Stairway to the Enchantments

Our work crew put in rock steps on the trail to Colchuck Lake

My fifth Volunteer Vacation with the Washington Trail Association involved working on the trail to Colchuck Lake. The Colchuck Lake trail is accessed via Forest Service road 7601, about nine miles west of the town of Leavenworth, Washington.

It involved a three-hour drive from my house near Black Diamond, Washington. I used Google Maps on my iPhone to insure that I didn't make any wrong turns. It worked well. The last four miles to the trail head were over a bumpy and washboard-filled dirt road.

I couldn't believe how many cars were parked at the trail head and all along the road. I parked a good third of a mile away! Fortunately I was early, so I grabbed my pack and waited at the trail for everyone else to arrive. While waiting, I ate my hamburger for lunch.

Cars lined the road at the Colchuck Lake trail head. I had to walk the road 1/3 of a mile! It is a popular trail.

One of the team members, Gary, had arrived the night before, so he had saved a couple of parking spots. One for Claire, our team leader, and one for another person who arrived shortly after. I could have gotten the other one, but didn't want to hike all the way back to my car. As I was eating lunch and waiting for everyone else to arrive, the team of horses and mules came down the trail having left our food, supplies and tools for the week.

Horses and mules return from carrying our food, supplies and tools to the camp site.

We have a team of eight, the maximum allowed on this trip. Claire explained that we would be camped about a mile away from Colchuck Lake, and we would be working on the trail between our camp and the lake.

It was a very warm afternoon, and the hike up to the campsite was fairly strenuous. I tried to keep a good pace, but the constant uphill finally got the better of me. I stopped several times to rest, and drank almost two liters of water.

All of our food, tools and equipment were carried in on horseback. I managed to arrive first, and found a nice tent site right along the stream.

I camped right next to Mountaineer Creek.

We all worked together to set up camp, and to fix dinner. Claire explained that we would be working to build rock steps on the trail, so very little brushing will be done on this trip. Yippee!


Sunday, August 14

Although it was warm when I went to bed, it cooled down significantly overnight. I slept reasonably well since the noise of Mountaineer Creek was soothing.

I awoke before five, but didn't get up until later because it was too dark to see. I made coffee and put on the hot water for tea and cocoa. I helped fix egg McMuffins for breakfast.

After Clair and Richard gave us our safety talk regarding tools and working on the trail, we headed up the trail a little after 8. The trail climbed steadily and we reached our work site within a half hour.

We spent the morning setting stones to make steps in several steep sections of the trail. It is tedious work. At first I was not very enthusiastic because I don't like all of the fitting and refitting of the rocks. I like to stay busy and I did not have the technical understanding to feel I could contribute to the decision-making. But as the day progressed, it was pleasing to see steps that were well designed and effective.

All day long there was a parade of hikers headed up to and down from the lake. Every time they passed we had to pause our work. But, it was very satisfying to hear most of them thank us for our work!

We hauled several heavy rocks requiring four to six people using a rock net.

We used large stones for the steps that required four to six people to move.

After lunch I helped remove rocks and roots further up the trail. We quit at 2:30 and were back to camp by 3:30.

Since I am camped near the creek, I washed up in the cool water, which was refreshing.

I helped cook pulled pork sandwiches and asparagus for dinner. It was difficult to pan fry the asparagus, but I think it turned out OK.

Tom, one of our team members, hiked to his car to get some reading materials, and noticed some bear scat on the trail. Claire took some extra precautions by hanging our trash bags.

It is definitely cooler this evening, so it should be easier to fall asleep.


Monday, August 15
My morning followed yesterday agenda, except we had blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We were on the trail just after eight.

I helped carry two rocks using a rock net before heading up the trail to set some rocks around a small creek. Next we built a small trail reroute were people were going up the hill on two different paths.

We built a re-route of the trail where people were using two paths.

Up the trail we removed more rocks and roots before hitting the 5,000 foot sign, warning hikers that no campfires were allowed above that point.

After lunch we worked on putting in stone steps in an area were there currently was a three-foot high step. We moved two massive stones down the trail and fit them in place. By the end of the day we had just one more step to find and fit.

