Enchantments, WA: The Full Loop — 4 Days in Washington's Most Coveted Permit Zone

The Enchantments in Washington’s Alpine Lakes Wilderness are famous for a reason: an improbably concentrated alpine basin of granite, larches, and turquoise lakes that would be spectacular anywhere but is jaw-dropping at this density. The catch is access — the permit lottery is notoriously competitive, with odds typically in the single-digit percentages for summer weekends.

After winning a 4-day core zone permit for late September, here’s how the trip went, what we got right, and what we’d change.

The Route

Day 1: Stuart Lake Trailhead → Colchuck Lake → Aasgard Pass → Upper Enchantments (7.4 miles, ~4,500 ft gain)

Day 2: Upper Enchantments exploration → Prusik Peak views → Inspiration Lake → Lake Viviane (2.5 miles, mostly flat at elevation)

Day 3: Inspiration → Perfection Lake → Sprite Lake → Snow Lakes → Snow Lake TH (9 miles, ~5,200 ft loss)

Day 4: Rest day at Leavenworth / reposition cars

Total: ~19 trail miles, traversing the entire core zone with Aasgard Pass ascent on Day 1 and the long Snow Lakes descent on Day 3.

Why the “Full Loop” Thru-Hike Makes Sense

The Enchantments can be done as a single-day thru-hike (19 miles one-way, 4,500 ft up then 5,200 ft down) but you miss the entire reason to be there — the alpine basin. Doing it as a 3-4 day trip lets you actually camp among the larches, watch alpine sunsets, and absorb the scale.

The thru-hike direction (Stuart Lake TH → Aasgard → Enchantments → Snow Lakes TH) is the right call because:

• Aasgard Pass is 2,000 ft in less than a mile — going UP is hard but direction-safe
• The reverse (Snow Lakes up) is a brutal, exposed climb through old burn zones
• Starting with Aasgard gets the hardest work out of the way Day 1
• You end the trip going downhill, which is easier on tired legs

Logistics

Permit: Core zone permits release via lottery in February at recreation.gov. Apply for multiple dates and zones — the Core zone is ideal but any zone permit lets you enter the area legally. Full permit details.

Car shuttle: You need a car at each trailhead (Stuart Lake and Snow Lakes). Leavenworth’s Loop Shuttle runs rideshare between them or drive two cars. We used the shuttle — $60 per person, worth every cent vs. the 30-minute drive between trailheads.

Parking: Both trailheads require a Northwest Forest Pass. Buy online before you go.

Best dates: Late September. The larches turn gold, first snow hasn’t arrived, crowds thin. Early October is high-risk for snow (conditions can turn in 12 hours). July-August is busier and the larches are still green — less visually dramatic.

Gear I Carried

For a 3-night shoulder-season trip with variable weather (expect anything from 70°F sunny to freezing alpine nights):

Big Three:

• Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra 60L — plenty of room for cold-weather layers
• Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 — freestanding was the right call on rocky tent platforms
• EE Enigma 20°F quilt — adequate for the 25°F night we had
• Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT — R-7.3 was overkill but the extra warmth was appreciated

Clothing:

• Patagonia Capilene Cool Lightweight base layer
• Smartwool 200 Merino — dedicated sleep base layer
• Patagonia R1 Air Hoody — mid layer
• Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer/2 — puffy
• Outdoor Research Helium rain jacket
• Zip-off pants + shorts combo

Cooking:

• MSR PocketRocket 2 + 100g IsoPro canister
• Toaks 750ml titanium pot
• 3x Mountain House freeze-dried meals
• Trail snacks (bars, nuts, dried fruit)

Water:

• Sawyer Squeeze + SmartWater 1L bottles
• CNOC Vecto 2L for dirty storage

Navigation/Safety:

• Garmin inReach Mini 2 — satellite messenger, cell service is zero in the Enchantments
• Gaia GPS with offline maps
• Petzl Actik Core headlamp
• Paper map backup

Base weight: ~13 lbs. With food and fuel, ~20 lbs at the trailhead.

