9/27-29/14
Day
2
It was a cold night. John in his Tarptent Rainbow noticed 35 degrees and it was likely a little colder. Gary and I in his Hilleberg Nallo 2 were much warmer. Still not bad for this time of year. We had a sunny day and lots to see. After breakfast we headed down to the Lower Enchantments. Just as we reached the main trail two hikers went on by. Gary recognized the woman. I called out to her and indeed she was the one we saw on Mt. David just a few weeks earlier. There were only three other parties on that trail all day. What are the odds of seeing one of them in the middle of the Enchantments two weeks later? They were day hiking to Prusik Peak, climbing, and returning also via Aasgard Pass. Too ambitious for me. The route down to the lower lakes is a little scrambly. Not hard but narrow and rocky in places.
Some green larch trees down below but also lots of golden ones. Well worth the effort to get in there. Since we had all day we spent more time taking photos than racking up miles. The morning was cold but quickly began to warm up. Down at the junction with the route up to Prusik Pass we left the main trail. We crossed a meadow and began the short but steep climb to the pass. Behind us was an often seen scene of larch surrounded lakes with Little Annapurna in the background. The view kept improving as we ascended. At the pass we could see down to Shield and Earle Lakes. Some golden larch but a lot more were green. Not enough color to justify heading down. Edward Mesa was covered with golden larch.
Rather than head back down the trail we followed a path southeast up onto the ridge just above. Along the way we saw "larch bushes". Golden larch wide and only a foot or so tall. Setting on black rocks it was an interesting sight. Great views from up on the ridge. Down to the lakes we passed below and also to Viviane and Leprechaun Lakes. Prusik Peak was right above us. We could see climbers on the peak. We walked a ways along the ridge. Gnome Tarn was down below on the other side from Prusik Pass. An easy scramble took us down. A photo of Prusik Peak with Gnome Tarn in the foreground was in the old 100 Hikes in the Alpine Lakes book. We were able to recreate the shot. It was too nice not to take another break. A recurring theme this day. Several more groups found there way to the tarn. A mother goat and two kids did too.
In time we headed up onto the ridge near the tarn. More great views. We followed it quite a ways. It looked like we could descend off the right side back to where we started up Prusik Pass. Instead, we found a spot to head over the east side. A little rock and dirt scrambling brought us to a boot path that took us down to the main trail near Leprechaun Lake. We followed the trail farther east to a little short of Lake Viviane. Now we followed the trail west to make a loop. This was some of the best hiking of the trip. Lakes lined with larch trees. Meadows with creeks running slow and fast over waterfalls. A parade of hikers and runners headed towards Snow Lakes. It was warm and sunny with plenty of golden larch trees plus some still green. The creek between Sprite and Perfection Lakes is short and only drops a few feet. Here we took a left turn.
A trail follows the shore of Perfection then crosses a meadow before dropping to Crystal Lake. We were camped just beyond the ridge above. After dinner I went over to a ridge top viewpoint looking down on the lake. Now we were at the lake. A peninsula juts out into the lake and is covered with larch trees. Another great place for a break. Far below the lake is the valley of Ingalls Creek. I was not surprised to see nobody else at Crystal Lake. We needed to get moving to head back for dinner. We retraced our steps and then continued along Perfection Lake and back to the Prusik Pass trail closing our loop. Now it was all uphill back to camp.
Sun on Little Annapurna and light and shade along the lakes made for some good photos. Even the shaded larch trees looked good close up. Most folks had hiked on through and the trail was quiet once again. It was about 6:15 when we reached camp. After dinner we headed out to the ridge top above Crystal Lake where I had been able to get an Internet connection. The weather forecast had been deteriorating each day and now showed up to 55 mph winds on Monday night with a 40% change of rain/snow. We decided that Monday looked like a better time to descend Aasgard than in high winds and snow. Monday would be our last day. After dark we saw lights atop Little Annapurna. Two hikers stayed for sunset and were now descending in the dark. That looked like an adventure. Sunday was a terrific day as we hiked all around the middle and lower Enchantments. A very full and fun day. By 8:15 pm it was time to head into our tents.
It was a cold night. John in his Tarptent Rainbow noticed 35 degrees and it was likely a little colder. Gary and I in his Hilleberg Nallo 2 were much warmer. Still not bad for this time of year. We had a sunny day and lots to see. After breakfast we headed down to the Lower Enchantments. Just as we reached the main trail two hikers went on by. Gary recognized the woman. I called out to her and indeed she was the one we saw on Mt. David just a few weeks earlier. There were only three other parties on that trail all day. What are the odds of seeing one of them in the middle of the Enchantments two weeks later? They were day hiking to Prusik Peak, climbing, and returning also via Aasgard Pass. Too ambitious for me. The route down to the lower lakes is a little scrambly. Not hard but narrow and rocky in places.
