Colchuck Lake

For the past six months, Jeff's dad Dan has been working on increasing his fitness so he can do more hiking and enjoy general better health. That type of quest is right up my alley, so I volunteered to be his hiking buddy this summer! His stretch goal hike was the trail to Colchuck Lake in the Enchantments outside of Leavenworth, WA. After our hike to Sourdough Gap a few weeks ago, I told Dan I thought he was ready for Colchuck. So we chose a weekday and invited the family. Three adventurous kids decided to join us on the 9 mile hike: Rose, Amber, and their cousin Tate (age 12). 

I set my alarm for 4:20am on Tuesday, August 12th, but of course I woke up almost an hour early because that's what my body does when I have an early wake-up? I wake up earlier? I was excited for an epic hike! Dan picked us up from our house at 5am and we hit the road. It was 2 hour 40 minute drive to the trailhead from our house. We stopped once in Leavenworth with about 30 minutes to go so we could use one last flushing toilet before we ventured into the wilderness. During the drive, I reminisced and processed the last time I drove on highway 97 between Ellensburg and Leavenworth, 3 years ago when I hit that deer and got stranded in the dark with no cell phone reception. It felt like a big deal to face that lonely stretch of highway again. Dan started teasing me for talking about it so much, haha. I recognized the place where I pulled over with steam pouring out of my busted radiator. I recognized the stretch of road where I hit the deer. They were only about 12 miles apart. It felt like a lifetime! Haha. 

Anyways, my therapeutic journey aside, Dan navigated the awful rutted bumpy 4 mile forest service road to the trailhead like the professional driver that he is. We arrived at the trailhead at 8am and snagged the last parking place in the lot. Literally the last spot. Google says that 700 people visit the Enchantments per day in the summer and early fall, and there is only one forest ranger in charge of that massive area of heavily trafficked land. Wow. 

We hiked at Dan's pace. The kids hiked on ahead and sat waiting for us over and over until the last half mile or so, when we told them to go on ahead if they wanted to but don't jump in the lake until the adults arrive. The last mile of the trail approaching the lake is brutal. Steep, rocky, roots, switchbacks-- you name it, this is the most rugged well-traveled trail I know of. Dan took more and more breaks as we climbed higher. We gained 3,000 feet of elevation over the 4.5 mile trail too, so as the trail got steeper, the air got thinner! I was very mindful about my footing and guarded my sore ankle carefully. At last we made it up to the lake! This was my third time at Colchuck Lake, and I would do it over and over again. It's that beautiful. 

It took us a little while to find the kids, because the lake is surrounded in trees, so there wasn't an obvious shoreline or viewpoint to see where they might be. At last we found them and began searching for a place to swim. We ended up sharing a big rocky slab with three other small groups. The sun was blazing and I was drenched in sweat, so it was easy to peel off my outer layers and step into the lake. I wore a sportsbra and running shorts underneath my white layer, with my hiking shorts and shirt on top. At the lake, I peeled off the outer two layers, along with my boots and socks, and gingerly limped across the surprisingly rough sloping rock surface to the water. This was the moment I had been mentally prepping for! The hike I knew I could handle; it was dunking myself in 60 degree snowmelt lake water that I was concerned about.

Normally I opt out of swimming. I know how to swim just fine (my swimming is nothing fancy, but I am not at all concerned about sinking in water). It's the whole getting wet thing and being cold and being wet and cold in potentially gross water that deters me. But I had been to Colchuck Lake two other times and never gotten in, so I wanted to do the iconic Colchuck plunge on my third visit. It was an experience I wanted to have. The section of shoreline that we chose wasn't a place to jump into the lake, so I waded in, except it wasn't really a wading shoreline either. Our rock sloped steeply into the water, so basically I went from dipping my toes in all the way up to my waist with one step. I gasped and squealed as the cold water hit my stomach. 

Then I gathered my last shreds of courage, took off my sunglasses, and went under the water, holding my sunglasses up high to keep them dry. It was frigid. My lungs seized up and I came up gasping. But it only took a minute or two before the cold water felt good, and I started swimming around, reveling in the clear clean blue water. I didn't think the water would still look so blue when I was actually swimming in it, but it was SO BLUE! And it had zero nasty lake smell, and no gross mud or mystery floating objects. It was the cleanest freshest water I've ever been in! I swam waaaay out and floated on my back, soaking in the amazingness of the moment.

Dan and Tate both got all the way in the lake. Tate and I swam out far together. Rose did not want to swim. Amber eventually got in up to her chest but couldn't bring herself to go all the way under. I was the last one out of the water. I had goosebumps and was very cold, but it just was so awesome I didn't want the moment to end! By the time I was drying off and changing out of my wet running shorts behind a tree, everyone else was finished eating their lunches and ready to hike back to the car. I thought we were going to stay at the lake for longer than 40 minutes, so I was taking my time! Everyone else started hiking and I said I'd catch up to them. I ate my lunch and admired the gorgeous scenery before strapping on my backpack and heading back down the steep rocky trail. I felt AMAZING after that cold swim in the lake. My body felt like I had just taken a long nap--completely rejuvenated and energetic!

