We backpacked to lovely Lena Lake, then day-hiked to even lovelier Upper Lena, which was a great easy backpack with a challenging day hike that fulfilled our group’s needs, fed our wilderness desires – and dismayed us with how many people didn’t follow Leave No Trace practices.
First, the good parts: The three-plus-a-little hike to Lena Lake is a breeze -- wide, mostly even trail and just 1,300 feet up. We left home early Friday, not knowing how crowded it might be, and arrived in time to get nearly our pick of campsites. Many more folks arrived about two hours later, and the campsites seemed almost full by evening. There was smoke in the air, but not as much as we heard was in Seattle, and certainly further northeast. We waded into the lake, which was cold but not too cold to hang out in and cool off.
On Saturday, we day-hiked the eight-mile round-trip to Upper Lena, another 2,600 feet up and seemed like more. The trail starts on a moderate incline, gaining the first thousand-ish feet, flattens out for a bit, then heads up and up and up, with a number of steep sections, and one part of the trail where the choice is to essentially a scramble to the left, with another more trail-like looking path to the right. The scramble to the left was the right one. (Looked like a number of others, like us, tried the right path first.) Enjoyed lunch overlooking Upper Lena, then headed back to lower Lena, where the smoke seemed a little worse than the day before, but again not too bad.
And now the dismay: So many people left traces of themselves that it was gross. Dozens of pieces of toilet paper ringed every campsite at lower Lena. (It’s not hard – or heavy -- to pack out!) Someone who was able to pack in a full bottle of litter left the empty near their campsite rather than carry it out. And we saw a few people rinsing their dinner dishes right in the river, rather than the Leave-No-Trace 200 feet from any water source. Failing to do these things pollutes the area, and diminishes the experience for everyone who follows you.
Comments