At camp, I fixed salmon with basil pasta and pan roasted broccoli. I got a lot of good comments that the salmon was very tasty!

I cooked salmon on the grill. It was tasty!

There still have been a lot of hikers using the trail today. I'm still curious why this trail is so popular.

We had to stop working everytime hikers came up the trail. There were a lot of hikers!

Tuesday, August 16

We left for the trail after a breakfast burrito. We hauled a large stone down the hillside. It took six of us to move it into place using a rock net and pry bars. Much of the morning was spent standing around while those with the experience discussed how to set the stone step. I mentioned to Claire that I was frustrated, feeling that I was not really contributing to the day's work. She set me working to put in a stone step, removed roots and rocks, and finished the day getting a stone in place for another step. I felt better about my contribution to the team's efforts.

A group of us walked up to a pretty waterfall. It was nice and cool as the water cascaded down the cliff.

We got back to camp at four. I took a half hour to wash up before fixing chicken Marsala with couscous. It was delicious.




Wednesday, August 17
Midweek is the Volunteer Vacation day off. Everyone is free to take a hike, lay around camp or do whatever they want.

I chose to hike up to Colchuck Lake and possibly beyond. I left camp shortly after six and made it to the lake before seven. The lake is a beautiful turquoise color and is nestled between jagged peaks. It is spectacular!

Colchuck Lake as the morning sun hits Colchuck Peak.

I made my way around to the far end of the lake where I had to rock hop huge boulders. As I took a few pictures I noticed that dropping my iPhone would mean losing it forever. There were many deep, dark holes between the rocks. From here the trail climbed steeply towards Aasgard pass, leading to the Enchantment Lakes. In the video below, you can see the large boulders and I pan up showing the steep slope up to Aasgard Pass.

I pressed on. The climb up the rocky slope was hard. The trail was marked periodically with rock cairns. On the way, I saw a herd of mountain goats. They were not afraid at all!

Mountain goats on the way up to Aasgard Pass. Photo by Richard Mellon.

My goal heading up was to walk from one cairn to the next before stopping to catch my breath!

I made it to the top around 10:30, and then continued on until I reached Tranquility Lake. I had lunch while I admired the fantastic views. It was a perfect day to be here!

Colchuck Lake from the top of Aasgard Pass.

Mountains near Tranquility Lake in the Enchantments

I headed down, realizing that it would be slow going with lots of potential to slide on the loose rocks. Fortunately I managed to keep my footing, although I did foot surf a few times. I met Claire and Richard as they were headed up.

I made it back to camp by 1:30, and immediately washed off in the creek and washed out my shirt and pants. It also felt wonderful to lay in my tent and let my legs and feet recover!

We had flatiron steak and mashed potatoes for dinner, along with a chopped cabbage salad.

Gordon enjoys steak and potatoes.

Tom also enjoys the meal. He made cabbage salad several times which was fantastic!

Thursday, August 18
French toast and bacon fueled us on the trail this morning.

Pat and I prepare french toast for breakfast.

After complaining about not having enough to do yesterday, Claire assigned Tom and I to work with Richard putting in three rock steps. Richard had us find the rocks, move them and fit them into place. We managed to complete the steps by the end of the day. It felt good to be engaged all day. I just wish this had been the case on Tuesday, and oddly it felt like we were being thrown into the thick of things to show us how difficult it is to make all of the decisions.

Each rock requires fitting and adjustment to make it solid. Picture by Richard Mellon

I worked with Tom to fit large stones in a steep section of the trail. Photo by Richard Mellon.

It was hot again today. Steven, who I met on the Pete Lake volunteer vacation, was walking the trail to Colchuck Lake. He brought us two six packs of beer! What an amazing thing to do!

Spent an hour washing up and washing my clothes.

Helped fix burritos for dinner. I somehow got into a foul mood which soured my evening. Went to bed early, hoping to awake in a better mood tomorrow.

Friday, August 19
I slept well last night. The almost full moon lit up the forest in a magical way.