It took me nearly a mile and a half to catch up to my family! They were moving pretty well! I reclaimed my trekking poles from Amber for the descent, and they helped my quads and ankle so much. I had never used trekking poles before this hike, (I hate carrying things in my hands while hiking), but I was sold on the trekking poles for all steep downhill hiking. Once I caught up to the fam, I donated one of my trekking poles to Dan so he could have a little balance assistance as his legs got more tired. We hiked together for a ways and then Dan gave Rose the car keys so the kids could power hike it in back to the car and sit in the air conditioning to wait for us. It was well over 90 degrees in the parking lot! 

We did the 9 mile hike with 3,300 feet of elevation gain in 6 hours and 23 minutes. I only paused my watch while we were at the lake, so that 6 hours includes hiking and resting along the trail there and back again. Definitely a bit slower than I normally hike, but worth it to be there for my father in law while he achieved his goal! It was so fun, and I felt so proud of him for doing such a hard thing! That hike is no small feat for a 70 year old human.

We stopped in Leavenworth for an early dinner at Munchen Hausen, (Munich House), for some amazingly satisfying massive bratwursts on crusty buns with several dozen flavors of mustard to choose from. I had "dirtyface amber mustard" because it seemed to fit the day. Leavenworth is a Bavarian-style town at the base of the mountains. It's a quaint touristy hotspot--emphasis on the hot spot while we were there! It was 104 degrees in Leavenworth, so our four block walk on sore legs from the car to the restaurant was extra slow. On our walk back to the car, we stopped at Das Sweet Shoppe for some divine ice cream (salted caramel in a waffle cone for me, with a lactase pill on the side) that hit the spot deep in our souls after our long sweaty hike. Then we drove home. 

Early morning drive selfie! We saw the sun rise four times on this journey: it would pop out over the distant hills, then we would get closer to the mountains and it would disappear again. The fourth sunrise was about an hour into the hike, when the sun finally peeked out over the top of the large jagged mountains and started making us sweat.

Trailhead picture: the journey begins!

The sign says "Alpine Lakes Wilderness". One of my favorite places on the planet.

The sun hit the mountain behind the trees before it shined down into the trees where we were on the trail. The mountain looked golden through the trees.

I love being outside with people who appreciate the scenery as much as I do.

The speedy kids, waiting for us. Amber really wanted to bring her own trekking poles, but I didn't want to have to carry them for her if she didn't like them, so I agreed to let her use my poles for the ascent if she promised to give them back for the descent. It worked, and Amber will be allowed to bring her own trekking poles next time because she loved them.

The speedsters, waiting for Grampa Dan again.

Tate, Rose, and Amber on the big bridge.

Nature's music.

The trail got rockier and rockier.

One of the things I love about this trail is all of the many viewpoints. They kept getting better the higher up we walked.

Mountains and my daughters: two of my most favorite things.

Whew, when that sun peeked over the mountain the air heated up immediately!

That's Rose and Tate way up there.

Dan, taking a breather.

Dragontail Peak peeking over the treeline: Dragontail is the lovely jagged mountain that hovers above Colchuck Lake. We watched it get bigger and bigger as we hiked up. It was nice to always know where the lake was as our trail zigzagged through the forest.

Walking between these two rocks feels like a magical portal.

Grampa Dan!

It was so fun spending quality outside time on the trail with my father in law, doing something we both love to do.

Looking back down at one of the jagged bumpy switchbacks.

Even though the roots were smoothed by thousands of feet, they still made for some rough walking.

Another viewpoint!

Hello down there, Dan!

First peek of the blue blue waters of Colchuck Lake!

Amber, thinking about that cold water.

Crouching there on that steep rough rock skinned the bottoms of my feet.

Me, about to step into the cold cold lake. I put Rose on camera duty while we swam, since she didn't want to swim.

Going from steamy sweaty boots to snowmelt lake water was a huge shock for my poor feet.

Dan and Tate did not need nearly as much gasping and handwringing as I did to get in the cold water.

I did it!

I love Amber's face here! She did the same thing I did: tried wading in and immediately slid up to her waist on the steep rock.

Floating in the blue.

Swimming with Tate, with Dragontail Peak hovering in the background.

Dan, Tate, and me bobbing in the blue. It looks like warm blue Caribbean water, but it was actually freezing Cascade Mountain water.

I snagged my phone from Rose to take a selfie in the water.

Even Rose got warm enough to stick her feet in the lake.

SUCH CLEAR WATER!

I love the memory of floating in this crystal clear blue water.

Heading out! My one regret was I forgot to take a family picture at the lake.

This huge chipmunk stared me down. Some other hikers gave his friend a chip, and this guy looked about to jump on my shoulder and demand a snack. It was a tad unnerving being eye level with a large hungry rodent.

One of these years, I want to go to the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum. I know it's a tourist trap, but how cool (and creepy) would it be to see hundreds of different nutcrackers?

I had never walked around Leavenworth before Tuesday. It was cuter than I expected from a place that is so overtly touristy.

Munich House Bratwursts

My selfie game was sagging in the heat--I meant to get the whole "Das Sweet Shoppe" sign into our ice cream selfie, but missed the top half. Eating an ice cream cone in 104 degree sunshine was intense!

We got home at 7pm. It was 14 hours well spent.