I hiked to Lena Lake today. I got a late start shortly after noon and there was sun on the trail making it toasty. There is no water on the way up to the lake so bring what you need. At the lake the ducks were very friendly demonstrating they have been fed by others. They came right up to my feet as I ate my lunch (I did not share). I dupped in the lake which felt great. Not super busy on a Monday and ZERO smoke. Also, if you are backpacking the toilet is new and 10/10 for a box on a hill toilet. I was bit twice by biting flies, otherwise no bugs.

Very impressed by the condition of the trail given the high usage. Lake was worth the trip. On the return, we started smelling smoke which became more uncomfortable as we got closer to the trailhead.  On the walk back to our vehicle we were notified by Mason County Sherrif that the campgrounds in the area were being evacuated due to wildfire. On the way out, the smoke from the fire was clearly visible due south. Check for closures before you go. 

I wanted to visit my friend Rick while he was up on a WTA trail work party in the Olympics.  I have heard of The Brothers approach trail but this was my first visit.  The forest road up from Rt. 101 is in great shape.  I rarely get to drive on a paved road to one of our rural trailheads.  There are two potholes close to the trailhead, and they are outlined in orange paint.  The parking lot was 2/3 full (30 cars) when I arrived in the morning.  The facilities at the trailhead are in good condition with plenty of toilet paper.  

The trail up to Luna Lake is in very good condition.  There were no obstacles on the trail.  The first mile or so is a steady uphill climb up numerous switchbacks.  It is about a 1600' climb and 3 miles to Luna Lake camping area.  I stopped at the first "overlook rock" coming into Lower Luna Lake for a morning snack and enjoyed the view.  

My goal was the WTA work crew camped near Brothers Base Camp usign the Brothers Trail.  The crossing over Luna Creek was OK at this time.  I found the crossing where the trail meets the creek.  There are several small logs placed across the creek, but the structure is not very well supported.  I would NOT cross this creek at high water flow.  Too many strainers and rock undercuts to catch a body from a fall.

The Brothers trail is much more rustic (real estate term for in poor condition).  Please thank the WTA for working on this approach trail for the last several years to make it passable for most hikers that are good at route finding.  There are a number of trees down across the trail but most were easy to walk under or around.  Two of three FS log bridges are no longer functional.  One of the WTA projects was to add better approaches to the creek just downstream from one of the washed out bridges.  The work crew was also addressing a few of the shorter sections of collapsed trail.  Seasonal snow melt and heavy rains are not a good mix with trails up this narrow canyon approach.  

Approximately 1 mile past the Luna Creek crossing the trail was washed out by high water.  The current route goes along the dry stream bed for about 250 yards.  Please follow the colored marking tape left along the path that goes in and out of the dry creek bed about three times.  Once past this section, the trail is narrow but obvious.  

I did not actually make it to the base camp.  I found the work crew about 1.6 up the trail (2.4 miles to the camp).  We had a wonderful lunch together on the trail and then it was time for me to go home.  Although still primitive, please thank those volunteer trail workers who try to keep these access trail open to all.  

Three day trip with a friend and three kids (14, 11, 11) camping at Lena Lake with a side trip up to Brothers Base Camp.

Day One

Hiked in Sunday leaving the trailhead around 1pm.  Trailhead toilets were open and stocked, maybe not the cleanest.  Parking lot was 90% full.  Trail itself was in great repair with no bugs worth remarking.  Met plenty of day hikers and backpackers coming down.  A few red huckleberries going up.  Arriving around 3pm, all of the sites on the west bank were free, and only a few sites on the northeast side of the lake were occupied.  We opted for a large site by the mouth of Lena Creek where the kids could play on the many logs piled up.  Campsite was bug free.  There was quite a bit of trash at the site; we picked up various items including a fishing line/hook/sinker/float and other gems.  

The composting toilet on the west side is out of service.  Some reports note a toilet on the north side, but we never found one.

Side note: the trail to the north side crosses Lena Creek a few hundred yards upstream from the lake.  There are some logs here that you can cross the creek on.  Some hikers were making their way down the south bank to cross at the bigger (and more stable) logs at the mouth of the creek, but frankly it's faster and easier to cross at the trail than to make the detour.

Day Two

We did a day hike up the trail to the Brothers Base Camp (trail 821).  This trail has seen better days - two out of the three bridges washed out and several hundred yards of trail washed out too.  However, while the trail was narrow, rocky, and sometimes a little overgrown, it was never too hard to follow, with special thanks to the pink trail markers that guided hikers through the washed out section.  Many logs fallen, and obviously have been down for years given the side trails circumventing them, but only one posed our group a little difficulty in crossing.  At the remnants of the third bridge, be sure to walk a few yards to the south and cross on the log - much nicer than fording the creek.  No bugs, lots and lots of ripe huckleberries (red and blue) and salmonberries.  Slow going; mostly due to extensive berry consumption.  We met only one other party walking up as we walked out. 

Back at camp we were able to swim in the lake, but it isn't the warmest.  About half the sites appeared to be occupied that evening (Monday), notably the northeast side was most popular - maybe because the sites are more private?

Day Three

Packed up and started hiking out by 9am.  Someone had set up a campsite right where the trail crosses Lena Creek - not an official site by any means and there were plenty of official sites standing empty.  Met three backpacking parties coming up.  Back at the trailhead by 10:30am.  A very pleasant trip, but not one if you are looking for solitude.  We met groups from the UK and Australia along with locals, clearly a well known destination!

I arrived at 7:50am on a cloudy summer Sunday morning to a 50-60% full lot (probably ~40 cars already parked). Was on the trail by 8am. Arrived at Lena Lake (a rocky outcropping) at about 9:30ish. Saw maybe 10 people total heading down on my way to this point.

Spent about 10 minutes there eating a snack before heading towards the upper lake. Took almost 3hrs to get to the upper lake. Miles 4.5-6.5 were brutal for me. It wasn't the steepness, but the big steps one had to take to get up the rocks. I'm glad I had poles with me (and long-ish legs). 😅 I didn't see anyone on the upper trail until about half a mile from the lake.

Spent about 40ish minutes up there exploring, having snacks, etc, then headed back down. Saw maybe 10 people total on the upper lake trail on my way up and down. Maybe half were using poles and others were not.

After I got back to the junction of the upper trail and the trail to lower lake (the junction closer to the parking lot) I started to see more people. Maybe 30+ people either heading up or down. Took about 3.5hrs total to get to the parking lot, all the way from the upper lake. Lot was maybe a 3rd full by this point.

All in all, with breaks & exploring at the lakes, my Garmin says 8h 52min, 14.64mi, 4,449ft elevation gain.

A recent trip report mentioned the women's bathroom door by the parking lot wouldn't shut. If you tug hard on the door, it will. And then push hard to exit. TP was stocked recently, it seemed. Otherwise, I agree with other recent trip reports - bugs were plentiful, but if you have bug spray, that helps a lot. Trail conditions on the lower lake trail were great, wide, some rocks and roots, but also fairly smooth. When the trail passes from the national forest to the national park, it seems to change quite a bit - narrow, overgrown, rocky. Stream/creek/waterfall crossings were all doable with goretex shoes on the upper lake trail. I didn't bother with the log "bridges", except for 1-2 of them.