Lena Lake, The Brothers — Saturday, Jun. 12, 2010

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

Our group consisted of three adults and five children between the ages of 12 and 6. We arrived at the trailhead at 8:15 a.m. for a planned overnight at lower Lena Lake. This was the third year making the hike up to Lena Lake, and our first overnight stay. Unlike past years the scars from people cutting through the switchbacks were not as prevalent and seemed to be filling back in with vegetation. The first 14 switchbacks through second growth forest took us to the first bridge. The bridge is a good place to take of the packs, have a snack and rest. Here you are in Old Growth forests with massive boulders that are covered in moss. You will also be able to hear Lena Creek as it makes an underground passage below. This is a good opportunity to tell the kids how Lena Lake was formed by a massive landslide from the mountain to the East which also covered over this part of Lena Creek. A few more switchbacks take you to a rock overhang that the kids refer to as “The Cave”. From here it is a fairly gentle climb for the next mile to a rock outcropping that overlooks Lena Lake a hundred feet or so below. This is a great spot to have lunch and enjoy the view. We continued to the north end of the lake crossing over Lena Creek on a log bridge to a campsite located on the hill above the lake. The Lake was 10 to 15 feet higher that we had seen it in the past, which had flooded many of the campsites along the lake itself. There were several large groups setting up camp when we arrived. The campsites are well spaced on the North side of the lake which offers privacy from your neighbors. We arrived at camp around 12:30 p.m.. We set up camp, had lunch, lightened our packs and then set out to explore the “Valley of the Silent Men” (Brothers Trail) at 2:00 p.m.. This takes you North East away from Lena Lake through some of the most beautiful Old Growth forest we have experienced in our hikes. The trail is not as well maintained as the one up to Lena Lake. Along the way we crossed three log bridges as you climb through a deep moss covered gorge, with the creek never more than 50 yards from you. The numerous waterfalls cascading over massive boulders and the towering cedar trees a wonder to look at. Between the second and third log bridges the trail has been washed out in numerous places and is hard to find at times. Flags mark the path but for people with Knee or Back problems this would be a good place to turn around. It was slow going and a bit tough on our group of kids through this section. After the third bridge the trail climbs steeply and through the trees peek-a-boo views of the Brothers are seen. We turned around at this point, roughly two miles up the valley and an elevation of 2800 feet. We arrived at camp at 5:30 p.m. and spent the evening filtering water, cooking dinner and listening to the sounds of Lena Creek crashing into Lena lake. There was no wind and clear skies. As evening approached a neighboring camp broke out a guitar and provided some fairly good renditions of songs we knew. If your looking for solitude on your evenings, Lower Lena Lake is not for you, but if you don’t mind acoustic renditions of classic songs, or friendly conversations with your neighbors Lena Lake can be a wonderful destination. The next morning we ate breakfast and packed up camp. We left around 11:00 a.m. and made our way back to the rock overlooking the lake and had a snack and took pictures before setting out on our way back to the car. We arrived at our car at 2:30 p.m. and were greeted by a Forest Service employee who was taking surveys of the experiences people had while hiking the Lena Lake trails. It was an enjoyable experience that had us planning our next trip to Lena Lake on our car ride home.