Alpine Lakes Wilderness Permits
NEW
Proposed Permit Change for 2009
Recent updates
to permit availability.
MAP of Permit Zone areas
(also in application brochure)
IMPORTANT NOTE: This permit application is only valid until October 2008. The fees will be increasing in 2009 and a new application will be posted at that time.
for Enchantment Lakes, Stuart, Colchuck, Snow, Eightmile Lakes areas
Overnight Wilderness permits are required from June 15 to October 15. Wilderness permit applications for 2007 will be available in early February. No applications will be accepted postmarked prior to February 21, 2008. To obtain a permit application, call the Wenatchee River Ranger District’s Leavenworth office at (509) 548-6977 or download a copy:
2008 Alpine Lakes Wilderness Permit Information and Application [PDF: 400kb]
IMPORTANT NOTE: This permit application is only valid until October 2008. The fees will be increasing in 2009 and a new application will be posted at that time.
Maximizing Your Chances of Getting an Enchantment Permit
and Clearing Up Miscellaneous Misconceptions
4/2006
I just spent the last several weeks inputting Enchantment permit applications. This task brought home a number of points where I realize there is confusion about how the system works. This write-up should help applicants better understand what is going on, and provides information in addition to our permit application brochure, which is available on this web site. [see link above]
Application Deadline: The application deadline to have your permit processed with the first batch is March 1. (For 2006 only we extended the deadline to March 6.) Applications can be postmarked starting February 21. The reason we don't want applications mailed earlier is two-fold-- we don't want to have to store applications all winter, and we don't want "stale checks" (more on this below). Some applicants have the misconception that we begin processing applications on February 21, therefore they might have an advantage to get theirs in the first day. (Some people even drive all the way from Seattle to hand deliver their application on the 21st. This really doesn't make a bit of difference!) Applications are not processed until March 1 (this year March 6) so that all applicants are on the same playing field. We have built the system to be fair. There were 816 applications in the first batch to be processed!
Maximizing Your Odds of Getting an Enchantment Zone Permit: You MUST have had your application in by March 1 (March 6 in 2006). Almost 1,000 applications are processed in the first round (the applications received by March 1). Most of these applicants are requesting Enchantment Zone permits. August is by far the most popular month. Mid-July through the end of September fill next. Fridays fill fastest, followed by Thursdays and Saturdays, followed by Mondays. If you are asking to start your trip only on a Friday in August, you will only get this reservation if your application is in the first 200 drawn! Once a date is full, it's full, unless somebody cancels closer to their trip.
To maximize your odds of getting a permit, you must provide as many dates as you possibly can. That is what the "additional instructions" box is for. If you were to say, "I'll take any 4 days in July, August, September," you will have a higher likelihood of getting a reservation. However by about the 600th application, these dates were completely taken. So applicants must also be willing to consider June or October if they really want that permit!
Reservation drawing: People also seem to have misperceptions about how we run the reservation drawing. We are primitive. All the envelopes go in a box, are drawn out by hand, and are processed one at a time by a monkey (me). So your application isn't processed until then. Some people think we get it all front loaded into a database (some other systems do), and then run the drawing by computer (nope). Some of these applicants put the same date (August 18 seemed to be the most popular date) for their first, second, and third choices. In reality they have only provided one choice for me to work with, and once it's gone, it's gone! You can tell what order your application was processed in by the number on your confirmation letter. By the time I had processed 800 applications, lots of Colchuck and Snow Lakes Zone dates were taken as well.
How we set the daily quota: The Alpine Lakes Wilderness Plan (1981) established a carrying capacity of "60 Persons at One Time" (PAOT). This is to protect the fragile subalpine environment. To achieve this limit, we assumed based on our records that people average a 4 day trip, with up to 3 nights in the Enchantments (thus allowing for 60 people camped at one time. Thus the daily entry quota is 20 people per day (15 by reservation and 5 by daily walk-in permit during the summer). However, when we conduct the reservation drawing, we allow for 14 people plus one group. Sometime this works out to exactly 15. Other times it can go as high as 14 + 8 = 22. So you don't have to worry about your group size being too large by one or two people.
Only Change Day of Entry or Zone You Will Camp In: Misconception Number Four-- many applicants hope to improve their chances by altering trailhead of entry, or number in their party, or will take less days, or indicate they will camp at Snow or Colchuck for a night on their way in or out. None of this improves your odds of getting a permit.
There are only two ways to improve your odds-- either offer MORE dates that you can start your trip, or offer to camp at Snow or Colchuck instead if the Enchantment reservations are taken. Of course most applicants want weekends, but tend to ask for Fri-Mon, or Thurs-Sun. Perhaps you are willing to take Sat-Tues? Sun-Wed? Wed-Sat?
We take your application VERY literally. For example if you say you will take "Any weekend in August", but August ends on a Saturday, we would assume you potentially DON'T want the first Sunday in September. It is clearest to say, for example, you will take "any start date from July 28 to September 9" (or whatever dates suit you). Some people put the only dates they CAN'T be available. That works very well too.
Accepting Snow or Colchuck as an Alternative to the Enchantments: There is a little box on the application that enables you to apply to camp at Snow or Colchuck as your second choice if all your Enchantment dates were taken. We ALWAYS honor your request for an Enchantment zone permit first. If you have a Snow or Colchuck permit, you cannot camp in the Enchantments. But you can hike there for the day. This works better for a 3-4 day trip than a longer trip.
