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wildernessed
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 10:08 am 
Location : Leavenworth, Wa. Access / Map : Icicle Creek Rd > Eight Mile Rd > Stuart Lake TH / GTM - Enchantments Stats for loop : 15 mi, 7500’, 18.5 hr gag.gif
Coney Lake - Cannon - Upper Enchantment Loop
Coney Lake - Cannon - Upper Enchantment Loop
I had been wanting to do Cannon Mountain for some time and had looked at an in and out dayhike via the ridge from the washout, but a backpack into Colchuck Lake or the Upper Enchantments with a couple days to do two or three peaks seemed pretty appealing. That said, time was short and there was a lot going on this year, then the recent TR of a thru-trip had me drawing out the route and looking at mileage, elevation, snow conditions, and a weather window. I got Steve on board, who has been up there some six or seven times over the years, and gave Movenhike a call as he showed an interest in getting out and I knew this would be an awesome trip. We were on the old forest road at 0540 hr under early clear skies, in a hazey - smokey valley where we made our way up to the washout and headed up and to it’s right, and from there it was a steady climb up a rugged ridge with increasing views to the top Cannons NNW ridge just E of Point 7989’. From there we made a descending traverse down to Coney Lake where we took a break and refilled our water.
Movenhike moving up !
Movenhike moving up !
Nice swathe of Paintbrush. There were many wildflowers on this trip, but we didn't have time to get a lot of shots in.
Nice swathe of Paintbrush. There were many wildflowers on this trip, but we didn't have time to get a lot of shots in.
Hazey Mt. Stuart, not a good day for mountain pictures the wildfire smoke had back filled all the valleys and was rising.
Hazey Mt. Stuart, not a good day for mountain pictures the wildfire smoke had back filled all the valleys and was rising.
First view from the ridge.
First view from the ridge.
Coney Lake - Cannon - Upper Enchantments Loop_2075_edited-1
Coney Lake - Cannon - Upper Enchantments Loop_2075_edited-1
Coney > Couloir > Cannon
Coney > Couloir > Cannon
Steve all smiles in the boulders.
Steve all smiles in the boulders.
Coney Lake and the Couloir we ascend to the right.
Coney Lake and the Couloir we ascend to the right.
Coney Lake
Coney Lake
After the break we made our way across some more boulders, around a snowfield, then me having my high top lightweight hikers on, I put my gaiters and crampons on , which gave me the rigidity I needed to kick in steps, and offered some bite. Movenhike was moving fairly quickly up the couloir, with me behind him, then Steve who put his crampons on also. The snow firmed up as we gained elevation and made for some work in the full sun, eventually Movenhike had enough and decided to try the rocks, while Steve and I kept at it going to near the head of the couloir before deciding to transition over to the rock that looked to be an easy scramble.
Movenhike heading towards the couloir.
Movenhike heading towards the couloir.
Movenhike and Wildernessed entering the couloir.
Movenhike and Wildernessed entering the couloir.
Wildernessed and Movenhike moving up the couloir.
Wildernessed and Movenhike moving up the couloir.
I remember Steve saying watch that transition from snow to rock, and I gave him a nod, probing and moving my ice axe shaft as we moved towards it, kicking in, testing each step before, bearing full weight. We were right there I planted my ice axe to my right fairly deep, took a step to the right, my crampon sunk through the snow down maybe 8” and I placed some weight on it and it seemed stable, I went to move placing more weight on it and ever so quickly, and yet somewhat in slow motion I was turning in mid air, I remember it felt like I was being rung out like a wash cloth, my right side hurt, then I was staring up at the sky, and I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move my body, I was just trying to breathe, at some point I realized I was on my left side, and Steve was above me on the rocks telling me to grab his ice axe, but I couldn’t yet, I just couldn‘t move. I was able to look down and see that I was on the very edge of the rocks, held only by the friction of my body on snow/ice and my right crampon on the edge of the large rock slab that had been buried that I initially stepped on and loosened, I slid down about 10’. There was nothing but a few rocks and the bottom of the couloir below me. Movenhike was above us on the rocks and heard, or saw the commotion, and asked if eveything was all right, did we need help, Steve said He thought we were OK, I was coming around slowly, and talking, I got twisted around so fast my body was going one way and my hand and ice axe were planted in the snow it knocked the wind out of me and twisted my right side and spine, but after some delay, and seeing, and realizing, I’m on the edge here I was able with Steves help to get to the edge of the sh## pile of scree and rocks at the edge of the couloir,(I still had my ice axe in my right hand) rest, take all my crap off , repack, and we were once again on our way. Once out of the couloir Cannon was just a short hike away class 2-3 where we had a nice lunch and enjoyed some great local views.
