Enchantment Lakes

On the Enchantment Lakes area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness:  getting a wilderness camping permit meant entering a lottery in January or February or taking our chances at getting one on the day we wanted to hike in.   If no one else showed up at 0700, the Forest Service would just give us the permit we wanted.  Phoebe & I arrived August 19 and stayed at Der Ritterhof Inn in Leavenworth so we could do that.  I arrived at 0635 to find that it opened at 0745.  I returned with Phoebe at 0735 to find ten people on the front stoop. The ranger came out at 0745 and ran the lottery.  She would grant one permit for each of five different permit areas:  Colchuck Lake, Stuart Lake, Snow Lakes, Caroline Lake and the Core Enchantments.  Two other parties vied with us for the Core Enchantments pass, which enables the party to camp anywhere.  We won the pass, which cost $5 per person per night.

Phoebe had read the trail descriptions from both the Stuart Lake and the Snow Lake trail heads.  The former, short and treacherous and the latter, long but eminently doable.  Descriptions abound on the web--no need to go into the bloody details of our trek from the latter.  The 10 mile/5500' elevation gain from the latter to lower Enchantment Lakes took a while.

Advice to photo bugs, charge your camera batteries or your camera and tripod will be just ballast.  More importantly, make sure your camera doesn't turn on accidentally if a button can be pushed through its soft case. Pictures taken almost entirely by Phoebe:

Ascent from Lake Viviane, construction rebar cemented into the rock assist with foot holds.

Touching the cairn at Upper Enchantment Lakes.

Pink/red snow glacier

Two of us at Little Annapurna

Warming to the sun after a brief dip

Under the umbrella and a mild drizzle at Snow Lake.

Lake Viviane rest stop.

Leprechaun Lake Tarp Camp

We carried our gear in 12 oz backpacks, a weight I had never considered capable of carrying 28 lb. (thanks, Rayjardine.com)    3000 cubic inches of main sack and 3 large mesh pockets were key features.  Hip belts, hydration ports--you add 'em if you want 'em.  No useless straps, buckles, and pockets

How we protected our food:  I carried a Garcia bear can--2 lb, 12 oz.  I wish I'd spent a little more time practicing with a bear bag, hanging between trees, using the PCT method or just even tossing a rock filled bag over a branch, as any of these methods would have chopped another 2 lb off our pack weight.  We could also have hung our food from the side of a cliff, though rodents could get at the food bag if bears couldn't.  Tip for bear can users:  the portion of the food consumed the first day need not fit into the can.  Breakfast:  Curried quinoa with tomato leather (dried tomato paste).  Snacks:  Beef Jerky (Costco), Trail mix (Trader Joes ABC & Trek mix), dried pears (a hit!).  Dinners:

1. Curried Lentils (Marketplace) with Kraft instant rice and tomato leather, Excellent
2. Veggie Chili (Marketplace) with barley,  Excellent
3. AlpineAire Pasta Roma, terrible, maybe b/c it was too old? or ?
4. Backpacker's Pantry Louisana Red Beans & Rice, Pretty good, but spendy

The raisins I'd unintentionally left on my kitchen counter, I know we would have enjoyed with any of our meals.

The sharp horned goats mostly minded their own business, but for situations where they wandered too close for comfort or where they were right in the middle of the trail, here's how we drove them away.  We:

1. Tossed rocks in their direction--no need to actually hit them as they'll willingly move away.
2. Yelled at them, though this didn't work that well.  Maybe simulating a dog barking might, as the prohibition of dogs from the Enchantment Lakes did precede a goat glut.
3. Beat a saucepan with a spoon.  This seemed to work very reliably.  Even a single beat made them move away.  Double or more beats made them run.  Combine with tossing rocks for really effective work.

RayWay long two person tarp with long net tent.  A palatial treasure marred only by a low 15" entrance--great for raccoons, terrible for people.  Modification to a 30" high entrance is in the cards.

Jeff's Gear list
RAIN Rain skirt 1, also for mosquito protection in camp
RAIN rain legs worked against mosquitoes, though they slid down for lack of rubber on the elastic at the tops.
t neck LL Bean Powerdry, black, mmm--warm
leg warmers-nylon, eh
sweat wrap for forehead
REI silk one socks for sleeping
PACK Ray Way 3000
SLEEPING RayWay alpine quilt
KNIFE Gerber light weight
paper, pencil
Firestarter: waxed paper
Beano
allergy Benadryl, Zyrtec, oxymetazoline
Camera Sony RX100
Pyrethrum soak for debugging apparel
Slik 500 tripod w/ball head
water: 1 liters
bug dope stick
insulated RayWay hat
neck warmer-windproof
iodine, vit C
modified first aid kit
toilet paper: 12 squares of double ply/day
lip balm (SPF 15+)
long bottoms Patagonia capilene
Jacket Cordillera 800 fill down jacket
tent stakes MSR
Sleeping Pad/Pacific Outdoor Equipment Peak Elite AC 72"x20"
Water container Powerade 32 oz
fuel, Snow Peak 110 gm can, empty weight: 87 gm
fuel, Snow Peak 220 gm can
Ti saucepan/lid EverNew .9L rubberbanded shut
bear canister Garcia
FOOD for trip
arm warmers-nylon
pack towel 9x25
Umbrella GoLite reflective
sunscreen cream or stick (SPF 30+)
Compass
toothbrush/paste, floss
soap & cleaning pad
stove Snow Peak Giga power
spoon plastic Kenyon
bowl, margarine tub
Phoebe's bowl & spoon
two trekking poles BlackDiamond CF (um, were used only as tarp poles, not for trek)
whistle
Food carried in Bear can: 10 lb.  Starting pack weight 28 lb. ending pack weight maybe 18 lb.

Below, Phoebe's gear list roughly estimated as I carried almost all food and she had some things like an eyeglass case, Canon compact camera/case, contact len solution and underarm deodorant.  Starting AND ending pack weight was about 19 lb.
PACK Ray Way 3000
Ray Way 2P XL net tent w/zipper
Ray Way long 2P tarp
Sleeping Bag Campmor 15 deg mummy
SLEEPING PAD Z-REST
KNIFE Leatherman Style
Pyrethrum soak for debugging apparel
water: liters
bug juice
headlamp
map
toilet paper: 12 squares of double ply/day
Long underwear top
long bottoms
EMS down jacket
Water container Powerade 32 oz
FOOD for trip MUST HAVE
pack towel 9x25
toothbrush/paste, floss