Some green larch trees down below but also lots of golden ones. Well worth the effort to get in there. Since we had all day we spent more time taking photos than racking up miles. The morning was cold but quickly began to warm up. Down at the junction with the route up to Prusik Pass we left the main trail. We crossed a meadow and began the short but steep climb to the pass. Behind us was an often seen scene of larch surrounded lakes with Little Annapurna in the background. The view kept improving as we ascended. At the pass we could see down to Shield and Earle Lakes. Some golden larch but a lot more were green. Not enough color to justify heading down. Edward Mesa was covered with golden larch.
Rather than head back down the trail we followed a path southeast up onto the ridge just above. Along the way we saw "larch bushes". Golden larch wide and only a foot or so tall. Setting on black rocks it was an interesting sight. Great views from up on the ridge. Down to the lakes we passed below and also to Viviane and Leprechaun Lakes. Prusik Peak was right above us. We could see climbers on the peak. We walked a ways along the ridge. Gnome Tarn was down below on the other side from Prusik Pass. An easy scramble took us down. A photo of Prusik Peak with Gnome Tarn in the foreground was in the old 100 Hikes in the Alpine Lakes book. We were able to recreate the shot. It was too nice not to take another break. A recurring theme this day. Several more groups found there way to the tarn. A mother goat and two kids did too.
In time we headed up onto the ridge near the tarn. More great views. We followed it quite a ways. It looked like we could descend off the right side back to where we started up Prusik Pass. Instead, we found a spot to head over the east side. A little rock and dirt scrambling brought us to a boot path that took us down to the main trail near Leprechaun Lake. We followed the trail farther east to a little short of Lake Viviane. Now we followed the trail west to make a loop. This was some of the best hiking of the trip. Lakes lined with larch trees. Meadows with creeks running slow and fast over waterfalls. A parade of hikers and runners headed towards Snow Lakes. It was warm and sunny with plenty of golden larch trees plus some still green. The creek between Sprite and Perfection Lakes is short and only drops a few feet. Here we took a left turn.
A trail follows the shore of Perfection then crosses a meadow before dropping to Crystal Lake. We were camped just beyond the ridge above. After dinner I went over to a ridge top viewpoint looking down on the lake. Now we were at the lake. A peninsula juts out into the lake and is covered with larch trees. Another great place for a break. Far below the lake is the valley of Ingalls Creek. I was not surprised to see nobody else at Crystal Lake. We needed to get moving to head back for dinner. We retraced our steps and then continued along Perfection Lake and back to the Prusik Pass trail closing our loop. Now it was all uphill back to camp.
Sun on Little Annapurna and light and shade along the lakes made for some good photos. Even the shaded larch trees looked good close up. Most folks had hiked on through and the trail was quiet once again. It was about 6:15 when we reached camp. After dinner we headed out to the ridge top above Crystal Lake where I had been able to get an Internet connection. The weather forecast had been deteriorating each day and now showed up to 55 mph winds on Monday night with a 40% change of rain/snow. We decided that Monday looked like a better time to descend Aasgard than in high winds and snow. Monday would be our last day. After dark we saw lights atop Little Annapurna. Two hikers stayed for sunset and were now descending in the dark. That looked like an adventure. Sunday was a terrific day as we hiked all around the middle and lower Enchantments. A very full and fun day. By 8:15 pm it was time to head into our tents.
 More Goats |
 Terrific Color |
 Navaho Peak |
 Dropping to Lower Lakes |
 Larch Forest |
 Nearly Peaking |
 Inspiration Lake |
 Green & Yellow |
 Granite Walls |
 Route Down |
 John & Gary |
 Descent Gully |
 Forest & Prusik |
 McClellan Peak |
 Mixed Colors |
 Prusik Peak Framed |
 Colorful Forest |
 Old Growth Larch |
 Camp On Ridge |
 Little Prusik Peak |
 Red Leaf Color |
 Heading For Prusik Pass |
 Shield Lake |
 Prusik Peak From Pass |
 Climbers |
 Larch Bush |
 Gary On Ridge |
 John & Prusik Peak |
 Heading For Gnome |
 Annapurna From Gnome |
 Reflected Prusik Peak |
 Two Kids |
 Momma Goat |
 Small Larch On Ridge |
 Lake Viviane |
 Granite & Larch |
 Slow Going |
 Color On Ridge |
 Perfection & Inspiration |
 Dropping Off Ridge |
 Slabs & Larch |
 Greenish Needles |
 Leprechaun Lake |
 On The Rocks |
 Sunshine & Granite |
 Into The Sun |
 Two Lakes |
 McClellan Color |
 More McClellan |
 Crystal Lake |
 Crystal Reflection |
 Around Perfection |
 Along Inspiration |
 Setting Sun |
 Up The Gully |
 Annapurna Reflection |
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