Movenhike on Cannon's summit.
Movenhike on Cannon's summit.
wildernessed on the Druid Plateau
wildernessed on the Druid Plateau
Next, across the Druid Plateau and down to Loreli Lakelets, what stunningly beautiful wilderness, just amazing to experience, and the drop down to the bottom of Prussik Pass which is still snow filled. We kicked stepped up to a rock pile, then I decided the snow was just to crappy for my lightweight hikers so I climbed up the side of the Pass until I ran into what I think is the trail that goes to Prussik Peak and hiked that over to the Pass, beating Steve and Movenhike surprisingly. From there we took a break and probably the best view I have ever seen of Little Annapurna, it was there that we saw our first people of the day, and that we decided Enchantment Peak was way to big a bite of the apple even though it was so close for this dayhike.
Fair skies over the Druid Plateau.
Fair skies over the Druid Plateau.
Steve on the Druid Plateau with Cannon Peak in the background.
Steve on the Druid Plateau with Cannon Peak in the background.
The Temple
The Temple
Route down fron Druid Plateau into Loreli Lakelets
Route down fron Druid Plateau into Loreli Lakelets
So now for the first time of the day we had an official trail to follow at least some of the time, there were sections of lingering snow, several breaks, pictures, talks with goats, but we did make it to Aasgard Pass late evening just in time for those gusting winds, then the knee crunching decent and promises never to return again, again.
Inspiration Lake
Inspiration Lake
Loreli Lakelets - Prussik Pass - McClellan
Loreli Lakelets - Prussik Pass - McClellan
Perfection Lake and Little Annapurna from Prussik Pass.
Perfection Lake and Little Annapurna from Prussik Pass.
Crystal Lake
Crystal Lake
Movenhike and Steve in the Upper Enchantments.
Movenhike and Steve in the Upper Enchantments.
Prussik Peak
Prussik Peak
From Prussik Pass looking NNW at Shield, Earle, Mesa Lakes and Edwards Peak.
From Prussik Pass looking NNW at Shield, Earle, Mesa Lakes and Edwards Peak.
Somewhere around the 6300’ level we heard some hollering and we thought it was someone on Dragontail, or someone letting loose, when all of a sudden a guy comes down from around a boulder several hundred feet above us waving his hands shouting “help”, he was moving down, we moved up slowly which was our mode at this point, he said his friend had fallen into an ice cave, my understanding is they had gotten him out , but he couldn’t move his lower body and wasn’t responding appropriately. He wanted us to go get help. With some background in EMS / ER I gave him some basic care information and we headed down the trail, another guy was coming up we told hm about it and he went up and met the guy, another guy was coming up he met them, they told him about it, so he went up with all his gear, and the other two passed us. By the time we made the final section of the boulder field a ranger who was at the lake knew of the incident and was on his way up and SAR /Helicopter had been notified and on the way. By the time we started down the Colchuck lake trail switchbacks we had our headlamps on, and once on the Stuart Lake trail we heard the helicopter above. We arrived at the TH we started from 18.5 hr later, a lot of diversity, adversity, it was the full package for a dayhike. Simply wonderful, but just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do something, a little more time and leisurely pace for exploring, but that might be another trip. Thanks a lot guys for sharing the experience, it was many things.
Lakelet, very nice !
Lakelet, very nice !
Loreli Lakelets - Prussik Pass - McClellan Peak
Loreli Lakelets - Prussik Pass - McClellan Peak
Temple - McClellan and Upper Enchantments heading towards Asgard Pass
Temple - McClellan and Upper Enchantments heading towards Asgard Pass
P.S. And to boot I got a 75.00 ticket because I forgot to put my forest service pass in the window. hmmm.gif

