Backpacking the Enchantments: What Happens When You Aren't Expecting to Win the Lottery
Backpacking the Enchantments: What Happens When You Aren’t Expecting to Win the Lottery The Enchantments are one of the most competitive backpacking lotteries in the United States, so in 2025 I entered the lottery fully expecting to lose. But I ended up winning on my first try (Fellow backpackers, don’t hate me!) So now I had a problem. I’d entered the Enchantments lottery the way you enter a sweepstakes on a cereal box: no real plan, no expectation of winning, and that when I eventually won in a few years, I would have much more experience and training under my belt. The plan was to enter for a few years, build up a proper gear kit, and eventually do it right. Instead, I got a permit for a July 4th weekend on my very first attempt. ...