Thru-hiking the Enchantments

The Enchantments are located within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Washington and has one of the most competitive lottery permits in the US! Only about 2% of people are lucky enough to score an overnight permit to spend the night in the Core Zone of the Enchantments. So, when we were tired of loosing the lottery year after year, we decided to day hike through the Enchantments. Here is our guide on this long, but epic day!

This hike is for experienced hikers only, do not under estimate the intensity of this hike. Be well prepared with water, food, and endurance training

Disclaimer: This blog post may feature some affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you make a purchase (at no extra cost to you). It’s one of the ways I can keep producing free guides and resources for my readers.

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Permits

• National Forest Pass ($5)

• America Beautiful Pass (Annual National Parks Pass)

  • If you have this you do NOT need a National Forest Pass

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Travel

Fly into Seattle International Airport

Transportation

Rent a car from airport and depending on what time your flight lands either stay In Seattle for the night or drive to Leavenworth and stay the night

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Packing List

Here is a packing list specifically for thru-hiking and camping the Enchantments. If you’re looking for an all inclusive day hiking/camping gear guide, click here!

• Day Hiking

  • Day pack (15-30L)

  • Water Bladder (3L)

  • Backpacking Stove and fuel

  • Lighter

  • Eating Utensil

  • Water Filter

  • Hiking boots

  • Hiking socks

  • Hiking shorts

  • Hiking tank

  • Sun hat

  • Sunscreen

  • Bugspray

  • Satellite phone

  • Trekking poles

  • Snacks

  • First aid kit

  • Rain jacket

  • Headlamp

• Camping

  • Tent

  • Sleeping bag

  • Sleeping pad

  • Blow up pillow

  • Sleep wear

  • Camping chair

  • Camp Sandals

  • Lantern

  • Headlamp

  • Kitchen stove and fuel

  • Lighter

  • Eating utensil and dishware

  • Meals

  • Water bottle

  • First aid kit

  • Paracord

  • Satellite Phone

  • Toiletries

  • Portable Charger

Resources

Kendall’s Enchantments Google Map Guide

Kendall’s All Trails Link

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Trail Aspects

• All Trails Link

• Length: 18 miles (we clocked 21 miles)

• Elevation gain: 4790ft

• If you thru-hike this, you need to reserve a shuttle to take you back to your car at the entry point or if you have two cars you can drop each car at each trailhead

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Trail Route Options

Two key notes about trail

• Aasgard Pass: a 1 mile, 2300 ft elevation gain section of the trail from Colchuck Lake to the Core Zone. It is essentially rock scrambling the entire stretch. Takes on average 3 hours to go up and 3 hours to go down.

• Snow Lake Zone: a 9ish mile section of unrelenting decline hiking

Route Options

1. Stuart Lake Trailhead > Snow Lake Trailhead (Through Hike)

• Pros: Going up Aasgard Pass instead of down

• Cons: Snow lake Zone, have to reserve a shuttle

2. Snow Lake Trailhead > Stuart Lake Trailhead (Through Hike)

• Pros: Going up Snow Lake Zone, instead of decline

• Cons: Going down Aasgard Pass (Hard if you have bad knees/unstable), have to take a shuttle

3. Stuart Lake > Snow Lakes > Stuart Lake (Out and back)

• Pros: No Snow Lake Zone, don’t have to worry about a shuttle, get to see the Core Zone and Colchuck lake twice

• Cons: Have to go up and down Aasgard Pass

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Sample Itinerary

Day 1: Travel Day

• Fly into Seattle Airport and drive to Leavenworth

• Stay the night in Leavenworth

  • 8 mile Campsite

  • Hotel options

Day 2

• Start hike of your choice from route options above

• Bring your backpacking stove and cook a full lunch once you

  get to the Core Zone (you will NEED the calories)

• Shuttle back to your car if needed

• Stay night in Leavenworth

  • 8 mile campsite

  • Hotel options

Day 3

• Explore the town of Leavenworth (Iconic Hallmark movie town)

• Stay the night in Leavenworth

  • Hotel options

Day 4

• Fly out of Seattle Airport back home

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