Backpacking The Enchantments

If you’re an outdoors-loving, Pacific Northwest living-wanderer, then you’ve likely heard about The Enchantments. It’s this beautiful place just near Leavenworth, that only the lucky get to backpack. However, if you are me, then this is just another place those outdoor-loving individuals talk so highly about.

I would not in any way, shape, or form describe myself as outdoorsy. Sure, I have camped and hiked, but nothing to the extremity of those native PNW-ers. I prefer the leisurely strolls through the wilderness, not the extreme knee-to-chest hikes up mountains. However, if you are at all familiar with The Enchantments, then you know that I was way out of my element.

Getting into the Enchantments is not only difficult on a physical level but also involves the “lottery” process. This means that each year, dedicated hikers/backpackers sign up online for a permit to backpack the forest. Clearly, I was not one of those people to sign up, but friends of ours did and they were lucky enough to get those permits. Knowing a little bit of background about this forest, we knew that this was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, and despite my lack of backpacking experience, it was something that we had to check off the bucket list.

So, the packing began. Now, if you have backpacked at all then you know what you should and should not bring. Since my fiance and I were inexperienced (I, more than him) we learned quite a few things on this excursion. Example one: Deodorant is not necessary–there is not enough deodorant in the world to extinguish the stench that your body will produce after hiking 21 miles. Example two: An ax is absolutely unnecessary if fires aren’t even permitted in the area you are camping. Both things equaled extra unneeded weight.

It may seem surprising to some that I even own a “backpacking” backpack. It surprises even me. However, the purchase of this backpack was for our trip to Thailand the year before. (Pro-tip: So much easier carrying these types of backpacks on international trips, especially if you plan on moving from place to place frequently).

Day 1:

Thankfully, we didn’t have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to meet our group and we were able to get an OK amount of sleep the night before. The plan for the day was to begin the hike around 1:00pm and set up camp once we got to the top. Our group had 8 people, all of whom had expert level hiking experience, or frequently backpacked. Needless to say my fiance and I were holding the rear. The first mile or so of the trip was pretty difficult, getting used to the weight of the 20-ish pounds of gear was probably the hardest. The second hardest was the knee-to-chest movements we seemed to constantly be making. I would say around mile 3-4 everyone began getting numb to it all, or at least I was. It was surprising how manageable it all was, but I learned that conversation and breaks were a necessity.

You can’t fully understand how much a person can sweat until you have 20 pounds of extra weight on your back and you are trekking up a mountain. I would dub myself a sweaty person when I am being active, however, even I was unaware of this ability. It is also a pretty common fact that when you sweat, nutrients are sweating out as well, but this somehow managed to flee my memory when packing food for this trip (Pro-tip #2: Always pack extra snacks–preferably salty ones). Luckily for Tim and I, our friends were seasoned hikers and remembered this helpful tip. Who would have thunk that beef jerky was actually a necessity for something like this?! Not I.

I think I have made it abundantly aware that I am not the most outdoorsy individual, however, I will not be one of those people who whines in public. I think that if one chooses to inflict 21 miles of pain on themselves, then they shouldn’t complain about the decision they made. Therefore, I made it a goal to not only finish this hike but do so without a single (maybe one?) complaint. When I say “whine in public” that does not include ones whispered into my fiance’s ear, but who really needs to know that?

Since three of our camping buddies were unable to keep up with Tim and I’s slow and steady speed, they raced ahead (We later found out that they had actually reached the summit about an hour and a half before we did). But, the five of us that remained seemed to all be hiking at the same pace, to my surprise. And, even more surprising was the need for breaks that were not initiated by me! These small successes were things that kept me going–and also the encouragement of my fellow hiking buddies (cause we’re all buds at this point). You don’t realize how high you’re ascending until you reach an opening in the forests. The views you can see are truly the reason people put themselves through hours of hell.

We had probably been hiking for about three hours, at this point, I had many a conversation in my head, one being how I could really get into this whole “backpacking” thing. WHATT??? Yes. Me. The least outdoorsy person thought it! Then again, we had a few more miles to go. There is a moment when you hike where you completely zen out. Around mile 7 is when this moment happened for me. I was completely in the zone, and it was sort of relaxing. That whole “being one with nature” saying completely holds true.

(Pro tip #3: Hiking poles are a serious necessity when backpacking) Lucky for us our friends provided us with some hiking poles for the trek. I didn’t realize how dependent I would be on the poles, but they are like an extra set of legs, leaving me feeling like an imperial walker with my new limbs.

Originally posted by purple-lightsaber

The first campsites we reached were beautiful. I could feel the temperature drop in the air, and the cool breeze was so refreshing on our break. We were almost to the summit. This was the moment we began celebrating, with only about a half a mile left, the hardest part was over.

