Alpine Lakes Wilderness
More on my website
This page is copied from my website, which has several other climbing trip reports and photographs from the North Cascades and elsewhere: http://www.stephabegg.com.Hope you like the color yellow.
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When autumn arrives in the Enchantments, the basin turns golden as the Alpine Larch trees prepare to shed their needles. This is a spectacular scene like no other. These flaming yellow larch trees deserve a page just as much as any climb.
The following page is chock full of photos of a golden yellow theme (taken during 3 separate trips in Oct 2008 and 2009). There are also some cool facts about the larch tree, and a little general information about the Enchantments here and there.
Enjoy!
Photos of Autumn Brilliance in Enchantments | |||
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OTHER AUTUMN PHOTOS | |||
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Key Facts about Enchantments |
| Here I only give the bare facts about the Enchantments. For much more detail, see the summitpost.org page. APPROACHES There are two standard approaches into the Enchantments. The two stanards are: (1) To the west end of the Enchantment basin via Asgard Pass from Stuart Lake/Colchuck Lake Trailhead and (2) To the east end of the Enchantment basin via Snow Lakes from Snow Creek Trailhead. DISTANCES Stuart Lake/Colchuck Lake Trailhead to Asgard Pass: 6.1 miles Snow Creek Trailhead to east end of Enchantment Basin: 10 miles From Asgard Pass to east end of Enchantment Basin: approx. 2 miles ELEVATIONS Stuart Lake/Colchuck Lake Trailhead: 3300 ft Colchuck Lake: 5600 ft Asgard Pass: 7800 ft Snow Creek Trailhead: 1300 ft Snow Lakes: 5400 ft Lake Viviane (east end upper basin): 6800 ft Enchantment Basin: 6800-7800 ft CAMPING Popular camping spots on the approaches are Colchuck Lake, Nada Lake, and Snow Lakes. In the basin itself, there are great camp sites practically everywhere you look, at any of the tarns, lakes, or streams. PERMITS Permits are neded between June 15-Oct 15 for overnight camping. This is a popular area, so permits can be difficult to get if not reserved in advance. Permits are not needed for day hiking in the Enchantments. |
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Another larchy area in NW Washington
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| While the Enchantments is certainly a place to go to see larches in their flaming fall splendor, the area around Rainy Pass on HWY 20 is another hot spot for golden larch trees. The larches at Rainy Pass are not quite as concentrated as they are in the Enchantments, but they are still just as golden and they can be reached with less effort (only a few miles from the road). Also, Rainy Pass is a good destination for those who live further north. And of course, the mountain views are spectacular. In early October 2011, my mom and I hiked the popular Maple Pass loop just above Rainy Pass. This relatively easy 7-mile loop is spectacular in the fall. Here are a few photos.
We enjoyed our larch hike so much that we returned the following weekend (mid-October 2011) to dayhike the nearby Easy Pass trail, which also is chock full of snow-capped yellow-fringed views...
...and then returned again the next year (early October 2012) to the Rainy Pass area to hike to Cutthroat Pass and back. The arrival of fall in 2012 had been unusually warm and dry, which seems to cause the larches to change color in more gradual (but still spectacular) greens to oranges rather than to explode suddenly in brilliant yellow.
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Images
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