Hiking the Enchantments in a Day! - Golden Larches and Alpine lakes galore

[@mendinghoop]

Thank you so much for sharing your thru hike. My wife and I thru hiked the Enchantments on Labor Day weekend 2022. It is so amazing to see it full of the fall larches! You've inspired us to consider thru hiking there during the fall to see the larches for ourselves. Congrats on your planning and preparation. So cool!

[@wanderingwashington]

Thank you, so glad you enjoyed! It is so worth doing the thru hike for fall colors, good luck!

[@karentomsovic5472]

Love your videos and your spirit. So glad you got to return to the Enchantments, and at larch time no less. Perfection!

[@mmoutdoors1]

This is a Washington classic! Did it earlier in the summer, snow lake was indeed overflowing when I went through. Love the golden larches. The last few miles were sooo tough lol I also hit Prusik pass and Little Annapurna as if the thru hike wasn’t enough for a day😂 looked like you had an awesome day and hike! Beautiful fall day there. I made a much shorter highlight video on my YT channel, this was a nice thorough overview of it👍👍 fun to relive it

[@millerbatson8769]

I just wanted to congratulate you on picking the perfect day for hiking the Enchantments. The larch trees were gorgeous especially near Perfection Lake. I was there for "Golden Week" in October 1995 with Peg and Bill Stark who visited 35 Octobers in a row. Thank you for pointing out Prussik Peak. Some years the huckleberry bushes are a brilliant red, and I'm not sure if they were for you. We did backpack it and that allowed some side trail exploration. Absolutely stunning video!

[@millerbatson8769]

More info on Prusik Peak (corrected spelling). It has it's own Wikipedia page and the classic view is from Gnome Tarn. A classic climb of Prusik is the left (west) ridge. Then further to the left is Prusik Pass which leads to the Lost World Plateau. One of the beauties of the Enchantments is all the side tours: check out the summits of Little Annapurna, Cannon mountain, and Edward Mesa. There are many explorations in the not so difficult granite basin.

[@millerbatson8769]

Oops I missed your "Backpacking the Enchantments: Episode 2" in which you took that awesome climb up Little Annapurna and the overlook of Crystal Lake. You were wise to turn around because of the long descent of Aasgard pass. Good luck getting to Gnome Tarn for the classic view of Prusik Peak.

[@mikemecklenborg5412]

I have hiked the Enchantments many times but not when the Larch Trees have turned Golden and not on a thru hike. I spent 3 to 4 days in the Upper Core. This allows me to really experience this enchanted place. Beautiful!!!

[@drewyager4020]

Congrats. What a great hike. Well done. Such amazing views

[@wanderingwashington]

Thank you! It really was an unforgettable experience

[@mikePNW]

Amazing! You crushed it!

[@look8766]

Congrats, Great job showing how difficult this through hike is! I wasn't aware of the shuttle service!

[@wanderingwashington]

Yeah, it's great there are a few options to help hikers plan for this. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@HikingwithGus]

It is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places in Washington. We were lucky enough to score a 5 day Core permit the second week in August this year. This is not however, a trail to take lightly, ain't no walk n the park. Enjoyed your video!

[@wanderingwashington]

Very true, I had the privilege of backpacking it in July, but I think I'll be drawn to this place any way I can get it!

[@HolisticHikes]

Really enjoyed this, we are in the lottery this year, fingers crossed, but not expecting to get it. Absolutely breathtaking footage, unfortunate about the bugs but hey! worth it as you showed!

[@wanderingwashington]

Best of luck!!!

[@markfenn]

Awesome video!!!

[@georgeriviere7887]

Is it feasible to hike to about ~Perfection Lake, then return to the Stuart Lake trailhead in one day (i.e. sacrifice the snow lakes portion of the trail to effectively turn the hike into a round trip day hike)? Going back down the pass probably kills the knees but just curios for the person who doesn't want to deal with shuttles and the accompanying logistics.

[@wanderingwashington]

It's feasible, really just depends on your personal choice in mileage and pace. A lot of people do it this way, climb up and down Aasgard for the day and go as far into the core as they feel like before tuning around. Going down Aasgard wasn't so bad to me, but it's really up to how comfortable you are on that terrain. But it is doable, the Enchantments is a long day any way you slice it. I have found that going down Aasgard over all is better on the knees because after that it's pretty smooth sailing.