Claire helped me make egg McMuffins for breakfast before we headed back to the work site. I was still in a bad mood as I charged up the trail to our tool cache. I'm not sure what or why I am feeling the way I am. Perhaps I felt that others didn't appreciate how much work goes into prepping for meals? Or maybe I am feeling anxiety that I am not able to do my fair share of the work in setting stone steps? I think it's a combination of things. This likely is my last seven day outing of the year. I love it so much and regret that I don't have more to look forward to.

Claire noticed my displeasure and asked what she could do to help. I felt so embarrassed to have acted like that. But she did the right thing. She gave me a project of chipping away some granite to make a small step in an otherwise smooth rock face. The stone broke away easily as there was an existing fracture in the rock. I noticed that all of the hikers now use my new step!

I then helped Tom and Richard set two more steps in a steep and confined section of the trail. We stopped for lunch at noon and enjoyed the views of the mountains.

Lunchtime and enjoying the view.

This work is tedious, but the steps were solid and should last for years. We quit around two. Several of our group headed up the trail to see Colchuck Lake. Richard, Claire and I headed back to camp. Richard decided to hike up to Lake Stewart. I sat by myself in the shade and enjoyed the moments of solitude.

Everyone was back at camp by 5:30 and Claire fixed chili with cheese Quesadillas. I cut some cherry tomatoes for the chili and spiced it up with some salsa. Tom did his magic in preparing a vegetable salad. For dessert we had the treats that Steven brought up - Oreos, Milano cookies and gummy bears!

I was Patrick's birthday, so Claire gave him one of the beers that Steven brought up yesterday.

In all, it was a good ending to a wonderful trip. Claire is an exceptional leader and I am lucky to have been able to learn from her and everyone else in the group.

L to R: Gary, Pat, Elaine, Gordon, Bob, Tom and Claire. Photo by Richard Mellon.

If you are interested in volunteering for a day, a weekend, or a week, check out the Washington Trail Association web site (http://www.wta.org/).

A Week in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness - Pete Lake

Pete Lake

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness lies in the Central Cascades Region in Washington State. It has some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the state.

I recently was lucky enough to participate in a week-long "volunteer vacation" with the Washington Trails Association (WTA), working to improve the trails near Pete Lake.

Saturday, July 2
I am always worried about getting to a new trailhead on time. Google maps said it would take two hours to get to the Pete Lake trail head from my house. However, I knew that my truck wouldn't go the speed limit, so I gave myself three hours. Traffic was heavy on I-90, but moved steadily. I arrived forty minutes early, and found that the parking lot was packed! I finally found a spot to park alongside the road. As I drove in, I saw Jim, who I met on the Lake Chelan trip, and, as I was walking to the trail head, I saw Claire arriving with a WTA intern named Alex. Soon I saw Steven, who I met on the Ipsut Creek trip. So out of the seven people in our work party, there were only two that I haven't met before!

While waiting for everyone to gather, I watched the Forest Service take our tools and food via horseback up the trail.
 

Pack horses heading up the trail with our tools, equipment and food

Pete Lake, 4 miles away. The PCT is only 8 miles away!

We all signed in, and headed up the trail. The trail was easy to walk, although I was rather warm in the sunshine. The four miles to Pete Lake went quickly, and I arrived in an hour and forty minutes. I talked with the rangers for a bit before they headed back down the trail. 

Our camp area at Pete Lake. The horses were tied to trees as they were unloaded.

Since the rest of the group had not yet arrived, I set up my tent. There were people everywhere, but we had a reserved campsite which, amazingly, was still empty. 

I helped set up and organize the cook tent. Others dug a hole for our sump water, another dug a latrine that our group will use during the week. We hung up the water for the hand washing station as well as the water filtering station. Paul headed to the lake to fill our water buckets.

Our cook tent is set up

Claire gave a summary of the activities for the week, and an outline of our daily schedule. I volunteered to cook spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. 

Our first dinner - Spaghetti, meatballs and warm garlic bread. Yum!

