The enchantments
The Core.
The Core of the Enchantments trail is the most breath taking, rewarding and captivating part of the Enchantments Trail.
Nature, in the common sense, refers to essences unchanged by man; space, the air, the river, the leaf.
Every experience I take personally. With every experience, I gain a new knowledge of who I am. In this case, I become better and I discover more about who I truly am. To emphasize, the capabilities, drive, and will, the body, and mind have, are endless.
Getting to the Core
The Enchantments Trail is located in Leavenworth Washington. It starts at the Stuart Lake trail head and ends at the Snow Lakes trail head or vice versa. To add, it is a point to point trek through the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Notatably, Colchuck Lake is the most popular and most visited of the enchanted lakes.
Specifically, to enter the Core, continue on the trail, making your way around Cokchuck. Further, you’ll encounter a boulder field, hop your way through. Before you realize it, you are at the bass of Asgard Pass. With this in mind, climb up the pass and look out for mountain goats.
For one thing, Asgard Pass will tear you to shreds physically, mentally, and emotionally. When you make your way up and over, you are in the core zone. Right away, you are welcomed by Dragon Tail Peak and the other jagged peaks around, as you look deeper. Then, you realize the bodies of WATER; the most beautiful, fresh, and clear lakes. Words and pictures cannot capture the true essence of beauty. It must be experienced.
Sleeping under the stars
This was my and my husbands first time camping along the enchantments trail. Since camping overnight requires camping permits through a lottery system, we were never lucky enough to camp. However, this year, for his birthday, we got lucky! Once we made it to our camp site at Snow Creek, we ate some birthday cake, followed by Mountain House’s chili mac and fettuccine alfredo. All that sugarfrom the cake was soul revitalizing. We felt so grateful to be given the opportunity to sleep under the stars in the core zone. Although, the weather at night was cold and windy, the milky way was showing off that night. We were fast asleep to the sounds of the wind and water.
The next day, we were woken up by sunlight and warm weather. Additionally, biscuits and gravy was on the menu and my typical morning coffee. We had a mountain goat pay us a visit while eating breakfast. I think he was a fan of biscuits and gravy too! We enjoyed our views and soaked up as much as we could before packing up camp and heading back down Asgard Pass. Granted, we quickly realized, one night was not enough time. There was still so much more to explore. Moreover, we were still thankful to have experienced a night in the most magical location.
Asgard Pass
In comparison, going down Asgard Pass was just as challenging as climbing up. This experience challenged me greatly, mentally. Being under the sun for approximately two hours, with no shade, was grueling in itself. To add, the loose scree, dirt, and, drop in elevation made us that much more uncomfortable. In all honesty, I wanted to quit so bad. Admittedly, I felt myself get increasingly impatient with myself and the efforts required to navigate back to Colchuck Lake. Let alone, my uterus did not want to cooperate with me, if you know what I mean.
Regardless, by the time we got down to the dirt trail, we could tell we were so exhausted. Consequently, we started to feel a little disoriented and took a much needed break out of the sun. We drank electrolytes, ate a power bar, looked at our map, and felt well enough to plan and make our way back to our car. By the end, we were sun burned, mosquito eaten, and hungry. As per usual, we craved a Big Mac and devoured our food after.
In the end
Given these points, I would do it again. In either event, the pain and suffering are only temporary in the end. And yet, the experience will last a lifetime. Through it all, it only makes me stronger for the next time around. And so, I prove to myself each and every time again, my body is damn strong. And for that, I’m thankful. Each day is a blessing and I believe life should be enjoyed. Although, this is type 2 fun, I will always enjoy it and recommend it to everyone.
Hiking is serendipity. I never knew how much it would be life changing for me. As a result, it keeps me healthy, physically fit, and puts my life into perspective in more ways than not. Likewise, I find myself always referencing back to my hiking experiences, being able to point out the lesson I learned that day. This is why I don’t ever take an adventure for granted because there is always something new to discover.
laughing at myself after slipping, but all smiles and just happy to be on our way to our camp site 
setting up for dinner 
Hiking our way back to Asgard Pass 
Eating cake for Andy’s Bday 
Hiking towards our campsite for the night 
Passing Colchuck nervous to climb Asgard with our packs 
Slipping after losing my footing 
Our campsite along Snow Creek in the Core 
The top of Asgard Pass looking down at Colchuck 
One of the many mountain goats that paid us a visit while having breakfast 
View of Little Annapurna 
View from our Campsite 
More WATER! The many views you can encounter when exploring the core!