Lovely scenery with a hint of enchantment

Hikers know how hard it is to get an overnight permit for the Enchantment Lakes Basin, the showpiece of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, but day hikers need not rule out the magic of the Lower Enchantments. Nada Lake and Snow Lakes offer a peek into this realm of the gnome and fairy-haunted land of sprites and leprechauns.

H.A. Sylvester, an early supervisor of the Wenatchee National Forest, was so captivated by the region that he named it the Enchantments and referred to the Upper Enchantments as the Lost World Plateau. Climbers gave name to many of the peaks in the 1940s, but when Bill and Peg Stark discovered the area for themselves in 1959, they were inspired by Nordic mythology to give names to the tarns, lakes and rocks. Hence, a chain of tarns named Freya's Necklace and the pool below Prusik Peak named Gnome Tarn.

The Starks made a pilgrimage each year in October, as hard-core climbers still do today, during the "golden week" when the needles of the larch trees turn a lustrous yellow.

When I visited earlier this month, the larches had not turned but the Enchantments are still hauntingly beautiful when poised between summer and fall. The high country is transitioning slowly for winter, with hardy flowers hugging the trail at lower elevations and frigid temperatures freezing the golden tarns of the Lost World Plateau. Here the four seasons are marked with definition, especially in mid-September when snow begins to obscure the cairn-marked routes in the Upper Enchantments.

Some hikers believe that even a week is not long enough to fully experience the area, while others hurry through in a day. Most who hurtle through vow to return, next time with a hard-won permit and a backpack.

It is not an easy place to get to. Some strong hikers prefer the "shortcut," an oft-challenging route via Colchuck Lake and Aasgard Pass. The kinder, gentler route is the Snow Lakes approach, but that trail makes up in mileage what it lacks in topographical challenges. Others train to hike through the Enchantments in a day, an 18-mile undertaking.

I'm not up to doing the Enchantments in a day. Fortunately, you can hike to Nada Lake, a reasonable 11-mile round-trip route, or continue a bit farther to Snow Lakes and gaze above to the towers and pinnacles of The Temple (8,292 feet) to the north and McClellan Peak (8,364 feet) to the south. Actually, you'd be a little below the Enchantments, but close enough to soak up the other-worldly ambience of the place.

A group of Mountaineers club friends were doing the through-hike in a day, so I arranged to meet them at Snow Lakes, shower them with treats and then hike out with them. They started at the Colchuck Lake trailhead (No. 1599) and I started from the Snow Lakes trailhead (No. 1553).

Some hikers believe the trail to Snow Lakes is dull compared with the Upper Enchantments and barely give Nada Lake a glance, but I found this stretch to be much more scenic than I remembered it. I had not hiked the trail since the forest fires of 1994 that burned the bridge crossing Icicle Creek near the trailhead and closed the route for a while.

If the thought of hiking through a fire-scarred area sounds depressing, think again. The terrain is resilient and fire is just one event in the lifetime of a mountain. The land soon bursts back into life with vigorous explosions of shrubs and flowers, and the burned snags add just a bit of pathos to the scene.

The first four miles of the Snow Lakes Trail climb through the burn with views that were non-existent before the fires. Snow Creek Wall can be seen at a lower point now and there are enticing views of Snow Creek and small waterfalls. Look back for surreal views down to the Snow Lakes parking lot -- an odd but comforting sight, especially when the skies threaten storms and the wind is cold.

Fall color is beginning to appear -- a few bold strokes of fireweed blaze across granite boulders, tattered strands of hellebore with stripes of gold, flowers gone to seed, Solomon's seal with pendants of bright red berries, and Oregon grape with dusky blue berries. Ferns and bracken are turning to copper and bronze and the grasses and sedges range from yellow to dark brown.

As the trail parallels Snow Creek, it weaves through remnants of forest untouched by fire. A few campsites are scattered along the creek and the trail levels off just before it reaches an especially nice camp snuggled between a grove of Alaska cedars and the creek. From there the trail continues with mostly ups and a few level stretches through pine forest and rocky areas to a crossing of Snow Creek on a bridge.