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kyle d
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 10:31 am 
That loop looks familar hockeygrin.gif Too bad about the smoke, at least Cannon has lots of good local views. Glad you're ok after that spill at the top of the couloir. It looks like the upper Enchantment Lakes actually melted out a lot over the past week.

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Philthy Phil
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 10:53 am 
Coney/Druid/Enchantments
Any kind of bootpath paralleling that nightmare of a washout? Was there in the late '90's, and it was a nightmare even then.

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wildernessed
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 11:13 am 
Re: Coney/Druid/Enchantments
Philthy Phil wrote:
Any kind of bootpath paralleling that nightmare of a washout? Was there in the late '90's, and it was a nightmare even then.
Initially there is a path if you could call it that, but it is basically the path of least resistance leading up the ridge, then next to the couloir on the left, there seems to be less logs a long there. Steve said there was an old trail on the other side of the washout once upon a time, but once he had an updated look at it (and there were boot paths going that way) he said it looked quite a bit more grown up than the last time he had been that way, but both routes would merge above. The map above is the GPS trackback route with the path of least resistance we could find.

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wildernessed
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 11:18 am 
kyle d wrote:
That loop looks familar hockeygrin.gif Too bad about the smoke, at least Cannon has lots of good local views. Glad you're ok after that spill at the top of the couloir. It looks like the upper Enchantment Lakes actually melted out a lot over the past week.
Yeah, that was a wake up call, I'm usually pretty aware of what's going on, but anything can happen, and happen quick, especially unseen hazards. That slab was flat maybe 3" thick 1-2' wide and 3' long. It wanted to surf.

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HitTheTrail
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 12:19 pm 
Wow, some dayhike. Sorry I missed it, but thanks for the invite anyway. We had to take our son back to the airport so he would not be AWOL. Nice pics and TR glad you are ok. As I understand it the other incident did not end so well. It's good you were able to offer what help you could.

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Get Out and Go
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 12:24 pm 
Nice job you guys. But 18.5 hours! doof.gif Sheesh! Out of my league, now. Rob, you're indestructible. Way to carry on. horsey.gif

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
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Movenhike
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 4:08 pm 
GOAG wrote:
Quote:
Nice job you guys. But 18.5 hours! doof.gif Sheesh!
No, Tony, it was more like this: doof.gif doof.gif doof.gif crazy.gif wheelchair.gif ...

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GaliWalker
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 4:34 pm 
Great report and really glad things didn't get bad in the spill. Most of all though, I need to thank you for posting photos of the Loreli Lakelets; I never made it on that side of Prussik Pass (it was on the cards prior to my move from Washington) and have always wondered what they (and Druids Plateau) looked like.

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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furthur
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 6:07 pm 
Considerable meltout in the Upper E's in 2 week's time. Ole Sol is finally taking over. Before our backpack along the more traditional loop of Stuart to Snow THs, I imagined a day's thru-hike would be a fabulous adventure. No more. There is just too much to sample on this wondrous geography buffet. A sleepover of as many nights as possible is the only way to get Enchanted. But still....you all DID have a fabulous adventure. So I guess I'll keep dreaming.

"You're either on the bus or off the bus." Kesey
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ragman and rodman
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 6:26 pm 
Very timely info... thanks... glad your fall wasn't serious.

"Teanaway 70" Peaks List... a guide to hiking and scrambling in the Teanaway Area. ----------------
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 6:53 pm 
Two years ago Cannon Mtn didn’t treat me nicely so when a planned climb of Boston fell apart because of the weather I went back to Cannon and looped back via Aasgard, following routes already discussed. I considered climbing Enchantment Peak but I didn’t want to scramble wet black lichen solo (it had started to drizzle by the time I reached Prusik Pass),--and even less going down Aasgard after dark. A couple of route notes: knowing what a mess the extensive burn on the NW shoulder of Cannon is, this time I stuck to the ridge going straight up from the huge landslide and encountered a lot less fallen timber so I was able to do 1300’ per hour. At 7600' I did a long traverse trying to find the right gully to descend toward Cooney Lake: this can be tricky because of extensive steep slabs; the best one is probably right before a distinct tower on the ridge (photo 006, far left). Unlike Rob’s party I took the eastern gully (I didn’t like the cornice on top of the western gully): it’s pretty straightforward 30-35% snow. The summit boulder is not hard to climb in mountaineering boots but it may claim some skin off your ass going down. Aasgard IS a pain in the same. It’s a great place to ski but hoofing it down is not something I ever want to do again. It’s probably the most over-cairned route but finding a good line is still problematic, especially at dusk. Right now there is a raging waterfall on descender’s left (with some ominous holes) so one needs to stay essentially right: the crux is the top of the huge cliff in lower Aasgard: you have to anticipate it by going far right or you’ll find yourself on the edge of a chasm (I didn’t and had to climb back, then traverse with the help of green belays). All in all an arduous day (17+ miles, 7300’ vertical) but beautiful in the typical NW way of dim colors. There is still a lot of snow up there. Cannon is not worth the effort but the loop from Cannon to top of Aasgard is exquisite (if only someone would build a gondola from Icicle Rd to top of Aasgard). N
002 Coney Lake from Ridge
002 Coney Lake from Ridge
003 Cannon in clouds
003 Cannon in clouds
004 My gully
004 My gully
006 East Side of NW Ridge
006 East Side of NW Ridge
005 Cannon from Druid plateau
005 Cannon from Druid plateau
011 Pt 8287 (East Cannon?)
011 Pt 8287 (East Cannon?)
013 Enchantment Peak
013 Enchantment Peak
014 Dragon and Colchuck
014 Dragon and Colchuck
015 Stuart
015 Stuart
017 Cannon Summit
017 Cannon Summit
018 Name this lake (between Cannon and Prusik)
018 Name this lake (between Cannon and Prusik)
019 Does this prong have a name?
019 Does this prong have a name?
021 Prusik North Wall
021 Prusik North Wall
024 Little Annapurna
024 Little Annapurna
025 Shield Lake
025 Shield Lake
029 Moulting Marmot
029 Moulting Marmot
031 Base of SW Enchantment Pk
031 Base of SW Enchantment Pk
034 Ubiquitous Goats
034 Ubiquitous Goats
037 Ice on Inspiration Lake
037 Ice on Inspiration Lake
041 Isolation Lake
041 Isolation Lake

