Travel Diary: Thru-Hiking the Enchantments, Lake Wenatchee, and Leavenworth in Washington State

After my honeymoon in New Zealand in 2020, I realized I wanted to see more of the beauty within my own country; then, like millions of other Americans, the COVID pandemic further increased my desire to get outdoors. So when I scheduled a Labor Day trip to visit one of my best friends in Washington state, I was hoping we'd get to do a hike with stunning views -- and I lucked out with a thru-hike of the Enchantments!

Hiking the Enchantments was an incredible experience, and I took so many photos over the course of the day. So although I was in Washington for 10 days, I decided to break up the Enchantments into its own post -- the rest of my Washington travel diary will be available separately.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

tips and advice:

To visit the Enchantments, you can either thru-hike the entire distance as one long day hike, or you can backpack and complete the hike over the course of multiple days and nights. Obtaining the permit to backpack the Enchantments is a much more difficult process, so we opted instead to camp out at Lake Wenatchee for the weekend and day-hike instead. But whether you backpack or day hike, make sure you have the right permits.
There's a lot of discrepancy about the actual distance of the Enchantments hike, and unfortunately the Apple watch we were using to track died after mile 19, but we estimated that we hiked more than 22 miles in just under 14 hours. The trail is a combination of relatively soft forest ground and jagged rock and scree/talus. I didn't do a lot of training in advance -- after hiking Yosemite the month before, I continued walking 60 minutes every day/running every few days and added on a few days of the treadmill at a high incline. I did bring Advil after learning during Half Dome that the soles of my feet start to burn around mile 15 or so!
I drank less water (2.5L) during the Enchantments than I did during Half Dome (6+L). Half Dome was a shorter hike but much higher temperatures (110 degrees or so, compared to the 80s for the Enchantments).
Eat frequently during the hike! We stopped to snack at least every few miles.
Download maps in advance, in case you don't have service on the trail. And keep an eye out for cairns rather than trail signs (as there were only a few trail signs).
Learn more about the Enchantments via Washington Trails Association (WTA) and All Trails. And follow the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace: 1) Plan ahead and prepare; 2) Travel and camp on durable surfaces; 3) Dispose of waste properly (pack out); 4) Leave what you find; 5) Minimize the impact of campfires; 6) Respect wildlife; and 7) Be considerate of others.
Here's the packing list (and items) my friend provided, since I was visiting from across the country and had never camped before:

String lights (to hang around camp - for atmosphere and visibility)
Tent
Sleeping mat
Sleeping bag
Stove + fuel
Food to prepare
Basic cooking supplies
Cooler
Trash bags
Paper towels
Camp chair
Speaker
Camping body wipes
Make-up removers (to remove grime from the face after hiking)

My hiking list:

Headlamp (for early morning/late night)
Hat to protect against sun
Day pack (with bladder)
Sunglasses
Sun shirt
Hiking boots + socks
Trekking poles (though I personally preferred not to use them)
Sanitation kit (toilet paper, wipes, trowel, hand sanitizer, and bags to pack out)
First aid kid
Sunscreen
SPF chapstick
Bug spray
Swimsuit and lightweight quick-dry towel
Blister band-aids! (I bought these once and loved them so much I now carry them with me when hiking, skiing, wearing high heels, whatever - haha!)

itinerary:

