When we started the hike today, it was raining steadily, but not too heavy. With each passing hour, the rain became heavier. For about 3 hours, it was pouring down. We were all swimming down the trail during the return trip, or so it seemed. Everyone's water-resistant gear was throughly drenched. When we arrived at the trailhead, it was surprising to see a full lot. We crossed at least two dozen other hikers enjoying the fine weather. The trail was in excellent condition all the way to Lena Lake. The views were great with all the fog and low-lying clouds peeking through the trees. A couple of bridges cross over boulders and the stream flows beneath the trail. At a little over 2 miles, there is a cove which sheltered us from the rain, allowing us to chill out for a while during our return trip. Lena Lake is 3.2 miles from the trailhead with smooth, long switch-backs along the way. There are a couple of bluffs which overlook the stream and the lake. Overall, this was great hike, even in the heavy rain. Lastly, there were some ""black ice"" spots on FR25.

Yetiman rolled into my driveway at 5:15 am, hopped in my car with me and my dog Daisy, and we hit the road for Edmonds and the first ferry out at 5:50. After breakfast and a grocery stop in Kingston, we made the trail head on the Hamma Hamma river in Olympic National Forest at 8:30, and headed up the trail at 9 am. Two parties were ahead of us, and we would meet up with three more later, a testament to the nice weather. The switchbacks for the first two miles up to the lake are annoyingly flattened, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. A crossing of Lena creek on a bridge over a dry channel is interesting, as the river can be heard cascading in the open a short way down the valley. But where it is crossed, it is completely underground, silent and invisible. The whole gully of the non-river is a wonderland of giant trees, humongous moss-covered boulders, and prehistoric-looking ferns. I've been there twice before, but it's still a surprise when I notice we are now above the lake level, but back from the shore in the woods. About a third of the way along the lake's western shore we came to the nice open cliff area overlooking the lake, and we took a long break, from 11-ish to 12:30. The sun was shining down warmly, so we basked like lizards on the rocks. From here, we explored our way north, looking at every campsite and beach, photographing the scenic north end of the lake with its emerald waters and submerged driftwood. The giant log bridge over Lena creek was icy, but the strong handrail made crossing safe. The sun was so strong, and the north end of the lake so warm, that we took another hour-plus break. Daisy jumped in the lake, pack and all, when I wasn't watching, so I let her swim a bit after a stick, throwing it parallel to the shore to facilitate a rescue if needed. The water was bitterly cold, so I dried her off with a bandanna and played with her on land in the sun for a while, and she was fine. The sun was even hot enough to dry her pack. By now it was almost two pm, so we headed up into the Valley of the Silent Men, following the underground course of East Fork Lena creek. The VOSM is awesome. Moss, moss, and more moss. The steep valley sides make it seem like the other side has been tilted up vertically as if on display for us. Another bridge over a dry channel is reached, with the stream underground again. It was hard to make time on this trail, as there are cool things to look at about every five feet. Giant boulders that have crashed down onto giant trees, the unearthly stillness of a steep-sided valley carpeted on every surface by sound-deadening green shag carpet, a peek at a peak up an avalanche chute, a detour down onto the river bed to bypass trail damage, all caused us to stop, marvel, or photograph. At 3:45 we reached a nice, slightly off-trail gravel beach along the now-surfaced creek. It was very cold, but we had lots of warm clothes, so we took a long rest, and consumed some banana rum, and fed pistachios to the dog. The GPS said we were at 2,400 ft and four miles from the car, by trail, not straight-line. That seems right. At about 4:30 we headed back, with light very poor in the dark forest, and we turned on our lights before we reached the lake at 5:15. We took a short break, then made it to the view cliffs by six. The stars were bright, the lake smooth, the snowy surrounding peaks glowing white, so we stayed until we were cold, drinking some more rum, just enjoying the last of the day. The hike back from there, slightly over two miles, took just an hour and fifteen minutes, even though we stopped frequently to look at the forest with our flashlights, or just stand in the dark and listen for approaching cougars. lol. Back at the car at 8 pm, we had planned to build a fire at a nearby campsite on the river and hang out for the evening, but our late arrival and the need to get on the last ferry at 11:10 made that impractical, so we just had dinner sitting in the car, listening to, you guessed it, Pink Floyd, among other things, like Kenny Wayne Sheppard's Ledbetter Heights. I bring Cd's that I've burned from my collection, so if they are ever stolen, I can just burn another copy. It's perfectly legal to copy your own Cd's for your own use. When we left, the road was solid frost, but not that slick. It took us an hour and a half to get back to Kingston, and we made the ferry by five whole minutes. It wasn't even close. Yetiman should have a little faith! Things I forgot to mention: At the north end of the lake on the way in, Daisy barked at Yetiman over a stick dispute (Yetiman refused to throw it), and the bark echoed and reverberated most amusingly. I used the old foghorn voice to give a real test, and the echoes lasted at least five seconds, maybe longer. We also encountered, at the lake (the halfway point of our hike), a four-year-old child, a three-legged dog, a man who used a cane not just for hiking, and other reminders that though we had done a real hike, it wasn't exactly the Lewis and Clark expedition. Total elevation gain/loss was about 2,000 vf, eight miles hiked round trip, eleven hours on the trail, first ferry over and last ferry back, a very satisfying day.

