Backpacking the Enchantments

A couple weeks ago we were invited to go on a backpacking trip to the enchantments. The enchantments is a place I've been dying to hike since I learned about it four years ago and couldn't pass up the opportunity!

Friday morning we grabed breakfast at Starbucks and got to the trailhead at 7:30am. We started the morning hiking with two of my coworkers and Jeff. Eventually we all split up but then met back up with one my coworkers at Nada Lake where we ate lunch.

By 3pm we made it to Snow Lake where we had to cross a freezing cold dam. I was the 2nd person to cross the dam during which I stopped on some logs to give much needed relieft to my freezing feet. I felt so bad afterwards when I realized my stop stranded my coworker in the freezing water with nowhere to go.

Another 1.5 miles around Snow Lake we were so exhausted that we decided we would camp there. That was until I was being tormented by misquitos and made the decision to hike another 1700 ft up to Lake Viviane where it was too cold for bugs to bother us. That last 2 hours hiking climbing the boulders was the toughest. We were all so tired, feet hurting, and our packs feeling like they tripled in weight

We finally arrived at Lake Viviane at 7pm with a welcoming committee of the local mountain goats.

That first night was grewling! We all thought we would get some sleep because of our long day of hiking but instead all three of us tossed and turned. My coworker actually got up and took some amazing pictures between 2-4am. Jeff and I finally got up around 10:30am, ate breakfast, and then started the trek back to Snow Lake that afternoon. My coworker decided he was going to hike all the way back so Jeff and I hiked by ourselves the rest of the trip. We made it back to Lake Nada where we slept the second night.

On the last day we made the hike back. Right before we got to the car we ran into a mother goat and her kid. They did not want to move off the trail so Jeff and I had to cross them going up the mountain side. When we finally reached the car we were so exhausted from our trip but was so happy that we were able to make the trek.