Lena Lake — Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

It was a rare experience to be the only hikers at Lena Lake, which usually is one of the most crowded trails in the Olympics. While we were getting our gear together at the car we saw some hunters slowly driving past us on the road, but otherwise we were alone all day. The trail was beautiful all the way to the lake--the lower sections especially so with so many big leaf maples in brilliant color. The lower trail is a carpet of maple leaves. I was surprised--and dismayed to see how low was the water level at the lake. It seemed that the lake was half its usual size, a symptom of last winter's drought. This is a great hike for this time of year.