Everyone, at some point in their life, has played “Would you rather”, and one of those is usually would you rather die by fire or drown. Neither of which is appealing on any level–however for me, drowning seems like the worst way to go. So when we came face-to-face with what I like to call the Dam of Death, my first instinct was to call it quits and turn around. Now, this may be a little dramatic, but after our premature celebration, I had it set in my mind that we had finished and already begun to relax a bit. It is also a bit unnerving when your seasoned backpacking friend tells you to make sure everything is unstrapped so that if you do actually fall in the water, the weight of your backpack won’t drown you so quickly.

The only thing worse than having to walk across a sketchy dam (without any sort of railing to hold on to!) is having to do so barefoot. In case you have never touched mountain water, I must inform you that it is freezing cold. We are talking about water that has just recently melted from snow form. That being said, you would think that after our hike it would feel amazing to give our toes a little ice bath, but it’s actually extremely painful. I am definitely one of those people who, when threatened, begins to talk to themselves. Words of encouragement, if you will. “It’s okay, it’s okay” or “Almost there”, even “this isn’t too bad”. All of which are basically lies to myself to keep me somewhat calm.

Finally, we reached the end of the dam. Somehow the freezing water completely froze my entire body, but we made it. Just a quick little jaunt left, and we were officially at our campsite.

(Pro-tip#4: Bring alcohol for summit celebration–BUT, do not bring it in a glass container)

While purchasing our fifth of Bulleit Bourbon, the thought did cross my mind that maybe buying a glass bottle of it was not the brightest of ideas. Luckily, our bottle was unscathed, but plastic bottles are a better option for bringing booze. Upon arrival of the campsite, you must also take a few celebratory shots! I am not a huge bourbon drinker, but bourbon is definitely a must for all camping/backpacking excursions. Nothing makes me feel more like a bad-ass than taking a giant pull of bourbon straight from the bottle.

After meeting up with the rest of the crew, and taking celebratory shots, it was time to get to business and set up camp. Tim and I are pro (car) campers. We know our responsibilities when it comes to who sets up what, therefore setting up camp is relatively easy for us. Once everything was set up it was time to change into our comfortable (and warm) attire and relax by what should have been a fire, but due to the burn ban, we just sat around our jet boilers. This is just about my favorite part of camping. I love when everyone comes together and gets to share all their stories, it’s a really great bonding experience for everyone.

The coldest night

(The tip of all pro-tips: Buy good quality gear, no matter the cost)

It may be tempting to purchase the cheapest options, but when it comes to outdoor gear, this is not a good idea at all. For one, you don’t usually find out that your gear is complete shit until you are in the wilderness, and it’s your only available option. Second, most of the time you will end up having to purchase multiples of the cheap gear because it will end up breaking. Therefore, always opt for the more expensive choice, you won’t regret it.

With all of that being said, we did not buy the more expensive option, and we most definitely paid for it. A good quality sleeping bag is an absolute must. The bags we decided to bring were dated and weren’t high quality, to begin with. Normally, this wouldn’t be a huge issue if we were not so high in elevation, but because it was colder, we froze our first night. This resulted in an exhausted, and emotional state for myself (i.e. quiet sobs in my tent). No worries–I stuck to my no complaints rule and cried in private. I would also like to mention that the likely cause of my mini-meltdown was undoubtedly due to exhaustion (and quite possible Bulleit Bourbon).

I have to say that I think we were pretty lucky in terms of where we were able to camp. Our campsite was nestled in a little pocket of woods right next to the water. I have such a love for the serene sounds of the wilderness, and I prefer to have a little background noise when I sleep. However, I could have probably gone without the thuds that resulted when little shrews would run into our tent. For critters that are nocturnal, it is alarming how bad their eyesight must be. I won’t hold that against them though, I still find them a little bit cute.

The Hike After the Hike

I envy a person who has the ability to push themselves to do more. I don’t mean to say that I am lazy, because I don’t believe that I am. However, I do think that I tend to complete the things that need to be done, and that’s about the extent of it. There really isn’t much of a drive to accomplish more. Backpacking is definitely not for the lazy, nor the unmotivated. So when it was decided by half the group that we would be hiking another 3 miles the next day, it was as if I had been stabbed in the heart. I was already feeling the impact of yesterday’s hike and lack of sleep, how was I suppose to endure another 3 miles of this?!

You really only have two options in this scenario: 1) You stay at camp by yourself, doing god knows what to pass time or 2) You (what my fiance likes to call) “sack up” and do the damn thing. Well, I really wanted to keep true to my no complaints rule, and staying back at camp would definitely not be a good look, therefore the answer was clear. I would “sack up” and do the damn thing. What was another 3 miles anyways?!

