Joined: 25 Jul 2002 Posts: 2933 | TRs | Pics Location: I walk the streets for money
Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:18 pm
A Day of Enchantments 10/07/06
"Did you notice everyone up here has a smile on their face?" I had just crested Aasguard Pass when I overheard someone make that comment. It struck me because I hadn't noticed that I was actually grinning from ear to ear.
I couldn't have picked better company or a nicer day for my Enchantments debut. I am forever indebted to Dayhike Mike for inviting to join his father & his co-worker Jim on this epic one day adventure. We got an early start; hiking before dawn and in about five hours we were in the upper Enchantment Basin. Mike & his dad have been hiking in this area for many years and due to their penchant for off trail exploration they knew every rock & every tree in the entire basin. All I had to do was point & shoot while they led me from one stunning vista to the next. It was near Perfection!
David
-------------- Warning! Posts may contain traces of sarcasm.
Beautiful shots! I'll be day trippin' up there real soon. I'd hoped the larch had orange'd up, but I guess I can settle for yellow.
Regarding your comment for your Gnome Tarn pic, I've been on 3, three days trips up there and somehow, I don't have a shot of Gnome Tarn. But I do have similar shots of Brynhild, Reginleif, Rune and Talisman.
Sign me up for Dragontail2 and Inspiration Lake. Tremendous.
Your Gnome Tarn caption has me giggling. An entire trip, predicated around that little pond captured in a famous dawn postcard by Pat O''Hara, involving participants from Seattle, Chicago and Denver, took 8 months of planning and lots of headaches before completion. So yeah, other folks have that shot. Somehow, I bet you knew that .
-------------- "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them."
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one using Bill & Peg Stark's names for this area. Been going there since the mid 70's, and I didn't know what people were talking about when they mentioned places like Inspiration & Perfection lakes.
Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Posts: 10967 | TRs | Pics Location: Going to Tukwila
Tue Oct 10, 2006 11:52 am
Hi guys, I'm still working on my pictures, but they're coming.
We had such a beautiful day and absolutely perfect conditions for the golden tamaracks. Beautiful.
Only two downers for the day:
1.) The zillion people doing the dayhike loop. Especially noteworthy were the 14-16 people in the Olympia Mountaineers party. ( Totally inappropriate.) I counted 35+ people visible, snaking their way up the talus, from a perch halfway up Aasgard and I'm sure there were more in the bushes / rounding the lake...they just kept coming.
2.) On the way out, my dad hooked one of his boots on the shoelaces of the other while crossing the talus down near Colchuck and went down headlong and hard. He was able to crutch it out at about half speed using trekking poles for support, but it made for a long and emotionally exhausting day. X-rays and CAT scans showed that he'd sustained a hairline fracture that'll heal naturally, but they had to drain 2/3 cup of blood from his knee before sending him home with a mondo knee brace and crutches.
Other than that, we had a good day. Lots of great pics. It was fun showing David and one of my coworkers, Jim, around one of my favorite stomping grounds in the state.
-------------- "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
Michael, Im sorry to hear about your pa. Glad you had an otherwise good trip.
-------------- "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them."
I didn't know what people were talking about when they mentioned places like Inspiration & Perfection lakes.
graywolf, that is exactly what happened to me.
Quote:
The zillion people doing the dayhike loop. Especially noteworthy were the 14-16 people in the Olympia Mountaineers party. ( Totally inappropriate.) I counted 35+ people visible, snaking their way up the talus, from a perch halfway up Aasgard and I'm sure there were more in the bushes / rounding the lake...they just kept coming.
Now I'm glad I got sick at the end of last weekend and ended up canceling a Sat trip and went yesterday. We went in Aasgard toured down to Leprachaun, then directly up to Gnome Tarn from Lep and then to Prusik Pass and back out Aasgard. We saw no more than 12 people all day - and 3 tents. Even though it was a weekday, being the height of larch season I thought it would be way more crowded. There were definitely spots available for walk-ups.
Mike, regarding your Dad, I slipped right before getting off the talus at Colchuck. The way I fell thru I should have broken my leg. It was just getting dark too, but somehow I braced myself just enough with my arms. Sorry about your Dad, but at least he was able to get out on his own.
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