What a great lake and beautiful campsites! Since I had the pup with me we could not venture to Upper Lena however the easy hike and time swimming at "the beach" was so relaxing. Lots of butterflies and a couple of hummingbirds.

The trail is in good shape, with tape flags the whole way, some cairns higher up. There seems to be no marker (and no bridge) to where the final crossing over East Fork Lena Creek goes to Lena Forks Campground. There is snow at 3600' above the burndown (seems late for this time of year but it's been a long winter), but it was soft given the warm weather and sunshine that had been prevalent for several days. Thus, crampons were not necessary, and neither was an ice axe really given that you could stop yourself with your hands and feet (hiking poles were definitely useful). Colder weather and harder snow would have required both. Insects were not an issue. Plenty of water all along the way up to about 5000'. The initial snow up the avalanche gully above the burned area runs over a creek so it will soon present the danger of punching through. Goats at about 4000' and up, one of them was a bit aggressive but we were able to chase it away when it got too close.

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.

Weekdays are a great day to hike to Lena Lake. Everyone on the trail, which were only about six groups that I saw, was friendly and thankful to be outside. The trail, as always, was fabulously maintained. There was one tree on teh path, but it's been there forever and isn't moving. Straddling it with a chubby babypack was interesting, but certainly doable. The lake is quite high and the river is unpassable. Many of the lakeside campsite are underwater, in fact. Not that this stopped us from copping a squat and having some lunch at camp #1. The dogs got in a good swim. Remember your trail pass or buy a one-day pass at the trailhead. Rangers do come and check cars.

Lena Lake and the trails from it are a moss lover's paradise. Moss blankets everything in gentle greens while incredibly tall trees spire to the sky. Lena Lake is very popular with families and troops of hikers of all ages and abilities. Besides violets, there are some Calypso Orchids along the trail. The trailhead starts from the parking lots on the side of the Hamma Hamma River road. There are no outhouses but plenty of signs. The well groomed trail makes long lazy switchbacks up 3 miles to the lake. There is one big 3' diameter blowdown just before the lake that is a challenge to climb over. Plenty of nice campsites and an outhouse at the lake. At the north end of the lake is the Bridge Not Far Enough. It crosses most of Lena Creek but you have to splash through some water to reach it. From there the trail is sometimes very nice and sometimes indistinct. Up through the Valley of the Silent Men there are many blowdowns and the creek has washed away some of the trail. This is one of the approaches to summit the Brothers. There are two trails from Lena Lake to Upper Lena and both have problems. The trail that starts before you get to Lena Lake has blowdowns including one that fell onto the length of the trail. The other trail has nasty blowdowns and a whole section that is nothing but a running creek. Take the first trail. After they join, the going is excellent. Nice trail, gentle grade and only one big blowdown that requires straddling to get over. There is snow by the time you get to the bottom of the steep part to ascend up to Upper Lena. I didn't go there but it looks like a worthwhile hike for another time.