We left Seattle and arrived at Lake Wenatchee on Friday night, thru-hiked the Enchantments on Saturday, and spent some time on Lake Wenatchee and in the nearby village of Leavenworth on Sunday before heading back to Seattle.
We arrived at Lake Wenatchee around 8pm; the rest of our group had arrived earlier and were already mostly set up, so we quickly set up our tent and then sat down to eat dinner before heading to bed.
We woke up around 3:30am to get an early start on the trail! Because it's a thru hike, we had initially planned to take 2 separate cars, so we could drop one off at the end and then join the other car to get to the start. However, one of our friends was nice enough to wake up and drive with us (!), so after we left a car at the end of the trail, she dropped us off at the start. It takes approximately 30 minutes to drive between the trailheads, so not having to pick up the second car after the hike saved us a lot of time at the end, which was really nice because after hiking all day, all we wanted to do was get back to the campsite!
We chose to start at Stuart Lake Trailhead and end at Snow Lakes trailhead, for a lower elevation gain (almost 2,000 feet fewer!). We did pass many groups going in the opposite direction, but I was happy with our decision.
We were on the trailhead by 5:30am and finished our hike at 7:15pm, so we hiked more than 22 miles in 13 hours and 45 minutes. While we booked it at the beginning, making it to Colchuck Lake and the top of Aasgard Pass in great time, we definitely slowed down to enjoy the beauty of the Core Enchantments -- we had a lengthy break for lunch, and then we stopped again at Lake Viviane to jump in, dry off, and rest.
Looking back now, I think the worst part was Aasgard Pass, because it seemed to last forever and was probably the most crowded part. The last 7 miles were also definitely tough mentally -- although much of it was on soft forest ground (rather than sharp jagged rock), I was just ready to be done at that point!
Leavenworth is designed like a Bavarian village. We ordered some snacks, some drinks, and ice cream and wandered around a bit before it was time to head back to Seattle. Apparently it's also beautiful in the winter and during the holidays!

photo diary:

After seeing so many photos on social media of this lake, I was so happy to finally be there myself. You can see Aasgard Pass in the distance...

With my bestie! We hiked together on a trip in Portugal in 2017, and while I'd been hiking before, that was the first time I really *got* the appeal of hiking.

On Aasgard Pass, with Colchuck Lake in the background.

Our group! It was awesome and honestly inspiring to spend the weekend with some incredibly capable, impressive ladies.

Made it to the top of Aasgard Pass!

Hiking through the Core Enchantments (the area between Colchuck Lake and Snow Lake).

One of my favorite views from the hike.

Mountain goats! I was so happy we saw some. (Which is actually more common than not because they're attracted to the salt in human urine... so they tend to stick around the area.)

This goat actually gave us a little bit of a fright! We were taking photos from a distance when it suddenly came right towards us, so we *quickly* moved far away as fast as we could. Here's a video on how to hike safely with goats.

The girls making our way to Inspiration Lake.

You can see my friend in the bottom right corner!

Perfection Lake was stunninggg... so many groups stopped here to wade and rest.

I loved how the water just changed colors from blue to blue-green, you can see it in this photo.

The number of times I wanted to make a Thor joke...

Lake Viviane and the last lake for a dip! We jumped in here and the glacial water was so cold I finally understand what Jack Dawson meant in Titanic when he said truly cold water is like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body and you can't even think.

You can see the bottom of a waterfall in the bottom-right corner.

Almost done!

Back at Lake Wenatchee just in time for a beautiful sunset.

In Leavenworth on Sunday!

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban (affiliate link) | Dress: Lulu's (affiliate link)

Whistlepunk ice cream is handmade in the Cascades and it was some of the best ice cream I've ever had.

I love Christmas so obviously a photo of "Kris Kringl" was necessary.

And I try to see The Nutcracker ballet every year / grew up with Nutcrackers all over the house, so a photo of the Nutcracker Museum also seemed necessary, haha!

where to eat and drink:

While we brought our own meals for camping, I definitely recommend the places we visited in Leavenworth!

Icicle Brewing Company (we ordered a delicious salad, charcuterie board, and pretzel)
Whistlepunk (the line was LONG but SO worth it -- I'm legit sad they don't deliver to D.C.)

what to do:

Thru-hike or backpack the Enchantments!
Shorter hikes -- Colchuck Lake is only 8 miles round-trip, and most of the hike through forest ground.
Camp at Lake Wenatchee
Swim in Lake Wenatchee (floats, paddle boards, etc)
Visit Leavenworth

links I used or recommend:

I honestly could not have asked for a better experience for my first time camping or my longest hike ever. It was a truly magical experience, from seeing the most stunning of views, to jumping into an alpine lake, to just accomplishing a 22 mile hike with a group of impressive ladies. I would absolutely do this hike again -- and, since my husband is bummed I went without him and wants to plan a return trip, I probably will!

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Travel Diary: Thru-Hiking the Enchantments, Lake Wenatchee, and Leavenworth in Washington State

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