The Enchantments! Living Up to Their Name!

Amy and I did a thing! We did the Enchantments through-hike in one day. Here's our log:

Colchuck/Stuart Trailhead - 6:00am

North end Colchuck Lake - 8:00am

Aasgard Pass base - 9:00 am (5 miles)

Top of Aasgard Pass - 11:00 am (6.2 miles / 7841')

Lunch overlooking Isolation & Tranquil Lakes

Start Core Enchantments hike - 11:30 am

Rest at Inspiration Lake far side - 1:00-1:40 pm (8.2 miles)

Pass to start heading down to Snow Lake (end of Lake Vivian) 2:40pm (9.7 miles)

Upper Snow Lake - 3:50pm - 11.3 miles

Nada Lake far side 5:00 pm - 14 miles

 5:30pm - 15 miles

 6:15pm - 17.2 miles

Oops turned off 15 minutes 6:30 missed .4

Finished at 7:15 pm - 19.2 miles (actually 19.6!)

Amy is a fantastic hiking partner and we had such an amazing adventure that we want to do it again next year. We pushed our pace a bit, but nothing crazy, and were really pleased with how everything turned out. The smoke was intense in Seattle and it limited our faraway views on the hike, but didn't interfere with breathing or views of the lakes that were close. 

Colchuck Lake

Looking across Colchuck Lake and seeing Aasgard Pass in the distance.

Standing at the base of Aasgard Pass.

Heading up!

This chubby marmot provided a welcome distraction and chuckles.

The larches had started turning and they were a stunning yellow color.

Looking up Dragontail Peak.

Lunch time overlooking the Upper Enchantments!

Do you see the mountain goat?

Now?

Last lake - Lake Vivian.

Looking down to Upper Snow Lake and pretty much the exit from the Enchantments.

Leavenworth gets its water from Upper Snow Lake -here's the dam at the end of the reservoir.

Looking down to Nada Lake.

Crazy water blasting out of the mountainside from the reservoir.

Crossing Icicle Creek - almost back to the car!

Well deserved celebration Rainier!!!

Squeezing out the Last Days of Sunshine

We continued with Home Learning 2.0 this week. It is getting smoother and smoother every day. I'm really proud of the kids for their dedication to it. We tried to make the most of each day this week by doing fun things outdoors. On Tuesday we went to Evan's birthday party which was also, sadly, their going away party as they are moving to Utah this month. Evan, Ollie and Reed have been good buddies since preschool days.

The aerobie Reed got for Evan was a hit.

We also did multiple laps each day around the neighborhood to stretch our legs. This was a great picture of teamwork between Charlotte and Reed.

We signed up for swim sessions at the pool and cooled down.

And we met up with friends at the Civic Club. It is crazy that this was our first time to the Civic Club this summer! We had fun, though, and definitely need to come back again soon. Reed's dives were on point!

Unfortunately the smoke started to roll in from the fires in Oregon and California and made it impossible to go outside starting Friday afternoon.