Enchantments 10/11/08 - 10/12/08

We were lucky again this year to get permits for the Enchantments. Tim had requested dates back in February and we actually got them. We had requested 10/10 - 10/13, but got 10/11-10/13. Our intentions were to start early Saturday Morning and come back Monday.

To get the early start Saturday morning, we left Friday night to camp at the trailhead. We were not the only people thinking about the early start as there were a bunch of other people at the trailhead doing the same. Many of them were through hikers or day hikers, those doing the 18 mile through hike in a single day, sounds kinda crazy but actually not a bad idea as they don't have to carry heavy packs and endure freezing nights. Anyway, that Friday night was pretty darn cold, so what we experienced at the trailhead we figured would be nothing compared to camping up higher in the Enchantments. It was going to be even colder!

We woke up Saturday morning around 6:00am and didn't hit the trail until 7:00am. It took us a little over 7 hours to get to the top of Aasgard Pass. Below is a pic of Aasgard Pass.

There was lots of ice on the way up that made for tricky maneuvering. I took out my stabilicers and the others their yaktrax. My stabilicers helped considerably, as I felt a lot safer with them on.

Below is a pic of us at the top of Aasgard. :)

When we got to the top, we had lunch and then headed to find a spot to set up camp. We chose a place on a ridge above crystal lake that had decent wind shelter, and of course close to a toilet. :)

After setting up camp, we headed out to summit Little Annapurna. We didn't quite make it due to icy conditions and we were worried about it getting dark soon. Below is a pic from our stopping point. We were about 150 vertical feet from the summit.

View from our attempt at Little Annapurna.

Pic below is from Sunday morning before we left camp. We had decided that we no longer wanted to stay two nights in the Enchantments due to the cold and our steripen (water filter device) not working. We initially planned on going back down Aasgard Pass, but with all the ice, we decided to head out the Snow Lake entrance. That meant a 12 mile long hike out, not to mention we didn't have a car at that trail head, so we would have to find some nice person to give one of us ride back to Tracy's car.

Me and Tim in front of Little Annapurna, from Perfection Lake.

The pic below was taken by a professional photographer (so we think).

Heading down the trail.

Tim and I in front of Prusik Peak.

The Larch trees are what make the Enchantments so popular this time of year. A true sign of fall.

End of hike pic. :) A nice man gave Tim and I a ride back to Tracy's car.