This will be an interesting week, since there is no picnic table. We ended up sitting on some of the coolers, which worked OK. After dinner, we did our normal dish washing which included washing, rinsing twice and then a bleach rinse.

After each cooked meal, we thoroughly wash all of the dishes. We only had a little table as our work surface.

The mosquitos are a bit of a pest, so I headed to bed before eight. I can hear young children crying in the distance, but smile because I can hear the songs of the same birds that I came to love while hiking the PCT last year.

Last night, I heard coyotes howling nearby and several owls!

Sunday, July 3
I heard Stephen get up at 4:45. He gets up early to make coffee and hot water. I rolled out at 5:15 and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my lunch.

I started breakfast at 6 - French toast and bacon. Claire went over tool safety before we split into two work teams. 

 

Claire reviews the tools we will be using and emphasizes safety

Each tool is reviewed: how it is used, how to carry it, how to safely store it alongside the trail

One group improved the trail over a stream bed. I went with the group that hiked about a mile and a half down the trail to where a tree root ball had left a huge hole in the trail. 

 

Claire surveys the work site. We needed to restore the trail.

Steve places rocks in the hole on a bench dug so that the rocks would not shift over time.

We had to dig out mineral soil from the root ball and then gather large rocks to build a rock retaining wall. Steve spent and hour placing the first row of stones. We then decided we had enough stones to fill the entire hole, so we filled it up and spread a good layer of soil on top. It looks really nice.

Steve and Alex adding rocks to the hole

Bob helps to fill the hole too

We added mineral soil on top. It looks really like a trail again!

Back at camp we had Gatorade and chips.

 

Resting after a long day. Gatorade and chips hit the spot.

For dinner we had chicken tacos with all the fixings. A lot of people who were camped in the campground went home today, so it was much quieter. Everyone were in their tents by 8:30 after a satisfying day of working on the trail. 

Monday, July 4
It seems odd that I am out in the woods again on the Fourth of July. But really I enjoy the quiet and peacefulness of the forest. 

 

We had two American flags flying for the Fourth of July!

I helped make sausage McMuffins and headed out to the trail at 7:30. I did not sleep well last night. There were some teenagers camped near the lake who partied until midnight. In addition, my right shoulder has been aching at night. I told Claire that I needed to watch what I did today. I ended up doing brushing all morning. It was hard work and my shoulder still ached. After lunch I helped with tread work and dug out roots. By two I was getting incredibly cold and headed back to camp a half hour early. I felt bad quitting early but I had no more energy.

I rested in my tent for two hours and then helped cook salmon, asparagus and basil pasta. It turned out great.
  

The salmon has been seasoned and I cut lemon wedges. The salmon was roasted on the griddle with butter and garlic.

I headed to bed before 8 and took pain medication for my aching shoulder.


Tuesday, July 5
It was so nice to have a quiet camp last night. I slept well, especially since I took Aleve to keep the ache in my shoulder in check. I was up by 5:15. Stephen had the water and coffee going. I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my lunch.

I fixed blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs with onions and bacon for breakfast.

We did stretching exercises before heading up the trail. 

  

Steven led the stretching exercises. 

Alex, Claire and Steve all getting limber.

Jim, Steve and Stephen cut a large log out of the trail. There was a large snow pile under the bark debris. 
  

The log has been cut. You can see the snow under the bark in the lower right of the picture.

Steven shoveled some into our water carrying bags to supplement our freezer ice. 

The rest of the group worked on creating a new switchback. We had to dig out rocks and roots. 

 

Steve digs out rocks from the roots

Alex works on the upper part of the switchback, digging out roots and rocks

Jim works to place rocks alongside the trail to hold the dirt that will be added later.

Then we dug mineral soil to finish the tread. We had one huge rock that we moved into place along the trail to hold the soil in place. It took almost twenty minutes to move the rock into place. I created a speeded-up video showing how much effort it takes to move these giant rocks.

I helped fix pulled pork sandwiches for dinner with baked beans and a garden salad.

Wednesday, July 6
Today is our day off. We can stay around camp, go hiking or do whatever we want. The best part is that it was blue skies and sunshine!

