If you only get one backpacking trip per year, one year soon you should go to the Enchantment Lakes area of the north Cascade Mountains in Washington.
Most of Washington's alpine lakes are between 4000' and 6000'. The Enchantment Basin sits above 7000', and the difference is striking. No tree-lined shores crammed with Slide Alder and berry bushes. No muddy trails through forests with only occasional views of other parts of the forest.
The Enchantments could easily inspire a sci-fi illustrator to create a vision of the surface of some distant, hostile planet. The predominant plantlife is rock. Lots of rock that looks like bulldozers left a project half-done.
The six main lakes and dozens of small tarns are strewn along two miles of basin that slopes from 6800' at the lower basin to 7800' at the upper basin. The lower basin has Alpine Larch trees, grass and moss along the lakes' shores. The upper basin has none of those pleasantries. The raw granite extends from the tops of the surrounding peaks right down into the near-freezing water of the lakes. Supposedly, this basin held a glacier, until about 50 years ago.
Photo: [Top] Very cold, clear water from Perfection Lake spills into Leprechaun Lake in the lower basin. [Bottom] Our camp in the upper basin, with not a tree in sight.
Campsites are not designated, but you won't find many places to camp that haven't been heavily used. The lower basin has tree-shaded campsites; in the upper basin look for tent-sized gravel circles, the only flat, sandy places in the basin.
You can get to the basin two ways, or make a semi-loop out of it. Whichever way you go in, you can go out the other way and car-shuttle, or hitchhike, or walk the road back to your starting point. Be sure you leave a few hours to explore the whole basin. Each lake has its own character, and every one is picturesque.
Starting at Eightmile, and coming up through the Colchuck Lake area, the trailhead is higher and therefore closer to the elevation of the basin. The downside is that you gain almost half the elevation, 2200', in 1.5 miles from Colchuck Lake to the top of Aasgard Pass, a slow scramble through a boulder field with no trail, just rock cairns. If you go this way, stay well to the left, against the cliff wall, until you are above 7000'. Take your time and be careful. There are campsites just east of Aasgard Pass, below Tranquil Lake, and many more along the way to the lower basin. (There are probably 20 nice campsites in the basin. Take a minute to choose one that is comfortable and not right beside the trail.)
Starting at Snow Creek, the trailhead is about 2000' lower in elevation, but the elevation is gained gradually. The trail from Icicle Creek Road to Snow Lakes is the usual, forested Cascade trail. Then the trail breaks out into high country with a short, steep ascent into the lower basin. There's a nice campsite on the shores of Lake Viviane, with the Temple and Prusik Peak towering over you.
A worthwhile side trip is the short climb to Prusik Pass, for the close-up view of Prusik Peak. On a decent weekend day, you'll be able to watch climbers making their way to the top of this spire of rock, from there hoping to ascend the neighboring Temple, 8292'. One of the best campsites in the area is along the way to Prusik Pass from Perfection Lake. Just north of the meadow, look for a very large boulder with trees growing around it. There are at least three excellent campsites here, with a water supply trickling right by them.
This is a heavily restricted permit area for day hiking and backpacking. Camping permits must be reserved in advance through the Leavenworth RS (phone number linked at left). Read about permits in the Enchantment Zone in the March 1998 Cool Trails Newsletter. You can do this loop as a day hike, if you have the endurance for it.
Getting there: You can enter the basin from either the Snow Creek trailhead or the Eightmile trailhead, both on Icicle Creek Road, which intersects US 2 in Leavenworth.
Note: This is backcountry wilderness travel. Any trail can become very dangerous in winter conditions. You are responsible for informing yourself of the hazards and taking the necessary precautions. Please read Terms of Use.