Though the trail is not difficult to hike, it is deceptively long, and open sky through the tree line fooled me more than once into thinking Nada Lake was nigh. The trail crosses Snow Creek again, then follows Nada Creek for the next mile through a variety of terrain.

Here I met backpackers coming out who said the weather had been bad the night before, with high winds and blowing snow. Worse, the 2 1/2 inches of snow that had fallen during the night was not melting out in the Upper Enchantments where my friends were. At lower elevations, it had rained hard, making Aasgard Pass a slippery challenge.

I hoped my friends had turned around or chose an alternate hike, but since Nada Lake was close I planned to hike until our prearranged rendezvous time. At 5 1/2 miles Nada Lake (4,800 feet) came into view, and it was clear this lake is not given its due.

It's quite lovely, with the lower end framed in tall grasses, and when the water is still, reflections of the Stuart Range shimmer in the lake. The trail follows the western shoreline and I passed several campsites, one occupied with a sodden tent but no signs of life. Nada Creek is easily crossed this time of year.

Past the creek, the trail climbs a talus slope toward a rise before it gently descends to the Snow Lakes. Midway up the slope you may be puzzled by water bursting out of the side of the mountain -- it is from a blowhole as water is pumped out of Upper Snow Lake to reach a fish hatchery because water levels are low this time of year.

The Snow Lakes nestle below the Lower Enchantments at an elevation of 5,417 feet. When Upper Snow Lake is drawn down for the hatchery, the lake is not pretty and it reminded me of Alder Lake near Mount Rainier when water levels are low, but Lower Snow Lake was full. There are several campsites near the lakes and you can walk across the dam between the lakes to continue on Trail No. 1559A toward Aasgard Pass and Colchuck Lake.

There was no sign of my friends and the Lower Enchantments were dark and forbidding. Wisps of fog streamed between the turreted, craggy spires of The Temple rising above the lakes -- one almost expected to hear a chorale singing in a minor key. The peaks above the lake were mostly snow-covered and I hiked a bit past the lakes to stay warm, listening for footfalls and familiar voices, but other than campers settling in for a cold night, no one else was about.

An hour past turnaround time, I turned around and hiked back quickly to get down before darkness fell. As it turned out, my friends got out to the Snow Lake trailhead at 9:30 p.m. and hiked by headlamp from Nada Lake. One of them had knee problems on the way down and that slowed their pace considerably.

They had been on the trail since 6 a.m. and hiked for 15 1/2 hours with an elevation loss of 6,000 feet (not to mention an elevation gain of 4,400 feet). Fortunately, they had rented a house in Leavenworth and didn't have to drive back to Seattle.

* Getting there -- From Seattle follow U.S. Route 2 over Stevens Pass to the outskirts of Leavenworth and turn right onto Icicle Creek Road. Continue about four miles to the Snow Lakes trailhead, elevation 1,300 feet. Overnight permits are mandatory until Oct. 15; day hikers are requested to fill out a permit to enter the Alpine Lakes Wilderness at the trailhead. A Northwest Forest Pass is required. Allow about three hours for the drive from Seattle.

* Trail data -- Nada Lake is 11 miles round trip, with an elevation gain of about 3,600 feet. Snow Lakes are 12.5 miles round trip, elevation gain about 3,900 feet. The map is Green Trails No. 209S, The Enchantments, WA. For additional information, refer to "100 Hikes in Washington's Alpine Lakes" by Ira Spring, Vicky Spring and Harvey Manning (Mountaineers, 252 pages, $16.95).

* Information -- For fees, regulations, reservations and trail conditions, check with the Wenatchee River Ranger District's Leavenworth office at 509-548-6977 or visit www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/. Permits are required for camping between June 15 and Oct. 15. Mail-in applications for permits are available from the Leavenworth Ranger Station, but permits for next year will not be processed until March 1. Fires are prohibited above 5,000 feet and dogs are not allowed. Vandalism and theft are not uncommon at the Snow Lakes trailhead -- do not leave valuables in your vehicle.

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