I decided to walk up to Lemah meadows and walk up the PCT. I packed a PB&J sandwich and left camp at 6:30. It was an easy hike and I suspected that the trail was the same one that I camped beside last year on my PCT hike. Sure enough I spotted my old campsite. 

 

Beautiful old tree on the way to Lemah meadows

This is my camp site where I camped a little over a year ago on my through hike of the PCT

Since it only took me 40 minutes to get to the PCT, I decided to head towards Spectacle Lake. The first river had a wooden bridge and the second had a log that was easy to cross.

 

The first stream crossing on the PCT has a wooden bridge

The second stream crossing on the PCT has a foot bridge. At the narrow end there was a make-shift rail to hold onto.

The problem was that there we a jillion logs across the trail. Over, under and around was the order of the day. 

 

On the way to Spectacle Lake, the PCT passes through a burnt forest. There were many logs fallen over the trail.

I passed a beautiful waterfall on a wooden bridge and then climbed 20 switchbacks to the Spectacle Lake trail. 

It was an easy half mile to the lake. Of course the lake was fantastic. I was the only one there!


 

First view of Spectacle Lake with mountains all around

Spectacle Lake

At the shore of Spectacle Lake

On the way back I met Steven and Paul.

Paul and Steven headed up the PCT to Spectacle Lake

They were making good time, but had taken another trail where they had to wade across one of the rivers. I also met the church group girls who were also headed to the lake.

I made it back to camp by 12:10. The afternoon was warm, so I washed my dirty shirt and pants. I also took a sponge bath. I took a short nap and then helped cook steak, broccoli and mashed potatoes. Others made a veggie salad.

Paul found a small limb on a tree that he carved to look like a little creature. I think he did a great job!

Paul's carving looks like a little critter peaking over the log!

Tomorrow we hope to finish the tread work on the Waptus Pass trail and then log out some of the fallen trees on the trail from Pete Lake to the river ford.

Stephen counted 175 trees down across the trail on his way up to Spectacle Lake!

Thursday, July 7
I had weird dreams last night. I wonder if they are because I have been taking pain medication for my shoulder pain?

I helped fix eggs, sausage and English muffins for breakfast. After a few stretching exercises, we split into two teams. Jim, Steven and Steve hiked up the lake to start sawing out trees from across the trail. 
 

Using a two-person cross-cut saw to remove a tree that was blocking the trail

Claire, Paul, Alex and I headed up the Waptus Pass trail to finish the trail switchback. We finished setting the rocks alongside the trail and then gathered stones to fill next to the larger rocks. We then filled bags with mineral soil to level and shape the grade. Paul spent several hours digging out a large tree root. We also widened the turn to accommodate horse traffic. We finally finished at noon. 

 

Lower end of the new switch back. The huge rock was placed next to the tree on the right of the trail.

Looking down the trail. The trail was filled with mineral soil to smooth it out

The upper section of the switch back. We made the turn wider so that horses could navigate it more easily.

Alex packing down some of the dirt

After lunch we headed up the trail. Claire had another cross cut saw. Jim's team had already cleared 8 trees. I helped cut the ninth.

When a saw starts to bind, we used an axe to cut away the wood down to the bottom of the saw cut to relieve the stress.

For dinner we had Couscous with chicken, onions, peppers and Marsala sauce. We also had a garden salad. I fixed warm peaches topped with fresh blueberries.

Of course, we amuse ourselves by trying to flip whipped cream up in the air and catch it in our mouth. Alex did OK.

It started raining after dinner, but it was dry under our tarp. 
 

The tarp kept us dry during the many rain showers

We took extra precautions with food storage since we heard that a bear had come into the Waptus Lake campground, which is just over the ridge from us.

Friday, July 8
The last day of the volunteer vacation is always bitter sweet. It's sad to realize that its almost over and I will be leaving good friends. It's sweet in that there is a real feeling of accomplishment and I will be able to return to family and friends tomorrow.

It lightly rained all night, but was clearing by morning. 

