Avalanche danger was once again high in areas that I was planning to a hike. To be safe, I decided to head up Highway 2 and check off a hike that's been on a bucket list for a while but have been putting off due to worrying about the influx of people I might encounter on the trail.
The trailhead was only an hour away from North Seattle. The parking lot was big but I could see it being filled up on busy summer days. But obviously, on a super rainy and cold day, there was plenty of parking. We saw only two other cars in the lot when we got to the trailhead at around 10am on Friday. Road had potholes but it was a short ride - take it slow and any car could make it.
The first 1.7 miles to the junction of Lake Serene and Bridal Veil Falls were easy - with a gentle gain in the forest. I highly recommend stopping by the falls before heading up to the lake. It was a very wet day so the boardwalks were definitely slick and slippery at times. The falls were raging due to the rain. It was nice to finally be able to see these falls despite not getting a view of the surrounding area. After soaking in the views, we headed back the way we came and continued onto Lake Serene.
This was when the elevation gain really started to pick up. However, before that, there was another nice waterfall with some rocks to rest. This was also where the large downed tree was located. This was the only huge obstacle on the entire trail. I could see it being problematic for certain folks, especially on a wet day. My 60 pound made it up with no problem although I did need to give him a little lift and had my friend help me out a little. After this, it was all uphill and stairs until Lake Serene.
We took our time because it was windy and raining progressively more as we made our way towards the lake. The stairs felt relentless. Every time I thought I was done with them, more stairs popped up on the trail. Per other trip reports, there was some snow/ice on the last 1/4 mile before the lake. We did put on our microspikes to continue on as I found that I was definitely sliding a bit and wanted to not get slowed down by this.
By the time we got to the lake, we were already soaked so it definitely felt very cold. On top of that, there was little to no tree coverage, so we continued to get rained on. After looking at the lake for a bit - the lake was pretty frozen at this point, we decided to 'take shelter' under one of the more dense trees for a little bit. It was getting late so we decided to head back as we didn't want to hike the rocky downhill in the dark.
Despite the weather being sort of a nightmare, I still highly recommend this hike. While this trail is known for its views, it was still nice to be able to hike this in heavy rain. I really enjoyed the moodiness and the vibes even though I did find the 2 miles to the lake a little more difficult when it was wet. But overall, just take your time and enjoy your surroundings!
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