Starting from Leavenworth we drove up the very easily accessible forest road up to the Stuart Lake parking lot which was expectedly already bustling. Would recommend getting to the trail-head even earlier as this area is immensely popular and parking was almost non-existent at the time we arrived.

Well marked and gently sloping trails led upwards for some time. Easygoing trail for now, well maintained and well-traveled.

There are numerous toilets along the way but beware, there is no TP available. I cursed myself for not bringing any TP up on this journey, a rookie mistake to be sure, natures call would have to wait for now.

Heading upwards and into the alpine, peaks started appearing left and right. Dragontail peak loomed ominously ahead, taunting and flaunting its impressive stature.

The trail up to Colchuck lake is extremely easy and immensely popular. We arrived and basked in warm rays cast down upon us from the sun rising.

Heading around Colchuck lake was also no problem. The trail does become less of a highway but it is still well-maintained and well-trodden.

I bid farewell to Sohee, she decided to take it easy and become queen of the chipmunks for the next few hours at least while I ascended Asgard pass and DragonTail Peak.

Getting to the start of Asgard pass was fairly straightforward, although somehow I managed to get temporarily off-trail and ended up bush bashing through some undergrowth before popping out on the trail again shortly after.

Asgard pass is a gruelling and tiresome ascent. Approximately 700 meters of elevation on loose gravel and rocks is nothing to scoff at. I didn't scoff and slowly made my way up, taking extra caution not to knock any rocks onto the hundreds of pilgrims below.

I was on a timer of 3 hours, this ascent took approximately 1 hour so time was running short. Feasting on some candies rekindled the fire within and I raged on upwards towards what remained of the snow-patch below DragonTail peak.

I ran into some other alpinists who decided against going up simply due to feeling unprepared and sketched out by the steep snow section. They gave me some critical beta about going behind the snow to avoid exposure which sounded sound and wise as I didn't have an ice axe, crampons, microspikes or any sort of useful gear on me (rookie mistake #2).

At the snow-patch I hopped over so that the top part of snow was on my left and rocks to the right. This was very manageable and I cruised across the top of the soft snow for the most part entirely protected. A few moves on snow were easily managed by kicking in footholds and crimping snowy edges and then it was just a matter of finding a few easy rock climbing moves to get up and over the final hump. These moves were probably class 3 and didn't require any particular skill or strength to pull off.

On the other side I beheld a breathtaking snow-dappled basin. The winds of winter had recently blown in, reminding us that winter is coming. Minor ice and snow made the remaining progress slightly slower as I taking care to be be more mindful of not slipping.

Peak views -> unreal. Summit -> ascended. Candies -> munched. I admired the scenery, looking out and across various peaks and valleys of Colchuck Permit Area and wondering what a day-hike across the enchantments could look like.

I promised Sohee I'd take no longer than 3 hours and time was running thin so I hustled down. Note: Asgard Pass just sucks and is a total fiesta with hundreds of hikers and an abundance of loose rock in every direction. Cruising down as fast as I reliable could I met up with her at Colchuck lake. She had indeed become very friendly with some of the nearby chipmunks.

We decided to trail run the rest of the way down and somehow got slightly lost taking the horse trail which branches temporarily from the main trail. There didn't seem to be a reliable way to easily cross and in a moment of panic I felt natures call rumbling from deep within. This time I couldn't resist, we were lost, without TP and without a way to cross the river. I stumbled into the forest, gathered as many soft leaves as I could and then preformed the deed. Running out of leaves midway through wiping I had to preform some sort of squat-walk across the forest floor to hunt down more fresh leaves. Dignity still somewhat intact I cruised back down to the car and back to civilization.