 

There are breaks in the morning clouds over Pete Lake

The water in Pete Lake is crystal clear and cold

Checking out the lake in the early morning light

Pete Lake and clearing skies. One of the mountain peaks starts to come out of the fog

Sun filters through the trees. I just love being here.

I fixed a large pan of bacon and eggs for breakfast. We then headed up the trail to cut logs out of the trail. I worked with Jim, Steve, and Alex. Jim is a good teacher and explains why we are cutting in certain places, and what may happen as we saw the log. I really enjoyed today's work. We managed to clear the trail of logs all the way to the ford of Lemah creek. One tree across the trail had a yellow jacket nest in it. We flagged the trail and left the tree. I felt this was one of the most successful days ever on the outing. 

 

This tree fell right into the trail tread. We made two cuts and rolled it to the side

Steve and Alex on the now cleared trail

Alex and Steven are half-way through. Jim is giving them instructions on how to procede.

The trail has been cleared and cleaned

Claire made the last cut of the day to clear a log out of the way.

We had chili for dinner with quesadillas and salad.

A large group of Boy Scouts who are camped nearby. We gave them our extra chili, but they are rather noisy tonight.

Saturday, July 9
It rained fairly hard all night, so we all had wet tents to pack up this morning. After breakfast, we all pitched in to break down camp. One of the tasks was to wash all of the cooking equipment and plates, making sure everything was washed twice and dried. It took over an hour to finish.

We also had to pack the metal panniers, making sure that pairs of them were within one pound of each other. We used a portable scale to weigh each pannier and then had to adjust the weights as needed. They needed to be equal in weight so that the pack horses would have a balanced load on the way out. The horses arrived before everything was packed. We finally finished at 11:30 and headed back to the trailhead.

On the way out, we got a lot of "thank you's" from folks heading up the trail. It really made me feel proud to be making a difference with a WTA work crew!

 

Packing up the panniers, making sure pairs of them were equal in weight

We had extra carrots, so the horses and mules got a special treat!

Loading up the horses with the panniers

During the course of our week in the woods, we shared riddles with each other. It was fun trying to solve them as we worked.


Riddles:
#1
Give me a common word that has the letters "UFA" together. This one drove me to distraction. It's harder than you think. With enough clues from Steve, I finally got it.

#2
There is a room with an incandescent light bulb hanging from the ceiling. There is one door into the room which is closed. There are no windows, and when the light is on in the room, no light can be seen under or around the door. Outside the room are three light switches, which are all in the "off" position. You can only open the door once to see if the light is on. How can you determine which switch controls the light?  I guess this was one of the interview questions at Microsoft. They want people who are problem solvers. I can't imagine being put on the spot during an interview to try to figure this one out. 

#3
There is a room with four walls, a ceiling and floor, but no windows. There is a chair and a mirror on the wall. How do you get out of the room? No one could possibly solve this one. You look in the mirror to see what you saw. You used the saw to cut the chair in half. Two halves make and hole, and you use the hole to crawl out. OMG!

#4
There is a blue magical mirror. A moose can pass through, but not an elk. Geese can fly through, but not ducks. You can put your feet through, but not your hand. Give examples of other things that can and cannot pass through. With enough examples, this one becomes easy to solve.
#5
A man lives in a fifty story building on the top floor. When it rains, he takes his umbrella and upon returning uses the elevator to return to his room. If he forgets his umbrella, he can only ride to the tenth floor and then has to take the stairs the rest of the way. When the man goes walking, he takes his trekking pole and rides the elevator to the fiftieth floor upon returning. The day he forgot his trekking pole, he could only ride to the tenth floor. Explain why sometimes he can ride the elevator all the way to the top, where other times he can only ride to the tenth floor. This one didn't seem to be logical, but after asking enough questions, someone finally got it. 

#6:
Two men go into a bar and order the same drink, whiskey on the rocks. The first man got a phone call and had to leave, so he gulps down his drink and leaves. The second man has time to kill, so he lingers over his drink and chitchats with the bartender. An hour later he keels over dead. An autopsy revealed that his drink was poisoned. Why didn't the first man die as well? I had heard this one before, but didn't remember the answer until someone else got it.