We only saw two other hikers, probably because of the rain and fog. Lots of little creeks running across and on top of the trail. The snow (more like slush) starts about 1/2 mile from Lake Serene, though the trail is easy to follow.

This was my first time up to Lake Serene ... and I'm sure to return. My girlfriend had hiked up to the lake some time ago when the old trail was still the 'only' trail. We left about 9:30/10:00am. There are several trail washouts early on and even a couple of sink holes. But it's easy to get around the holes and across the washouts. Once we made our way to the 'real trail' ... the trail that would no longer allow us to walk side-by-side ... we were amazed at the steep stairs ... mostly because we were imagining pulling a young child up the first step. But we were both looking for a good 'exercise' as well as the quietude of the woods. The stone steps were WONDERFUL! There were many muddy spots that still allowed passage around without trampping on any vegetation. We hit snow about a mile from the lake ... as well as the increased rain. At the lake the wind was blowing hard enough to drive my bare head under a hat ... but I was still pleased that I wore shorts. The lake was iced over and made for some beautiful photos. We met three groups coming down as we went up and many more groups coming up as we were going down. It is clear that this is a well-enjoyed trail that seems well maintained. This is a great day hike for after breakfast and before a late lunch/early dinner. I will be back in the summer for a dip in the lake.

Trail was very icy in MANY places. Trekking poles help for easier navigation. Otherwise wait for more thaw. To Bridal Veil Falls, we took a strange fork in the trail that we thought led to the falls. It had a small tree downed over it. It did lead to the falls, but going down we realized we weren't on the true trail. The true trail junction has a sign. But all was well. Trail turned to snow right before lake. The lake was entirely iced over. Some rather foolish people were actually walking out on the ice. Luckily there were no casualties. Beautiful winter views of Mt. Index. Small avalanches could be heard.

It was a beautiful clear day. The dog joined the three of us on the trip. There were quite a few people on the trail for Feb. There was a lot of mud at the beginning of the trail. After the spur for Bridal Vail Falls there were stretches of compact snow and ice on the trail. Lake Serene was completely frozen over with a thin film of water on top of the ice. It was a little breezy but fairly warm. Someone drew an eagle in the ice. The ice was plenty thick for a stroll. We saw a small avalanche fall off the Main peak of Mt Index. But the big roars were coming from the west side of Index. Some people were climbing the north peak of Index. We couldn't see them but we could here them yelling to each other. It must have been awesome to be on the west side of Index to see the avalanches. I might have to try Mt Persis sometime soon to view some avalanches. We then continued on our way up Philadelphia Mountain. There was a few inches of snow and some brush and D-club. It wasn't really worth the climb. There are too many trees for good views of Mt Index and Lake Serene.

Just got back from the gorgeous lake. TONS of packed ice makes the going tricky, good socks a must and I would even recommend an ice ax (or tree branch), to make the going a little easier. Wet but easy going upto the beautiful falls. Several of the numerous switchbacks are snow/ice-bound towards the top. We are pretty fast hikers, but it still took us a good 2 hours to reach the lake due to the icy conditions. Tomdogg recommends grabbing an extra shot in your latte and getting a jump on the day to catch the sun on the lake before it sets below the jagged peaks (around 2ish) . We worked up a sweat on the way up, but froze our azzzzzeeesssss off when we got to the amazing lake. Dress in layers. BOYAH and happy hiking!!!!!