Colchuck lake to snow lakes. The demands are significant but the rewards are well worth it.
Arrived at Colchuck lake trailhead around 11 pm Friday. A shooting star as we went to sleep in the car was auspicious. Started the hike at 4 am Saturday.
The hike up to Colchuck is straightforward. Trail is steady climb with no obstacles even in the dark. I think I sleepwalked (sleptwalked?) through most of it. arrived at Colchuck just as the day was breaking. Spectacular to see the pink sky and dawn on the peaks reflected in the lake. Saw 2-3 other groups on this stretch.
Asgard Pass is a fun challenge. The trail gets iffy in places, although there are cairns. Much of the climb is through scree or sandy rocks that make footing challenging. In several places I was using my hands. I really started to feel the thin air about halfway up, but took it slow and steady and was fine. Trail was quite busy by now. Lots of camaraderie as we all leapfrogged our way up the pass.
The scene from the top of the pass is sublime. You get over the last ridge and suddenly you’re on the moon as interpreted by Tolkien. The stark beauty of the naked rocks and spires contrasts with the view of the wooded mountainsides and lake you just left behind at the bottom of the pass.
From the top of the pass it’s an easy downhill grade through the enchantments. One gorgeous lake after another. Almost no snow. Warm (for alpine lakes) water made for good swimming which was a relief after the hot, dusty climb. The trail was pretty packed as we went through the lakes, but never too busy and people were friendly. Spectacular views everywhere. I was genuinely enchanted. The only challenging but after the pass was the hike down to snow lake.
After snow lake, we descended below the tree line and out to the trailhead. This but was still quite pretty, but felt unremarkable after the upper lakes.
Total time on the trail was about 16 hours, including time for a leisurely lunch and stopping to swim at basically every lake.
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