Tag: larch

Enchantment Lakes [7]

Day 2. Entering Core Enchantments

After resting and photographing by Lake Viviane we’ve put on our backpacks that seemed to get heavier and heavier and headed out to Core Enchantments. It was a short but dangerous hike, since at some places we’d need to walk on a ledge no more than one meter wide with a steep wall on one side and dropoff on the other.

In some twenty minutes or so we entered Core Enchantments…

It was like entering a magic kingdom – realm of white granite, golden larches, emerald lakes, delicate waterfalls and snow white mountain goats.

No picture can describe it. Photos show lakes, mountains, larches. But it was is much more than that. It was an oasis secluded from the rest of the world by steep cliffs of white granite with spiky tops filled with lakes with incredible pure emerald water connected by an intricate web of silky streams and cascading waterfalls.

It was peaceful, remote, isolated, inviting, unique. Like no other place on Earth.

Enchantment Lakes [6]

Day 2. Lake Viviane

After scrambling up the face of a rock for hours we were finally getting to the lower Enchantments. We were entering Enchantments at a mouth of a waterfall; greeted by a mountain goat.

Lake Viviane was the first of Enchantment Lakes that we got to from the Snow Lake trail. It was surrounded by steep drops of white and black granite walls. The water was incredibly clear. We were able to see very deep into the lake where a few fish lazily were moving around. The granite walls were sprinkled with bright golden larches. The sky was deep deep clear blue.

We, finally, took a long break, refilled water bottles, had some snack, rested and photographed. The greeter rested with us and took some nap.

Enchantment Lakes [5]

Day 2. Approaching Lower Enchantments

On our first day I still had energy to walk and there were still 2 hours till sunset but John and Josh decided to camp night out at Upper Snow Lake. The second day I learnt why.

The last mile of this hike was the toughest. It was pretty much continuous scramble up a face of a big rock. There were no flat spots big enough to setup a tent. Once we were there there were only two options: walk up or walk down. Even in day light it was easy to loose the trail, since in many cases there were no trail. At night it would be extremely hard to stay on it.

I was not used to go such steep trails. My muscles were sore from previous day hike. So, I was moving slowly, checking that my muscles would not give up on me before making each steep step. Loosing balance was not an option. It took us 3 or 4 hours to get to Lake Viviane. (In other words we would not make it before night fall the day before.)

As we climbed higher and higher we could see golden larches in the distance. Larches were glowing in sun light. Now they were not only above us; we left some below.

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The grand view of the whole valley we had been walking up so far was opening up to us.

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Enchantment Lakes [4]

Day 2. Sunrise at Snow Lake

We woke up to quite morning. First thing first: locate the camera that I left for the night to photograph star trails. Next onto photographing sunrise, breakfast could wait just a little bit.

It was freezing but no wind at all, absolute stillness. Good opportunity to photograph reflections in Snow Lake. The water level was incredibly low exposing steep banks of the lake that typically lay deep under water.

The textures created by sand and dust deposits brought here by water then dried up when the water level dropped were fascinating. We could see golden larches at higher elevations. They seemed so close.

The tops of the mountains were lit up pretty nicely. I wish there were some clouds too to add to the light show but the sky was as clear blue as it could be.

After photographing sunrise we made breakfast from freeze-dried bags. Once both our creativity and bodies were fed we packed up and moved out toward Enchantment Lakes.

Enchantment Lakes [1]

Prolog

Just like good wine I want to give photos from a good trip to settle in, give my mind time to relax and reflect, almost forget about them to have a fresh look before starting post-processing.

My story begins way before we actually stepped on the trail. It starts with learning that a group of photographer was planning an five day backpacking trip to Enchantment Lakes. I thought of going to that place for a while. The name itself – Enchantment Lakes – sounded so captivating waking up imagination. I even thought to do it as a day trip… well, I did not quite knew what I was up against.

I got on that group that had eight photographers in it including me. Since I knew it will be physically challenging trip I started running every day. That certainly helped me a lot of the trip.

I also started gathering all the right equipment and none of it was photography related: sleeping bag, sleeping pad, warm clothing, waterproof clothing and boots, backpack, and so on. One of the photographers – John Song – helped me a lot with selecting the right equipment since he has gone on backpacking trip to Enchantment Lakes before. Two days before the trip he inspected the content of my backpack and gave some final suggestions. (Thanks, John!)

As we were getting closer to the trip people started dropping off. Many were concerned about smoke due to wildfires raging in close vicinity of Enchantment Lakes. (Luckily it was not a problem at all. The wind was blowing smoke in direction opposite to Enchantment Lakes.) Only three people stepped on the trail. And I was one of them.

My trip to Enchantment Lakes was the most impressive experience of my life in many different ways: first time backpacking, first time hiking so high, first time visiting Enchantment Lakes, first time overcoming fear of heights.

All those stories are coming. For now I’ll leave you with this image I took at Lake Viviane in Lower Enchantments.

Enchantment Lakes

On this Monday I’m off to adventure of my lifetime. With 3 other people I’m going on a 5 day backpacking trip to Enchantment Lakes. 18 miles, 6000 ft. elevation gain, 7800 ft. above sea level at the highest point with a large backpack on my back will put to test my body and mind.

I’ve been preparing to it for the last month with hiking longish hikes and running every day but still the longest I went was 9 miles with less of elevation gain and lighter backpack. I’m very curious what 18 miles and 6000 ft. elevation gain feels like. And I’ve never been backpacking before. But the place have been intriguing me for a long time. I’ve heard it is magical. And finally I have a good company to go there.

It is going to be peak of larches golden fall foliage that Enchantment Lakes are famous for. So, I hope to come back with great photos. Ok. Maybe it should have been two sentences. I hope to come back. And with great photos. 🙂