A Near Epic in the Enchantments

Last weekend (Oct. 14-15) I raced the autumn/winter weather to see some more of my favorite country. I drove over to the Icicle Creek Road area on Saturday and took off running up Icicle and French Creek Canyons in order to visit Klonaqua Lakes. The goal was to get to these lakes, which are about 9.5 miles from the trailhead, toss a little fly line and admire the view of the surrounding mountains.

I found all the solitude and autumn color I was craving, as nearly every twig and tree in the creek valleys was some shade of red, orange, yellow or green and I only saw one couple and a dog. Most of the day saturday ominous clouds flew by overhead with brilliant flashes of ultra-blue sky in between. At the lakes the sun even beat down for about 1/2 an hour prompting a little sunbathing on the rocks near the water.

It seems that the fish have taken their vacation for the winter or have been taught enough lessons over the summer. I didn't see one fish, let alone catch one!
On Saturday I night I did a little car camping in the Icicle Creek Canyon. After a cold night with rain sprinkles I drove a few miles to meet a group of Seattle Running Club members at the Snow Creek trailhead. We then proceeded up to the Colchuk Lake trailhead where we started a one-way 18-mile run through the Enchantments.

Just before arriving at Colchuk Lake the rain began (about 3-4 miles) and then about 200 feet from the top of Asgard Pass the snow began! At the top of the pass five of us re-grouped, quickly ate, and donned every scrap of clothing we had while huddled behind a boulder. The snow was falling heavily with a significant portion of it blowing sideways! There was no discussion about waiting for the rest of the group. We had to keep going as some of us were in shorts!

Running on top of 4 to 5 inches of snow over rocks and boulders proved to be a little difficult but it ended up being a good traction test for our trail shoes, especially for Scott McCoubrey who was testing a beta pair of Filas. Fortunately, there were no catstrophic falls although I understand that Nick (Fila rep) ended up with a slight injury. Once I got warm, while running through the enchantments, the run became extraordinarily beautiful. The primary colors were white and gray due to the low clouds, rocks, and blowing snow. But every once and awhile the brilliant colors of the alpine larches would stand in stark contrast to the dull grey void. Not many people get to see the Enchantments under these conditions. I felt privileged.

Of course we all made it back to the cars at the Snow Creek trailhead, maybe a little tired, but no worse than usual for an 18-mile mountain run. Several of us made a stop in at Gustav's in Leavenworth for pints and food. Thanks to Nick for the grub and thanks to SRC for another great Enchantments run!