21 miles of hiking • 6750' elevation gain • 3 nights
Took a few days to take advantage of our lottery permit to the Enchantments. After car camping the night before at nearby Lake Wenatchee SP (crowded - ugh), we left out of the Snow Lakes TH around 10 am and made it to Snow Lakes dam in about 5 hrs. Quite a long, steady, uphill climb. Passed over the dam, and then headed to the far southwest side of the lake in search of a campsite (per the advice of other hikers). We found what we thought was the perfect campsite, but after a little stand-off with a mountain goat, we retraced our steps to the other side of the lake and found the most beautiful campsite ever. A little shout-out of thanks to the goat - for we thought our new campsite could not be beat. Not only did we get to enjoy the lake to ourselves - but we got evening sun and morning sun - the best of both worlds. The next morning we got up and headed back to the SW side of Snow Lakes to head up to the Core Enchantments. We had a leisurely filled morning - and then headed out around 10am. We got the SW side of the lake, and ran into the SAME goat. We decided to let him win the stand-off (once again) - and we went back to the other side of the lake. He ended up following us the whole way (about a mile or so). We were able to easily scare him off with a stick - he just wanted to see what we were up to - very passive goat (thank goodness). We were able to meander around him and then head off on our day hike up to Lake Vivian. After a long trek up the mountain - we were able to persevere through the difficult route finding (snow, mud, and lack of trail) and make it to the top!! It was breathtaking at the top. Both of us were at a loss of words! We only stayed up top for a bit - enough to enjoy the views, but not long enough to overstay our welcome by some nearby goats. We headed back down the mountain through the snow, down across the footbridge, and back to the other side of the lake. We enjoyed the rest of the day (a few hours) by hanging out on our little rock - baking in the sun. We got huddled in for the night - but just as we were about to fall asleep - we were shocked to hear a visitor in our camp. The mountain goat was back - in search of salt and snacks. He meandered around for a while - but left peacefully. The next morning we got up early - enjoyed the warm sun while we ate our breakfast on the side of the lake - and then packed up and prepared to leave. We were about an hour into our hike back when we ran into a huge group of mountain goats with kids - about 12 in total. All of them scurried off fairly quickly - except for one stubborn mama and kid - which lingered for about 15 min. We were able to get them to move off the trail (peacefully) and we passed them with ease! We ended up making it back down to the car around noon - just before the heat of the day really set in. We had an amazing time, unbelievable weather, and are looking forward to our next trip back. Enjoy the photos!
Comments
Pics are now up...and Heather forgot to mention the fact that the campsite goat did decide to nibble on the grips of our trekking poles which we out for the night in our 'closet' - in search of a salty snack i think he quickly realized that cork and foam were not what he was really after! There was a GREAT little pool that we got to cool off our feet in before heading back to the car for the drive home just below the TH...I really needed that as it was over 90 degrees by the time we arrived a the car. Also for those who haven't been to/through Leavenworth - the speed limit is ONLY 35 mph and very heavily enforced (I would know as I got pulled over less than 2 miles from the TH)...luckily he let me off with a warning as I told him I was in a daze after a few days in the backcountry and simply enjoying the scenery and gorgeous views/weather!
Chris
July 9, 2011
Awesome! It's kinda sad, but I'm surprised the snow is melted out there as much as it is :)
Chris
July 7, 2011
Pics or it didn't happen :)