Colchuck Lake

way back last summer a co-worker of mine showed me photos of his hiking adventure out to Colchuck Lake and the Enchantments. I said, hey, that looks pretty amazing. I wondering if we could do that too! So I asked xtie what she thought and if she would be interested in joining in on a little family hike and camping trip into the wilderness and she was all in for it. so, way back in february i applied for a camping permit for one weekend during the summer and that weekend happened to be July 24 & 25. it seemed like i found out pretty quickly that our dates were accepted and permits granted and from that moment on my anxiety about the trip began to sky rocket. i tried not to think about how we would be out in the wilderness, away from everyone and everything and oh no, it would be desolate and barren and no way of getting help if something happened to us and the kids. i kept telling myself, that if there was a natural disaster up there in the mountains, we'd be ok. it was only a 4 mile hike and eric is very fit and could run out to get help if we needed it. i tried not to think about what if something happened to eric! as the weekend grew closer i got new fears, like have you seen the abyss? and how like that one guy got the depth sickness where he started to lose it? what if one of us got some sort of mystery wilderness sickness and started to lose it right there up in those mountains right by the lake? good grief. i wasn't so concerned about getting eaten by bears or mountain lions but still the whole thing was very concerning.
xtie helped us get prepared by making a packing list and then lending us all kinds of gear and equipment. she lent us some tents, some sleeping bags, back packs, coats, pants, therma rest mattresses, she got us each our very own sporks and then fancy mugs and foldable plates that turn into bowls for the kids. she brought her stove and camping food and since she is has a lot of wilderness experience having climbed many mountains including kilimanjaro, yes THAT kilimanjaro, i figured we'd be pretty set. between her and eric, as long as neither of them succummed to the wilderness sickness and lost it, we would be a-ok.
we all had a busy week or two leading up to the adventure, but xtie came over friday night and we got everything organized. i had been prepping the kids that we would be hiking, and although it was only 4 miles, i myself mentally prepared for 7 hrs of hiking. we woke up early, got everyone in the car, and drove out to Leavenworth to ye old ranger station to pick up our permit, then off onto icicle road to ye old trail head to get going.
i had read that the first two miles were pretty flat and mellow and then it would become more challenging. yeah, well, for someone not used to hauling an extra 35+ pounds on one's back, those first two miles seemed a bit more uphill than expected. what didn't help was that i didn't know that the funny structural support thing at the top of the back pack was going the wrong way and it really should not have been banging into my neck, forcing me to look down like that. i thot it odd that the back pack would not allow me to look up, but what did i know?
there were a few crazy, really scary river crossings that really were very scary. i held onto which ever kid i was in charge of at that moment so tight that i remember one of them telling me i was hurting their wrist. pretty sure i had the death grip on them for fear of falling off of those bridges. totally scary. beautiful, but a reminder that this is some pretty serious business.
xtie lent us her treking poles which proved to be the BEST THINGS EVER and once i got the hang of them, i was doing ok. the kids did an amazing job getting up that first few miles and then we stopped for a lunch break. i was very amazed that they were doing so well. i know they like to be outside and all but i just wasn't sure what they would think.
when we started heading uphill for real, it got pretty tough. again, i was amazed at the kids and how they were able to climb up all the rocks and get themselves along. sirus did get upset a few times, but we would try to stop and take a short snack break and we would be off again. i lead the pace, which was slow, partially because i wanted to make sure the kids didn't wear out too quickly and mostly because i was just slow. eric took care of the middle and xtie made sure we were all together and not losing anything from the back.
we saw some amazing views and went up some pretty technical rocky sections and the kids did great. xtie started to get concerned about us getting a nice camping spot so she took off ahead, while the rest of us just trucked along. at the first toilet sign we came across a mountain goat and the kids thought both were fantastic! it took us 3 hrs to get to this spot.
by now we had gotten a few glimpses of the lake and the mountains and it was unreal. even now thinking back, its hard to believe someplace so beautiful exists.
we met up with xtie and she found us a sweet camping spot! we set up the tents and then we ALL TOOK A NAP. i was exhuasted and apparently everyone else was a little bit too.
at some point eric took the kids to see the toilets which they renamed the box potties. the kids thot they were awesome and even appreciated the swarm of flies that came out when they opened. sirus amazingly even used one!
we had talked with the kids about seeing the snow, so we took them around over towards the mountains to see if we could get to the snow. the trail quickly turned SCARY with huge monster boulders and complete trail chaos so we decided that it was too dangerous to even try to go further. sirus lost it, total melt down right there on the side of the mountain. i had to have a quick talk with him about how i knew he was disappointed but he needed to stop crying and pay attention to what he was doing because where we were hiking was really dangerous and he could get really hurt very easily. he went on to cry to everyone we passed how he wasn't going to get to the snow but eventually came to terms with it and decided that when he was 10 we would come back because he will be bigger and stronger and then maybe he could make it all the way to the snow.
once back at the camp site xtie started up dinner, we chowed down and then we just hung out. the bug were bad and the mosquitoes were the worst. unfortunatly we spent a lot of time in the tents because of this. i did pull out the iphone so the kids could watch some stuff, and i did watch xtie's brain cells pop as she was forced to listen to Dora the Explorer. luckily she has a lot of brain cells and i don't think it did too much damage to her.
we called it an early night and we all slept through the night, all the way past 7am even!
seamus was excited to get out of the tent in the morning, dressed in all her layers and new rain coat but sirus on the other hand did not want to wear a coat and let the entire wilderness know it.
we enjoyed the view, watched a duck swim right by our camp site, and also fly circles over head. we saw some sort of raptor like bird and the water was so clear we could see the fish.
we had some amazing oatmeal and other tasty breakfast items and then started to pack stuff up for the trip back. it was amazing as the sun came up over the mountain that it went from cold to very hot in a matter of just a minute! we got everything loaded, sirus even found a tiny toy pig that someone had left behind and we headed back down the mountain.
the trip down was just as hard as the trip up. the kids did great though, not needing as many breaks, and for a while, seamus was leading the group with xtie right behind her. they were trucking, dropping me and sirus in their dust. the trekking poles were awesome again, and since xtie showed me how to fix my pack so that support bar was not banging into my neck i was way more comfortable. i was surprised at how steep and rocky some of the sections were, even though we had gone up them only a short time earlier. while going down them, the thought of going up them was almost too much to bear! we got to the scary bridges again and then to another fallen log bridge that seamus ran across while i passed out while watching her.
all day the day before and this day she asked to carry my pack. non stop she was asking. so we decided that close to the bottom she could carry it. she strapped it on and carried it for a ways even though it was 3/4s her body weight. she did a great job but once we got to the parking lot she did say it was too heavy and she needed some help. I on the other hand really enjoyed those last few minutes of the hike and think a day trip next summer will be the way to go.
by the time we got to the bottom it was like 400 degrees out or so. we quickly washed up as best we could and headed into leavenworth for some ye old bratwursts that were so good i can hardly beleive it.
on the way home i passed out in the back seat between the two kids who both passed out as well, until we hit the milk shake place.
i was worn out. this trip was amazing. the views were incredible, the kids were unbeleivable, it was great to hang out with xtie and it was a good workout. i did do some soul searching though and realize that while although i liked the physicalness of the hike i might be too much of a princess for the camping part of it. i caught myself thinking while at our campsite, wondering if tom cruise decided to camp at colchuck lake if he would have some luxury items helicoptered in, or if he would rough it.
regardless, another trip will be made at some point and i highly recommend it to anyone looking for an amazing trip!