A Sickening Sort-of Enchantment

I am finally getting around to posting about my vacation which happened a couple weeks ago. For part of my vacation I visited the Enchantment Lakes once again. I know I go every year but I just can't get enough of the peace I feel sitting by a crystalline lake under a clear blue sky; Or just catching cuts from those crystal clear waters!

So I went to the Enchantments between September 6th and 10th this year. After my trip to the North Cascades (see previous post) I decided to run back down to Leavenworth and see if I could get a permit. I was surprised that so many people showed up at the morning lottery since it was a Wednesday. Fortunately, I took the ranger's advice, felt lucky, and drew the first name. This time I was lucky enough to get a permit.

Because I had been on the road for several days already, It took most of the morning to sort gear, buy food, and pack up for the trip, but I finally got on the trail between noon and 1. Even though I was tired from the previous day's N. Cascades dayhike I was able to hike to the upper end of upper Snow Lake where I set up camp for the first night. Snow lake was extremely low. It seems like every time I come here the lake is lower than before. If they don't stop draining if for the growing Leavenworth population, there won't be much of a lake left! Suffice it to say that the fish were few, small and uncatchable. The next day I huffed it up into the Enchantments only to find that my favorite campsite at Lake Vivianne was already taken! I set off in search of another favorite and ended up at Crystal Lake, wondering if everyone up there had a permit. Several people were fishing at the Crystal peninsula and a large group was at the good campsite. A person from the group even came over to grill me about my intentions immediately following my arrival. I grufly replied that I was going to get something to eat before deciding where I would camp and if I would stay at the lake. I really didn't want to hike back over to the main lakes, since I might not find a good site there either!

After catching a fish, loosing a fly and eating some food I packed up and hiked back over to the nearest large lake (I forget the name) where I setup camp on a knoll above the lake. I settled in to fishing here and really started to get into the 'enchanting' spirit. I had a great time that night, hanging out under the stars and watching the amazing moonrise on the granite. I truly felt like I had found my own personal paradise or shangri-la.

The morning of the 3rd day I woke up with an immediate and overwhelming urge to vacate my bowels (a nice way of saying I had to go!). I really didn't think anything about the diarrhea I had until later in the day when I started feeling terrible. I dayhiked over Prusik Pass and went exploring on the Lost World Plateau. I nearly found a back way around to the snow lakes trail below Nada Lake, but I turned back after travelling for quite some time off-trail. On my way back I thought I was suffering from heat exhaustion. After taking several rest breaks and stopping to treat some water (iodine) I finally made it back to my camp around 5 pm. I was in a world of hurt: throbbing headache, diarrhea, dizziness and an overwhelming fever. I suffered through that night, the next day and the following night, eating very little and wandering from my tent only far enough to open the proverbial flood gates!

It was an extreme relief on my final day, when I felt well enough to hike out. I have never been quite so sick, and especially not 10 miles from a trailhead. Boy was I glad to be back to my car and starting to feel better. After a doctor visit and some tests I find out later that I had a bacterial infection: camplyobacter. The doctor prescribed some antibiotics and I am now fully recovered, thank goodness. I think I may have picked it up when eating out in Winthrop, at the barbecue with Micah, or from the water at the Hart's Pass ranger station.

Although I had an amazing time up until I got sick, I still haven't decided if the beauty was worth the pain. I hope I never run into one of these debilitating bacteria (or parasites) again! But I can't wait to enjoy the beauty of the Enchantments again. I probably will have to go back soon, so that I can truly explore the Lost World Plateau. This area was nearly as awesome as the main enchantment lakes but almost completely unvisited!

N. Cascades Dayhike

I am finally getting around to posting about my long PCT dayhike which happened a couple weeks ago (9/5/06). After going to Mt Adams on Labor day weekend and spending two days fishing with Micah I drove up to the North Cascades and took a long dayhike on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). I hiked from Rainy Pass to Hart's Pass all along a truly exceptional portion of the PCT. According to the guidebook the distance was 31 miles one-way. I started out at roughly 5:45 AM and ended up at the Ranger Station at Hart's Pass at 3:45 PM (10hrs). I saw only one other hiker and she was a thru-hiker who had just turned around and was beginning to hike south. She was with two dogs and had been hiking for most of the summer.

It was cool how the trail actually followed along several ridges but also ended up dropping into at least one major valley near the center of the hike. The further north I went the smokier it became due to the nearby fires. Of course the smokier it became the more I worried that there wouldn't be anyone at Hart's pass from whom I might be able to hitch a ride. When I actually made it to Hart's Pass I found that not very many people were around. I talked with a hunter for awhile and drank the water stashed at the ranger station before starting the long walk down the road toward Mazama. Fortunately after hiking for a little over a mile I was picked up by the volunteer ranger who was headed down to town to get supplies for another week. She was nice enough to give me a ride all the way to Rainy Pass! Thanks a lot.

The highlight of the day was coming up on a really large bear in the meadows on the way up Grasshopper pass. I was daydreaming at this point and just noticed the bear as she/he turned and saw me. He or she quickly ran down the hill showing off his big furry and bouncing rear-end. I have included a photo of the meadow in which I saw him here. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to get a photo of the bear!

Mt. Adams Fun in the Sun

On Labor day weekend (2006) I took a nice day hike with my friend Heather at the relatively relaxing Mt. Adams in SW Washington. At Heather's insistence we woke at 3 AM and were on the trail around 3:45. We had a great day plodding up the mainly volcanic scree covered slopes to the summit at over 12,000 feet.

I had forgotten that there is an old building on the summit leftover from some miners. It is unfortunate that those who came before, primarily my parent's and grandparent's generations, feel it is ok to just leave evidence (I'll call it garbage) of their passing. Why is it that so many people think it is just ok to leave their garbage, whether it be a candy wrapper or a mine shack out in the wilderness? It seems more than a little ironic and idiotic that the Forest Services requires visitors to pack out all garbage, including used toilet paper, but does nothing to require that resource users like the miners who left decades ago, pack out their garbage. This is to say nothing of the hypocrisy of the fee system. Now I pay $15 for the privilege of walking up a publicly owned mountain, whereas people who dig, mine and generally make a mess are still beholden to the 1872 mining law which requires a pittance in yearly fees to maintain a claim! I could go on and on, but I won't. Here are a few of the choice photos.