Lena Lake — Thursday, Mar. 13, 2008

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

I went up into the Lena Creek drainage today with my brother and his friend. The road up the Hamma Hamma had been plowed past the Lena Lake trailhead, but it was still a bit icy in spots. The trail was snow-free until it swung around into the Lena Creek valley and the snow was mostly firm and easy walking. We left the trail just before the first information board at the lake and headed straight up into a cirque high on the ridge to the west. This basin is rather scenic, though the bush-whacking required to get there is quite strenuous. We intended to continue around Mt. Bretherton and climb it from the south, but it began to snow heavily, making the attempt too dangerous. We turned around and headed up the Lena Lake trail to the lookout rock above the lake. From this vantage point we could see that the lake was about 90% frozen, though it is showing signs of the spring thaw. The trail has a few blowdowns over it, but these are easy to climb over and under. Water is flowing over the trail in several places, but these are not much of a hindrance either.