With very little rest from the night before, and then the overall soreness from our epic hike up to camp, my body was just trying to survive at this point. Our route up may have only been about a mile and a half, but it was completely vertical. Slow and steady would most definitely win this race.

One of the perks of this shorter hike was that we did not need near as many snacks or water that was required the day before. We also had a mostly empty pack due to the fact that all the weight was from our tent accessories. This was extremely helpful in our ascent. About a quarter mile in each of us was feeling the hike from the day before. My legs were not in the best condition, and with each stride going up, I could tell it was getting a little bit harder to breathe. But man, oh man was the view getting better and better! Along the trail we had been hiking, there was a beautiful stream of water, that we later discovered came from a waterfall. The most refreshing thing to do on a hike, or even just camping, is sticking your face or dunking your entire head into some icy water. As crazy as that sounds it can sometimes be a necessity. There isn’t much that can wake a person more than freezing cold water to the dome.

It had been a little over an hour of hiking, and we started to reach the snow. Some of our fellow camping mates had brought the proper shoes for trekking in the snow. However, another rookie mistake made my us meant that we were struggling to not slide sideways down the mountain. I had just about given up (a lot quicker than I anticipated), when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a mountain goat!

I feel like I should mention a couple of things before going further. When reading about the enchantments, (before we made the decision to go) there was an alarming number of warnings about that mountain goats inhabiting the area. The warning was that due to the scarcity of salt in the area, it is suggested for hikers to pee between rocks and crevices, so the mountain goats don’t follow them throughout the trails. This may not seem like an exciting animal to see after such a bizarre warning, but another thing to add is there really isn’t much wildlife seen that high in altitude. So, for me, this was extremely thrilling.

After seeing the beauty of the mountain goat just perched up on the edge of a cliff a few feet above me, there was no way I was turning back around. This was like the sign of all signs for me to push forward. My seasoned backpacking companions assured me that we were way too close to stop now, so onwards we went. And thank goodness for that. Just about 15 minutes later we finally made it to the top. Every view I had seen up to this point (even counting the hike from the day before), had absolutely nothing on the views I was seeing now. We reached the top, and right in the front of us was this half frozen lake with the most jagged edged mountain top I had ever seen. To the left was the start of the small creek that we had hiked next to all morning, and just beyond that was a gorgeous cliff that hung over everything we’d hiked in the last two days. It was lunch time, and we had the most amazing seat in the house.

My exhaustion was at an all-time high, but I was so content. We cozied up on a massive boulder overlooking all the beauty. Our freeze-dried lasagna was almost ready, and we’d found the best spot to rest and revive ourselves. There was no way that it could get any better than this.

There were a few other groups of backpackers up on the boulder with us and suddenly we heard someone talking about the mountain goats. We all turned and within a few feet of us, there was not one, not two, but FIVE goats. Two of which were the sweetest little babies I had ever laid eyes on. It was a moment I don’t think anyone there could ever forget.

The Last Leg

Lunch was over, and we had rested (and feasted), it was time to head back down. Everyone else in our crew had decided to hike up a little more, but we didn’t have the gear for it so my fiance and I started back to camp. It was a more relaxing pace than what we had been used to the whole trip, and it was nice being able to have some time to ourselves to reflect on all that we had seen thus far. Both of us agreed on the intensity of the trip and were ready to relax a little before the rest of the group came back. The hike down was nowhere near as long as the hike up. It took us about a third of the time to get back to camp. The others were just about 30 minutes behind, with nothing exciting to share from the other campers, we were both glad to have skipped the extra hike.

It was our last night in The Enchantments, so that meant that all the booze had to be gone (because who really wants to carry more liquids). It was cloudier the last night, so we weren’t able to see the stars, but there was a beauty in the peacefulness of the night. I still am unsure of whether or not this night was warmer, or if I just had a nice “bourbon blanket” on because I slept pretty good that last night. There were no shrews to be heard.

When we woke up the next morning we had unanimously decided that we would eat breakfast and pack up as soon as possible. The backpacking trip was over, and it was time to head back to the car. Our hike down took about three hours to finish and we were welcomed back with a Rainier Beer.

Our long drive back home left me time to reflect on the entire trip. This backpacking experience was so challenging, yet I would do it over again. I learned that I heavily relied on the encouragement of those around me, and also enjoyed those moments of peacefulness. And the most surprising thing I discovered was how excited I was to do another backpacking trip, although probably not as long as the first. If you are ever in the area and get the opportunity to backpack The Enchantments, this place comes HIGHLY recommended. The scenery was well worth the three days of soreness I endured after it was all over, and the memories made will be ones that none of us will ever forget.

Tags: backpackers, backpacking, bulleit bourbon, campers, camping, exploration, exploring, hikers, hiking, opt outside, outdoors, rei, the enchantments, trails, washington, woods