Avoiding Stale Checks: The government has a new rule that is making it more difficult for us to run this system. We are not supposed to deposit a check where the date is more than 30 days old. This is only a problem with processing the applications in March where we have such a huge deluge. Please date your check March 1 if you are sending them in with the first wave prior to March 1. I worked around the clock to avoid having to call 200 people to get a new payment! Fortunately, as of this year, we can accept major credit cards. This completely alleviates this problem, but does take us a bit longer to process applications.
Stuart Versus Eightmile Trailhead: This is a very small matter. Our little application map is not very detailed, and at a glance some applicants think the Eightmile Trailhead is what they use to access Colchuck Lake and/or the Enchantments. Really you want the Stuart Lake Trailhead. I went ahead and made this change when processing applications.
Closed on Sundays!!! Funding for our front office staff was cut by 50% from last year. This means that the front office is funded by your Enchantment fees on Saturdays and will be closed on Sundays in 2006. In anticipation of this, we allocated the entire Enchantment daily quota for Sundays through the reservation system (20 people rather than 15). Our apologies in advance for any inconvenience this may cause!
Duplicate Applications: We have designed a system where we want only one application per group/household and/or family for the main Enchantment Zone. This is for two reasons-- so that each applicant has an equal chance at a permit, and so that we don't end up with 8 times as many applications! If we find duplicate applications, we reject them before we even get started processing permits.
Why We Don't Do Refunds: Three reasons. The first is so that we discourage duplicate applications (see above). The second is that the government has to go through huge expensive and time consuming gyrations to issue a refund-- it's not as easy as cutting a check or issuing a credit on your VISA card. And third-- we want people to be serious about their commitment to using their reservation-- not just hedging their bets. If you really can't use your permit, we do appreciate it, however, if you call to cancel. Another party will appreciate the opportunity to go to the Enchantments.
Transferring Your Permit: Since we don't do refunds, you are welcome to give your reservation dates to someone else. However, for the permit to be valid, we need to issue the permit in their name instead of yours. As the reservation holder, you need to contact us to let us know you authorize the transfer, and furnish us with the name, address, and phone number of the new reservation holder. There is no fee for this change.
Daily drawing: The limited entry permit season is from June 15 to October 15. Each day (except Sundays when we will be CLOSED) at exactly 7:45 a.m. we draw names from any present parties. The daily quota is 5 people. In reality we draw for "4 people plus 1 more party". In other words, we don't split up a group. Please arrive at the Leavenworth Ranger Station by about 7:35 a.m. Have a good "Plan B" in mind in case your name is not drawn. This might be to camp in a different permit zone instead, or to go backpacking someplace else on the glorious east slope of the Cascades. Our receptionists are happy to help you with alternate suggestions. The Ranger Station is located on Highway 2 in downtown Leavenworth-- just look for Smokey Bear out front.
What it is Like in June, July, August, September, October: In general, From June - mid-July, plan for snow travel and camping. By late July almost all campsites are snow free. Most of the travel corridor is snow free by then, but there are a couple places where snow stays all year, except for the droughtiest years. Mosquitoes can be bad through late July, and are present in lesser degrees until it freezes in September. Flowers are at their prime in late July and early August. Larches start showing hints of gold by mid September and are at their prime the last week of September and first week of October. It can snow any day of the year. The most snow I experienced in the Enchantments was a 9 inch dump in August! But certainly the chances of snow are higher in late September and October. The sun is relentless at any time-- be sure to bring at least SPF 30 sunscreen (50 is better), lip salve with sunscreen, a hat with a brim, and consider long sleeves.
Do I Need an Ice Axe? This question is difficult for us to answer because it involves your personal judgment and skill level. In my view, an ice axe is almost always recommended, but in reality most visitors don't have one once the route up Aasgard Pass becomes relatively snow free (usually mid-late July). Also-- there is not much point in having an ice axe if you haven't been trained to use one on a safe training area. There are a few spots on the main Enchantment travel corridor that almost always carry steep snow. One spot in particular, at Inspiration Lake, could result in sliding all the way into the lake if you lost your footing! (In actuality, I don't know of this actually happening in this location-- it is a situation where the chances are low but the consequences are high. Sadly, we did have a fatality in 2005 where a hiker slid into a lake off the main route.) The snow tends to be hard and icy in the morning and soft (more forgiving) by afternoon.
Raising Fees: The current fee is $3 per person per day. This price has been in effect since 1997. Even ten years ago, the revenue came short of covering our costs, and costs have only gone up! We are currently proposing to raise the fee to $5 per person per day to more accurately generate the revenue we need to cover our costs of running the program. This could happen as soon as summer 2006 or perhaps for the 2007 permit season. Your comments are welcome by contacting us at the Ranger Station.
Expanding the Permit Area: We are also proposing to expand the permit area to include the Ingalls Lake, Headlight Basin, and Mt. Stuart areas. The soonest this could be implemented would be 2007. These areas sustain high use levels, in excess of what the fragile subalpine plant communities can support. A NEPA (legal) decision was made in 1993 to limit entry to these areas, but we have stalled implementing this decision for a variety of reasons. If implemented, the Cle Elum Ranger Station would likely assist us with issuing daily permits and serving as a venue for hikers to pick up their permits.
Lisa Therrell, Wilderness Manager
US Forest Service
Wenatchee River Ranger District
600 Sherbourne
Leavenworth, WA98826
509-548-6977
