4 nights in the Enchantments Labor day weekend 2016

[Gutpile]

My fiance is a bit of a hiking fanatic and she and her daughter drew the enchantments this spring (actually Lake Colchuk) for labor day weekend. We wanted to see of we could perhaps get a pass for Stuart Lake as well since they had never been there. We went to the ranger station in Leavenworth at 7:30 a.m. thursday for the drawing and found out we could try for the core permit which allows you to stay anywhere so we decided to try for it and did in fact get drawn. We were pretty stoked but had no idea what lay in store for us. Again, we had planned on Colchuk so we packed heavy. I had about 50 pounds and we brought food items we normally wouldn't have but Colchuk is only 5ish miles from the trailhead so weight wasn't a huge concern. We decide to stay up in the core for a couple nights then Colchuk one night then check out Stuart lake on the way out.

The forecast was calling for hi's of mid 40 so I decided to wear my hunting gear rather than hiking gear. I ditched the prana's for my kuiu and grabbed my first lite wools. I also opted for the Kenetrek hardscrabbles vs. the salomons since they leak a little and I don't want wet feet for 4 days. I'm here to tell you those Attack pants are AWESOME!!! The weather was mid 60's at times down to the high twenties. Driving wind, rain, snow and I was comfortable the whole time. I was thoroughly impressed. The second day we had 10-15 mph winds and 36 degrees with wet driving snow and I was just fine hiking around out there. They dry quickly and insulate very well. The hip vents were AWESOME when we had warmer weather. BUY THEM!!!!

The big surprise was the hardscrabbles. I'm a big Kenetrek guy. I got sick and tired of wearing out a pair of $200.00 Danners every year so I finally bought some Kenetrek Mountain extreme's and freaking loved them but I run hot so I needed some un-insulated boots as well so I bought some hardscrabbles. I wore these up that god forsaken climb up Aasgard pass and I was thoroughly impressed. They are heavier than what most hikers would ever wear but after 4 days in those crappy conditions on that terrain the performed beautifully and my feet were warm and dry the whole time. I was a little leery about them just because of the weight but they will accompany on any future hikes if there is any hint at all of wet weather. I love those boots and highly recommend.

Of course the first lite wool was a must. I believe 100% in wool. I wore their Llano and Chama tops and what can I say other than they did what wool does.

I also brought along a sitka jetstrem lite jacket. MUST HAVE!! It's very packable sheds light rain nicelt but absolutely cuts the cold wind. Lastly a Kuiu Teton Softshell. Ummmmm........I'll just say. "Meh" It's just okay. It didn't insulate real well nor did it cut wind real well. Seemed to shed light rain fine. I don't know what to say. I guess it's good to have if you don't want to wear a puffy as the outer layer but I honestly can't say I was super impressed.

My puffy was a Patagonia nano puff. Not exactly hunting gear but it is AWESOME!! LoL. My girls puffy is down and got wet so she lost some insulation because of that. I really think that the synthetic puffy is a better choice. They insulate just as well but getting them wet wont kill you.

\Kuiu 5200 Icon pro. I believe I'll switch to a Gregory for hiking but this pack is really thought out well. I've used it on 2 four nighters so far and feel very comfortable in saying I can do a 7 nighter no problem. I just don't like how the load seems to be so far of of the shoulders. For hunting I say go for it. It's an awesome pack. I have an 1850, and 3200 and the 5200 and love that I can so easily switch them out. I love the meat shelf. I really do love the kuiu model. The load feeling "far back" isn't a huge problem in hunting in my opinion because lets face it. We arent walking 50 miles in 5 days with 50 pounds. We are walking in a few miles and dropping gear and hunting. This pack will work well for that and I highly recomend. For multi day high mile hikes? Not so much.



Don't forget the stormy Kromer. If you don't have one because it looks funny you are missing out in a big way. Just sayin!!

I partially want to talk about the clothes in this because this stuff is commonly discussed on these sites and I started wearing them a couple of years ago. I new they were comfy but this was the best true test I've had. Whn we hunt we typically go back to camp during really crappy weather. When we hike and we are 10-20-30 miles out we are truly stuck and our gear better freaking work. My gear worked big time an I was a happy camper.

On to the pics. Hope you enjoy!! 



Colchuk lake with Aasgard pass in the distance.


First goats of the trip.


Colchuk


Heading to Aasgard over the rock slides


Aasgard pass 3000 ft. is what I was told




We made it. I really didn't take any pics of the ascent up Aasgard. Let me tell you, with 50 pounds it was a bitch. It took us 2 1/2 hours and we earned it. The following are the core basin pics.







Home for a couple days. Perfection lake




Ever present goats. Fuggin COOL!!!




Exploring the core







getting cold man!!!


Next morning we woke up to 27 degrees.




beth was having coffee and this damn goat appeared out of nowhere. Believe it or not this wasn't a staged photo


More camp mascots


My ugly mug trying for a fun selfy. LOL. Geez


time to head back out.





A view from the top of Aasgard to Colchuk


My fat ars and my girl


Camp at Colchuk. We're in a Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 man. Really a great tent. Double openings and two vestibules. It really worked well.







Last stop at Stuart Lake


\

That's it!!! Now I get to chase BEARS!!!!! 

[boneaddict]

Thank you!   Beautiful

[bowhunterforever]

Beautiful country

[JLS]

Outstanding pictures.  Stormy Kromer hats are the bomb.

[ouchfoss]

Beautiful place! Nice pictures.

[X-Force]

Beautiful place. Thanks for sharing

[Mfowl]

Incredible place! Great pictures, thanks for sharing!

[swanny]

Great shots! Love the enchantments! And yea I agree Stormy Kromer's are a must!

[Da stump]

thank you for sharing

[Lucky Eric]

Thanks for sharing, it always amazes me how curious(friendly) the goats are.

[Watimberghost]

Those are some excellent pictures! Looked like a great trip

[rosscrazyelk]

I love that place. Great pics, thanks for sharing.