Day 1: Aasgard Pass

We started at 7am from the Stuart Lake trailhead. The first 4 miles to Colchuck Lake are a gentle grade through old-growth forest — warm-up miles, nothing technical. Colchuck Lake itself is stunning — massive turquoise water backed by Dragontail Peak’s 3,000-ft granite face.

Then Aasgard Pass.

Aasgard is a 2,000-foot climb in 0.8 miles. It’s basically a class 2 scramble up loose talus with cairns marking a vague route. Take your time, drink water, don’t twist an ankle on the rubble. It took us 2 hours.

Cresting Aasgard Pass into the Upper Enchantments is one of the most dramatic transitions in North American hiking. You go from brutal scree slope to alpine paradise — turquoise lakes, golden larches, granite everywhere — in 10 steps.

We made camp at the east end of Lake Viviane. Rocky tent platforms, good wind protection, spectacular sunrise views across the basin.

Day 2: Larch-and-Lake Day

Day 2 was the reason we came. We did a slow exploration day — hiking from camp to Prusik Pass for the iconic view of Prusik Peak, over to Inspiration Lake, down to the larch groves around Perfection Lake.

Total mileage was under 3 miles but we spent 8 hours on it. Stopped for long lunches. Watched marmots. Photographed everything. The September larches were at peak gold — maybe 1-2 days past perfect but still incredible.

Camped at a different spot near Inspiration Lake to keep the route fresh. Found a small flat platform between boulders with 360° views.

Temperatures dropped hard that night — we woke to frost on the tent fly and 25°F at 5am.

Day 3: The Long Descent

Day 3 was the grind. 9 miles of elevation loss from the Upper Enchantments down through Snow Lakes to the Snow Lakes trailhead. 5,200 ft of descent. Your knees pay the toll.

The first 3 miles are gorgeous — more Enchantments scenery, past Perfection Lake and Sprite Lake, down to the massive Snow Lake basin. Then the real descent begins: switchbacks through old burn zones, mile after mile of charred trees and exposed south-facing trail. In summer this is brutal — hot, shadeless, endless. In late September it was tolerable but still long.

We hit the Snow Lakes TH at 5pm, exhausted but happy. The shuttle picked us up 30 minutes later back to our Stuart Lake car.

What We’d Do Differently

Spend an extra night in the Upper Enchantments. Three nights in the core zone instead of two. The Day 2 “exploration day” was the best day of the trip — we’d rather have had two of them.

Start earlier on Day 3. 9 miles of descent takes longer than you think, especially when your legs are dead. Leaving at 6am vs 9am would have put us at the TH by 2pm with plenty of daylight for the drive.

Less food weight. We brought too much food, ended up packing out extra. 2 lbs saved is 2 lbs you’d rather not carry over Aasgard.

Trekking poles sooner. Had the Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z poles and only deployed them on descent. Should have used them for the Aasgard ascent too — significant energy savings on steep sustained terrain.

Better rain planning. The Outdoor Research Helium is fine for light precipitation but I’d bring a heavier shell for late-season Cascades trips. We got lucky with weather — the next permit group hit two days of sustained rain.

Permit Strategy

If you want to do the Enchantments, plan for the lottery:

1. Apply in February (lottery opens typically mid-February)
2. Select multiple dates and zones — any Enchantments permit is valuable. Don’t put all your chips on Core zone weekend dates.
3. Core zone mid-week dates win more often — Tuesday/Wednesday entries are less competitive
4. Backup plan: Walk-up permits — a small number of walk-up permits release at the Leavenworth Ranger Station each morning. Very competitive but sometimes works for single-night trips.
5. Can-you-adapt? If you win an Eightmile or Snow Lakes permit (not Core), you can still do the full traverse — you just can’t camp inside the Core zone. The day-through experience is still spectacular.

Bottom Line

The Enchantments deserve their reputation. Four days of spectacular alpine scenery, challenging terrain, and the unique experience of winning a permit to one of America’s most coveted wilderness zones.

If you pull a permit, take it. Train for Aasgard Pass. Bring the right gear for variable shoulder-season weather. And budget extra time for the Upper Enchantments — that’s where the magic is.

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Worth every step.