 feet of downhill ahead of me. Down, down, down. Near the Snow Lake trailhead, I started to feel the effects of the heat, and I enjoyed stopping at Icicle Creek and soaking my feet when I reached the trailhead. Unfortunately, I still needed to get back to my car at the Stuart Lake trailhead, which was 8 miles away and over one thousand feet higher.

I headed up the road, ready to be done, so I started thumbing for rides. After 15 minutes or so, I caught a ride up to Bridge Creek campground, and started the hike up the side road to Stuart Creek trailhead. On my way, I found a VW hubcap. I had noticed that my car was missing a hubcap the week before. Score! I could use this. I put the hubcap by a turnout in the road and kept hiking. A car came by and gave me a ride to the trailhead and my car. I was done.

I drove back down to the turnout to pick up the hubcap, but it was not there. Then I noticed that my car was missing two hubcaps. Hmmm. I drove to Gustav's, arriving at 6pm, and ate dinner. Kathy and friends showed up an hour later to join me, having completed their own Enchantment loop.

On Sunday, I drove back to Eight Mile TH and ran up to Windy Pass, on the shoulder of Cashmere. A 17 mile round trip, this trail was much more runnable than the Enchantment loop, and was a good complement to the run of the day before. At Windy Pass, the summit of Cashmere beckoned me from a short ways away - perhaps another day. I turned around and headed back. After a milkshake in Leavenworth, I was ready to head home.