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Movenhike
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 6:53 pm 
Here's some photo's I felt were worth adding onto Wildernessed's thorough report.
Cannon
Cannon
Morning flowers
Morning flowers
Cannon Mountain Couloir
Cannon Mountain Couloir
Cannon Mountain/Coney Basin
Cannon Mountain/Coney Basin
Me and Cannon
Me and Cannon
Wildernessed and Steve observing our options
Wildernessed and Steve observing our options
Coney outlet with Cannon Summit Couloir
Coney outlet with Cannon Summit Couloir
Steve goin'  bypassing the moraine
Steve goin' bypassing the moraine
Sun-cupped  Couloir
Sun-cupped Couloir
Coney
Coney
Steep snow
Steep snow
Rob about to get broken off
Rob about to get broken off
Mount'n Chik'n
Mount'n Chik'n
Enchantments loop & Labrynth with Mother 120
Enchantments loop & Labrynth with Mother 120
Self
Self
Stuart Range
Stuart Range
Sharp peaks  from Druid Plateau
Sharp peaks from Druid Plateau
Trekking
Trekking
Druid Plateau
Druid Plateau
Steve and Wildernessed entering Druid Plateau
Steve and Wildernessed entering Druid Plateau
Druid Pools
Druid Pools
Lorelei Lakelets Basin anf Prussik Pass
Lorelei Lakelets Basin anf Prussik Pass
Lorelei
Lorelei
Enchantment Peak from Lorelei Lakelets
Enchantment Peak from Lorelei Lakelets
Backside of Prussik
Backside of Prussik
Annapurna from Prussik
Annapurna from Prussik
Crystal Lake
Crystal Lake
Upper's
Upper's
Go-lax'n
Go-lax'n
Prussik & Pools
Prussik & Pools
Terrible Beauty
Terrible Beauty
Wow, what a day! Call me a sissy but that kicked my ass! Then again I did Labyrinth Mtn. the day before for an accumulated 10,200 sumthin' feet of ele' gain in 2 days dizzy.gif I remember getting to Prussik Pass and weighing all my options of escape...needless to say, clicking my heels and wishing for home didn't pan out for a few more hours embarassedlaugh.gif That Steve, great meeting him, he has a wealth of knowledge concerning the backcountry of our area. What really impressed me was that he always had a smile on his face and a positive attitude no matter the adversity we faced up.gif I'm glad Rob was able to stop himself in that couloir misstep. That would be about the last place I would want to get hurt in. Tough enough place to get in and out of as it is, nevermind being even moderately injured. shakehead.gif What tragedy on Aasgard Pass. I really feel for the gentleman's son along with the rest of his family. I was hoping for the best the whole rest of the tour and also willing to lend whatever help would have been requested of me had the need arisen. Even if It would have meant staying up there through the night. Definitely one of my toughest day(and night)hikes I've ever been on. Rewarding and memorable. up.gif up.gif up.gif

"Make it your Friend" -John Bull
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wildernessed
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 7:51 pm 
up.gif Thanks for the comments everyone, great effort on your trip Nikko, awesome pics Movenhike, nice to get out with you again, a loop like that once a year can take the place of a stress test. Aasgard our relationship is over, Snow Lakes trail I'll see you soon. winksmile.gif

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HitTheTrail
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PostSun Aug 08, 2010 8:43 pm 
wildernessed wrote:
Aasgard our relationship is over, Snow Lakes trail I'll see you soon.
Oh ye of little faith. Thy will come to re-hate the Snow Lakes trail soon after your first re-hike.

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