Lake Serene, Bridal Veil Falls — Saturday, May. 28, 2022

This is a trip report for the Lake Serene mine, but I did do the trail to bridal veil falls, and my report pertaining to lower trail conditions and the parking lot area will be relevant for Lake Serene and Bridal Veil falls.

We arrived at the TH at 7:30 and the lot was 1/3 full, at least 10 more cars arrived within 5 minutes of us. It looks like they are trying to repair some of the potholes in the gravel road leading up to the TH, but the massive ones near the lot are still there. These are potholes where a sedan will scrape, and one that would swallow one of those little smart cars. You can make it around the worst of them in a sedan, just avoid the craters if you like your car.

The bathrooms were open, but the left one I used did not have TP at 7:30, when we returned around 11 am the bathrooms had been serviced and there was TP. Thank you to the rangers and workers who keep this TH maintained.

The two main washouts on the trail are still there. Easy to cross. At the first washout it's tempting to take the log across but that takes you into the creek and makes for a longer more challenging crossing. Just go down the steep bank and you get to the trail on the other side much faster and with less fuss. The other crossing is wide and isn't steep, but watch out for slippery rocks and mud.

Also devil's club is growing quickly and some is near the trail, you have been warned.

Now I will get into the mine exploration of this trip report.

I want to note that entering abandoned mines in dangerous and this mine while stable, has hazards. More research and knowledge than your typical hike is advised before entering. I am not going to describe exactly how to get there. If you've done the research you know. I just don't want to encourage people who may be unprepared to a potentially dangerous site.

The mine entrance is nice and dry, and has a really nice piece of bigfoot art on the rock. The mud and water in the first 30 feet of the lower adit are not as bad as they were this time last year. Still almost had mud in my boots, but feet stayed dry.

Fully explored the mine, went down all of the tunnels to their end, found the main vien, the winze and the raises. The winze is uncovered and there appeared to be water at the bottom. This is such a cool place to explore. We recorded a video on the site, documenting the tunnels and giving a bit of info on the mine. If you interested follow my Youtube channel Wanderingwashington, that video will be out mid June.

After exploring the main lower adit I tried scrambling farther up the slope to see if I could locate the second adit. I was unsuccessful. I didn't have enough specific beta on how to find it, and I didn't want to keep scrambling up all that if I wasn't on the right path. If anyone can give me good beta on how to find the middle adit to this mine please contact me, either in the comments or my email wanderingwashingtontrails@gmail.com.

Finally I went up the bridal veil falls turnoff to the Honeymoon mine. Done that one before as well, just a quick bushwack off the main trail. The falls over the adit are really heavy so I got a shower going to the gate. Sadly this upper portion is gated. I would have loved to explore this before it was shut off.

Back to general trail conditions.

There were a LOT of people on trail(of course) it's a popular trail on a weekend. But there were a few dogs off leash, and some people playing music. Remember part of LNT is keeping your pets leashed and not creating excessive noise, not everyone wants to listen to your music on trail. Also saw quite a few dog poop bags along the side of the trail, remember, pack it in, pack it out. When I hike with my dogs I carry a ziploc bag I keep in the outside pouch of my pack, I keep poo bags there, so they don't smell and are kept separate from the rest of my gear.

The parking lot when we returned at 11 am was the expected madhouse. It was full and people were stalking for parking spots. Not sure what you expect showing up to this TH at 11 am. It's always a good idea to have a backup hike in mind. There are some tadpoles in some of the large puddles in the lot, which were really cool to watch. Be careful not to disrupt those puddles too much while they are developing.

Even though parking was packed it seemed like everyone was parking respectfully and no one was blocking anyone in. For anyone who waits for a spot, remember that most people take a few minutes after getting back from their hike, gotta use the restroom, take off wet gear, etc.

While I may seem critical of some things in this report I want to educate people about LNT and how to keep the trails and TH's nice for everyone. Everyone we met on trail today was great.

Really fun adventure, and like I said I will have a video on the mine site coming out in June, and any beta on the middle adit is MUCH appreciated.

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://www.instagram.com/wanderingwashingtontrails/