Goober Canari and I picked a Tue-Wed in (normally) beautiful mid-September to hike to Upper Lena Lake. The weather was nice at the trailhead but gradually clouded in to a slight drizzle by the time we arrived at Upper Lena Lake. The trail to Lower Lena Lake is wide and well-maintained. The Upper Lena trail becomes steep and, in places, somewhat rugged. We encountered some water on the trail but nothing tough to negotiate. The hike is a good cardio workout. If you think you're near the end when you reach the ""Stairway to Heaven"", think again. There's at least another hour. We encountered no people or bugs on the way up. But the Upper Lena Highlands were cloud-laden and we did our best to set up camp before the rains set in. Thanks to Goober's elborate tarping system, we kept dry (thanks in part to skills he learned working trail maintenance with the legendary ""Skin Man""). We were happy to see the rain let up the next morning for the hike back out. There was even more water on the trail on the way down. Elk by the car were the only principal wildlife sighting. El Serape in Shelton was a nice reward for a couple of day's workout.

The trail is Lena Lake was smooth and fast. The trail to Upper Lena has several large blow-downs but nothing too difficult to climb over/under. Upper Lena Lake was beautiful; the water was warm enough to make swimming very enjoyable. Wild flowers were abundant beginning just below Upper Lena. The trail to Scout Lake was very easy to find and follow. I only had difficulty near some ponds about 1/2mile above Upper Lena Lake but quickly found trail on the other side of the meadow where it enters the trees and climbs up the hill. The views on this trail remind me a lot of High Divide and Cat Basin; lots of meadows and mountains in all directions. I followed Woods suggestion and avoided the steep trail into Scout Lake. The bypass was difficult to find but easy to follow. Woods book says to turn left at the “turnip” shaped pond but the turnoff is actually a little further down the trail. Look for cairns; a boot path is visible most of the way. I found the Stone Pond Trail in a large meadow and followed it to Stone Pass. I spent several minutes at the pass deciding how best to approach St. Peters Gate without going down into the basin. Decided to approach the Gate from the right by following a wide snowy ledge, but first had to move laterally across steep grass and scree and climb 100’ to the ledge. From there it was an easy walk/climb to St. Peters. Lots of snow but no ice axe required. Saw a family of Mountain Goats high on the south side of Mt. Stone. Views from the Gate are spectacular, to say the least. The climb down into Lake of the Angels is extremely exposed and made even more difficult by the loose rock. Lake of the Angels is beautiful. Returned to Hamma Hamma Road via the Putvin Primitive Trail where my mountain bike lay hidden in the woods. Arrived at Lena Lake Trailhead 12 minutes later.

For the first hike this season headed to Upper Lena, with my brother shotgun. The trailhead had about 20 autos parked at 8am on Saturday. Thought it might be really crowded but we passed two groups/troops of boyscouts on their way down from Lower Lena about 25 people in all. Cruised up to Lower Lena in no time, only 1 big tree right at the Lower Lake to climb over and the freeway up is clear. Upper Lena is another story... There are many obstacles on this steep and rugged trail, including at least 7 or 8 trees blown down and a crossing at Lena Creek.(Get your feet wet in a foot of water or use the somewhat stable 2 logs just below the trail) Upper Lena is about 60% clear of snow. Most of the campsites were melted out but there are patches of snow everywhere. There were about 4 other parties by Saturday night. We didn't get the views I saw last visit, but the immediate area surrounding the lake and some peekaboo views were worth every step... Great start for my Summer...