[Dayhike Mike]

[Bob K]

Sounds like a fun adventure you had! You aren't the first one to be driven down by the winds of the Enchantments. Lucky you didn't run into the thicket of alder at Colchuck...getting through that might be worse than going up Aasgard. As cold as it was a couple days ago, it's going to be a lot colder the next few days with the arctic winds coming down from the northern interior. It's serious business out there this time of year. Map and compass are still indispensible, and I still use my altimeter maybe more than any other navigational tool off-trail; but GPS is good in the dark or in the fog, or when you're just totally messed up and don't know where the frick you are. When you are all alone and lost at night in the dark, dark forest, GPS can be your only friend. You need to practice a bit with it beforehand. Don't wait until you're lost to figure it out. Did you have your compass out at the top of the pass?

[pianodirt]

BPJ, I did ask about Aasgard on this board, last week, but still didn't really get the idea of the difficulty. I should have asked for as much detail as possible, but I also wanted to leave a little to the element of adventure. Got it! I've been backpacking for 16 years and spent about 4 years climbing. This was a situation where my experience (and lack of it) put me in a tight spot. I read and studied the maps but didn't admit/realize to myself that the elev gain from Colchuck TH to top of Aasgard was nearly 5000 feet. Honestly, I was not in shape for that. I have not done as much hiking this season as I would have like (haven't we all? ) It's been a long time since I've climbed any mountains and I've forgotten how the weather at the base can be sublime and horrid at the top. Compass? It's probably packed right next to my gps...I just moved and those are two tiny things I couldn't find. I've never needed to use my compass or gps. I've played with them, figuring how they work, but I've never *needed* them. I usually bring my compass, but figured one trip without it won't hurt. At the top of Aasgard I was tired and disoriented and didn't feel like hunting around for rocks to shelter behind, I wanted to get down out of there. Seriously, I prayed to God for a sign as to what to do (which side to go down) and somehow I walked in a circle and went back to down to Colchuck. I *thought* I was going down into the chants, until I recognized Colchuck. I took that as my sign. I'm a lucky person...lucky there was no rain, no snow, no lightening. I continued to pray to be safe on the way down. Slide alder? I'm embarassed to admit I don't know what it looks like. If you mean the bushes that often line drainage creeks in the cascades, well, yes, I did get stuck in that. I tried bushwhacking through some of it, when I was almost back to Colchuck and really exhausted then. If no one here's ever done it, don't descend Aasgard in the dark! Bad idea! I learned I was lucky and I will plan better, prepare better and not push so hard. Oh yeah, the tarptent, another bad idea. Even my clip flashlight would have been a better bet, a bivy even better. Fortunately I was on the semi-sheltered side of the lake. Wind came down at my back from Aasgard and from the NE end of the lake going parallel to me, while I was camped at the SE. The wind had died down enough for me to cook dinner. That said, how about some descriptions of the Chants themselves? Are they all so exposed like the tarns the top of Aasgard or are they (being lower elevation) more protected...rocks and trees? So now my ego's a bit deflated (I think my thermarest might be too), how about others' stories about poor decisions or lack of experience that turned into nasty trips, maybe in a new thread in the top forum?

[Dean]

Pianodirt:

[Backpacker Joe]

PD, didn't mean to hammer to you badly. Just bummed that you didn't get the Chants experience. The actual distance from Colchuck to the top of the pass is 2460 ft. It's a bummer of a climb. I think that Ill be going in there this weekend. TB

[pianodirt]

Dean - great site on the Enchants, I like the weather thing on the main page. I checked the weather on Sunday before going for the area, "50% chance rain" and I was gambling on the half chance no rain. I just missed it, barely. Driving back over Stevens Pass was some of the worst rain I had ever driven in. I nearly pulled over a few times.

[Damian]

PD- don't give up on Asgaard. Just try it a little earlier, or in nicer weather. It's the best way in IMHO. I've done it as late as mid Nov with no prob, but then I knew the route well. Doing it alone, the first time in bad conditions makes it much much worse. And with a tarp tent? Holy smokes. If ya liked that one larch ya saw, you'll love an entire forest of em shinin' in the sun.

[pianodirt]

[kleet]

[Backpacker Joe]

The Kleetester and Damian are correct. Eve though its just opinion. The way in via Asgaard is so much shorter, AND you're right there in the thick od the beauty so much faster. As far as seeing lakes other than the Chants, Colchuck is so much nicer than Nada and the Snows. If you are going to make a loop out of it, go in Colchuck and out the snows. TB

[Damian]

Barron Von BPJ speaks the truth. But skip the loop. Go out Colchuck as well. The long haul up (or down) the boring lower lakes is a snore, especially when combined with the Upper E's IMHO.

[Dayhike Mike]

I'm a big fan of loop hikes, mainly because I'm loathe to retrace my steps and cover the same ground / scenery more than once. Most people who come in via Snow Lake, leave via the same route. Lame. The approach via Colchuck is gorgeous and shouldn't be missed. The exit via Snow / Nada is long, but it's a relatively flat walk out and not too hard on the body (and of course serves to satisfy the don't cover the same ground twice principle). In addition:

• Once you've gained the 4000' foot from trailhead to the top of the pass, it's all downhill from there.
• Early morning is spent in the valley, sunlight appears on the hillsides just as the views begin to emerge
• Might get a little sunlight on the far side of Colchuck, but you can make it up most or all of Asgaard before the pounding sun comes over the top of the pass and cooks you to death.

We typically drop one car at the Snow Lake trailhead and then drive the second on up to the Stuart Lake/Colchuck Lake trailhead. Totally painless setup, IMHO.

[polarbear]

Count Damian, Bare-on BPJ, and others are right. Go up the pass, go down via Snow Lakes. You can't enjoy scenery when climbing uphill staring at your shoelaces (which are probably flapping around since you've been hiking so hard up hill for 6 hours in the scorching sun and are too tired to stop, stoop, and reloop). I hope I don't have to repeat myself on this basic concept. It is fundamental to the rest of the material this quarter.

[MooseAndSquirrel]

Yeah, do the Colchuck-Aasgard-Snow Lk. "loop" first- as you're heading down out of the Enchantments losing all that elevation and the mileage adds up I bet you'll say to yourself at some point "I'd hate to be heading UP in the other direction!" Ignore what "they" say about the Aasgard route not being the esthetic way into the Enchantments- bah!

[Malachai Constant]