Backdoor Enchantments
After our stunning trip to the Enchantments last fall, we were eager to go back. Sadly, I lost the permit lottery for the year, so I had to come up with an alternative. I'd also been wanting to hike up Ingalls Creek, both to see the canyon and for some of the mountaineering objectives it accesses. I finally settled on using Ingalls Creek and Crystal Creek to access the Enchantments, and make climbs of Little Annapurna, and McLellan Peak. This is possible by camping in Crystal Creek Basin, just outside of the Enchantments permit area.
We made the five hour drive Wednesday Evening, July 3rd, and camped in the deserted parking lot at Ingalls Creek trailhead (elevation 2,000 ft). The next morning we headed up the trail around 9am. The day warmed up quickly and we dunked our hats each time we crossed a small stream. The open east-side forest and frequent clearings allow for good views of the impressive canyon walls that rise 2,000 and later 5,000 feet above.
The 7.5 miles to Crystal Creek is pretty mellow, only gaining about 1,700 feet, although the trail was heavily overgrown at times. We found no sign of the use trail near Crystal Creek, so we headed off into the brushy forest. The first few hundred feet of elevation gain were pretty miserable, and seemed to take a long time, but then we were following beautiful granite slabs decorated with colorful mosses and sedums up the steep south facing Crystal Creek Drainage.
At some point we picked up the trail, and then around 5,000 feet elevation the route begins to wind through sections of enormous boulders — mostly ranging from car sized to multi-story buildings. There are frequent cairns marking the way, but the route is still tricky to follow. It was 7pm by the time we crested the lip of the basin at 6,000 feet, to the disappointing view of endless monstrous boulders. Ethan was exhausted, and couldn't be expected to go any further.
I went boulder hopping, and eventually found an area with several flat spots just big enough to wedge a tent into. We'd brought an enclosed tent for bug protection. It was getting dark by the time we got the tent up and had dinner. I was up at 7 the next morning to make coffee and take pictures, and we were picking our way through the basin by 8:30. The tarn was large and full considering it often dries up by late summer. Near the tarn we came accross a well preserved mountain goat skeleton.
Getting form the basin to Crystal Lake on the rim of the divide involves crossing a mile and a half of regular size talus over 1,000 feet of climbing. It is tedious. To escape the talus in the main drainage, we cut left and ascended the first gully to the west of the pass. It was loose and sandy for a while, but quicker than the talus, and the steep upper section is held together better. Around 10:30 we popped out above Crystal Lake to the classic view of Prusik Peak.
After a break we headed up the snowy slopes to the granite ramps and slabs of Little Annapurna. We were able to keep mostly to the dry rock and enjoyable scrambling until the last few hundred feet, which involved good snow and a moderate grade. The trail across the summit plateau is an especially fun walk. We spent over an hour on top, admiring the surrounding peaks near and far, and the view of the jagged spires and jumbled rock surrounding our camp 2,400 feet straight down.
We were able to shoe ski sections of the descent back to Crystal Lake, returning in less than half the time it took to go up. We followed the standard route from the outlet down the boulders, and found it to be more difficult than the gully. Looking at the timestamps on my photos, it took us longer to go down the upper drainage than it did to go up the gully from the same point. We reversed the rest of the talus back to camp and made pasta shells with veggies for dinner. Ethan still had energy to do some bouldering after eating.
Saturday morning we repeated the talus slog through the basin and up to Crystal Lake, and turned right towards McLellan Peak. We headed up and east until we could see the rest of the traverse over to The Prong. Looking at the route, Linette didn't feel like finishing it, knowing how much rock hopping we still had to do. Ethan wasn't gung-ho either, so we headed straight up to the Chessmen Ridge.
We had a nice lunch perched on the ridge just below one of the more impressive Chessman. I was tempted to get out the rope and make the exposed scramble to the top, but decided against it, and just enjoyed the setting for a while. We headed down, taking the loose gully to the east of the pass this time. We spread out across the gully and scree skied down in 10 minutes. Crossing the talus for the forth time, we stayed a bit higher on the west side of the basin, refining the route.
Back at camp around 2:30 we packed up and headed down towards Ingalls Creek. The descent was straightforward except the path disappeared in the brush again as we neared the canyon bottom, and we had to repeat the bush whack, taking an even worse route than on the way up. The campsite we had in mind just down the trail was occupied, and we had to march a few extra miles until we found another one. The site was away from the creek, forested, and uninspiring. I'd never have selected it, but I didn't want to ask Ethan & Linette to go any further, and it was getting dark, so it hardly mattered.
That left a short hike out in the morning, which was good since we had a long drive home. This was my first trip with a new pack that I designed and built myself. The pack was amazingly comfortable, despite the heavier than average load I was carrying including a full tent, a 60 meter rope, and a variety of climbing gear we didn't use. I've since tested the pack over hundreds of miles, refined the design, and am looking to sell them as one-off orders.
