FKT: David Seidman - Enchantment Lakes Traverse (WA) - 2022-08-20

Athletes
Route variation
Standard route
Multi-sport
No
Gender category
Non-binary
Style
Unsupported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
7h 15m 43s
GPS track(s)
Report

I've always wanted to run the Enchantments and it fit perfectly into my training plan. I noticed there was no nonbinary FKT yet, so I figured I'd submit my run and be the first.

I reached the trailhead around 6:30 am and there were already so many cars I had to park half a mile away from the trailhead. It was absurdly crowded until after the awful climb up Asgard Pass (2k' in <1 mile of loose scree), where I finally got ahead of the crowd. The Enchantments are beautiful, but the running was not very good. It is very rocky and the trail is often hard to follow. The descent is mostly very steep. I also wound up in a 5 minute standoff with a goat. So I probably won't return, unless it's to reclaim this FKT. :)

This is a really slow time. If you are a nonbinary runner wondering if you can do better, the answer is probably yes. I got lost multiple times. I didn't have a car shuttle so I had to save energy to run back from Snow Lakes to the Stuart Lake trailhead. I had a 4 hour run planned for the next day. And it was 90 degrees. I could probably knock an hour off my own time without much trouble. And I'm not very fast to begin with.

I decided to submit this run anyway to encourage other nonbinary runners to improve on it and to set nonbinary FKTs for other routes. 

David (they/them)