The Enchantments

[Dirk Rabdau]

As luck would have it, a four-day jaunt into the North Cascades of Washington turned into a better trip than had planned. We stopped at the in Leavenworth ranger station at 7:30 a.m. and entered the daily drawing for a permit into The Enchantments.

This is a very tough permit to obtain. I did not win won in February, when the drawing was held. They also keep a few walk-in permits available, although they are almost always dispensed via lottery the day of the hike.

We overcame the odds, won the permit and spent four days in the Enchantments, without question the nicest hike in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and among the very best in the state.

Link to the permit website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/passes/enchantments/

Link to photos from the trip (view slideshow for best reults):
http://picasaweb.google.com/dirkster99/The_Enchantments

It also gave me a chance to try out some new gear: the ULA Catalyst Pack and a WM Versalite Super. Both performed as expected and the ULA Catalyst was especially impressive, being the first foray into lightweight (although at the upper edge of lightweight) backpacks. The Versalite was very warm, which I need, as I have real trouble sleeping while wearing anything beyond a base layer. The Squall tent held up well, except for a windstorm that kept us up most of the night in upper Enchantments (not much room for good cover).

Dirk

[Ross Bleakney]

Congratulation Dirk on winning the lottery! Excellent report and pictures too. I haven't hiked there since I was a little kid, but I'll have to go back there. The elevation gain makes it pretty rugged (which is where going ultralight probably helped a lot). One quibble though, is that most folks wouldn't call this area the North Cascades. Most would call it the Central Cascades (or just the Cascades and leave it to others to try and draw the line). Most folks who've hiked in Washington wouldn't care about the distinction, but it might confuse some people who aren't familiar with the area.

[Jonathan Duckett]

Beautiful Pictures.

[Dirk Rabdau]

Ross –

Thank you for the clarification. You are absolutely correct, the Enchantments are in the Central Cascades. You think I would correctly identify it. Not a minor quibble whatsoever, an important fact. Thank you for the kind words and spreading the gospel about the goodness of Washington hiking!

Dirk

[Author]

Posts