 |
| Day 2 - Core Enchantment Zone |
Day 2 of our trip was Grace's 16th birthday and had us hiking into the Core Enchantment Zone. We were up at about 7:10 am and watched the sun come up. We sang happy birthday to Grace as she came out of the tent! This was our coldest nite and we had ice on our tent and our sleeping bags that had gotten wet from condensation.
We had breakfast, layered our clothes, pumped water and headed up to the Core Enchantment. The hike to the first lake in the Enchantments, Lake Viviene, was about 4 miles but was quite a climb and covered very scary granite scrambles. Grace and the other ladies were so kind to me as I struggled with my fear of heights. They would search for alternate routes and Grace carried my pack. The route up to Viviene really tested my nerve. Unfortunately, I was not able to continue past the first lake because of the heights. (I knew this was probably going to be an issue). But it was ok - Grace and I hung out at Lake Vivienne for awhile and then hiked back down - which was super scary!. We headed back to camp, had a nice lunch (couscous, cheese, spinach in a pita - G added taco sauce to hers).
Shannon and Susan continued on to explore the Enchantments and were quick to confirm that I made the right decision not to try to continue - their exact words were "it was sketchy"!
 |
| Viviene Lake |
 |
| Larch |
One of the unique aspects of this area are the Larch trees. Larch trees are deciduous conifers, which mean unlike other pine trees, their needles turn yellow in the fall and drop off. They are relatively uncommon in the US and are mostly found in Canada and Europe in cold climates. The needles soften as they turn yellow, making touching them like petting a stuffed animal!
 |
| Bad Ass Ladies at Viviene |
We met some people while at Viviene Lake - including a group of guys that were hiking after a Craigslist meetup. One of the guys had a permit to hike so he posted it on Craigslist and picked up two other guys to hike with. It was weird because they were all pretty much hiking alone but they were there together - it was clear they didn't want to hang out with each other! Two of the guys had hiked to Viviene at 3 am so they could be there when the sun came up. One of the guys was afraid and heights like me and he was hesitant about leaving and hiking back down. When Susan and Shannon hiked back thru there at the end of the day, he was still there!
 |
| Hiking across a scary spot! |
 |
| A creek paralleled the trail all the way up to Viviene |
 |
| Grace's birthday gift - a "G" necklace |
 |
| A grove of Larches |
 |
| Grace's birthday crown |
 |
| Peaks above Viviene |
 |
| Soft Larch |
 |
| Selfie at Viviene |
 |
| From Viviene looking down to Upper Snow |
 |
| Cairn - piles of rocks showed the trail location |
No comments:
Post a Comment