Colchuck Lake was the destination I wanted to spend my birthday. This glacier melt lake is a tucked away gem within with the Enchantments trail. The trail to Colcuck lake is 7.7 miles roundtrip and is quite the adventure. The start of Colchuck lake is the same trailhead as Stuart Lake. As we drove down Forest Service Road 760, I thought we were lost after driving for twenty minutes. proceed with caution down this dirt road, it can be very rough for a sedan.
Birthday Hike up to Colchuck Lake.
After parking our car at the Stuart Lake Trailhead, we made our way to the trail entrance. We walked through lush forests that took us over a log bridge that crosses a crystal clear creek. Great photos Shortly after crossing the bridge, we came to a junction where we could veer left and up to Colchuck Lake or straight to Stuart Lake. Shortly after heading left, the trail went from relatively easy to moderately difficult. We started the vertical ascend.
The rest of the trail is switchbacks up to the lake. The good news is there are a lot of great views on the way up as you start to clear some trees. As we made our way up, we could start to see the valley we just trekked through. The switchbacks get steeper as you gain elevation and the last stretch feel particularly vertical. The trail flattens a bit after the switchbacks and cuts through a small patch of forest before opening up to majestic views of Colchuck Lake.
We followed the trail around the lake shore. The trail becomes a bit hard to follow and I’m pretty sure we kinda made our own as we walked around the lake. We found a great place to picnic in the sun and do a birthday gingerbread cake we bought in Leavenworth. We sat for almost an hour just taking in the glacier melt display, which you can see the remnants of Colchuck glacier melting into the lake.
HAPPY BRITHDAY TO ME!!