Arrived at the trailhead today at around 830am. First truck there, with another right on my tail. Headed out in the rain and promptly got soaked. Since the rain had been falling overnight the night before the falls were tremendous. Torrents of water gushing over the falls creating their own wind and mist at the base. I just stood there in the mist wishing I had wipers for my glasses. After negotiating the rapids to continue along the lake serene trail the climbing started. The clouds obscured the views for the most part but occasional breaks made for a nice hike. When I got to the top there were just two guys and three really nice dogs. No snow on the trail at all but still some at the lake basin. Ate my lunch in the rain listening to the rain on the lake. Headed back down to find no less than 10 other groups of hikers on the way up. They looked a little bewildered at how muddy and wet I was. Most had only cotton sweatshirts and no packs! I would recommend nice lug soled Gore-Tex lined boots with good ankle support, no street hikers here. All in all a good thigh burner on a rainy day. Please buy and post a Northwest trails parking pass as it is required and of the 30 cars there only about 5 had them posted. That money is used to make this trail very nice.

A group of us hiked Lake Serene. We got to the trailhead about 10:30 am. FYI that the ranger stations are closed on wkds, at least the one near Skykomish, so we drove from there back to Index to pick up the trail passes. That was a learning experience. This was the 2nd time on Lake Serene, the first time it was raining and foggy last year. This time it was clear, towards the top of the hike after you break out of the trees there were good views of the valley and the river upstream as well as the mountainsides across the valley. The lake itself had some snow and ice on it and snow on the Mt Index side of the lake but the trail was totally snow free and was in good shape. A little bit of rain moved in after we were at the bottom so we timed it correctly. A great moderate hike with great views and a good spot for lunch at the top.

I Got up at 4:30am and after a failed desperate search for an open expresso shop in Sultan and Goldbar, I was on the TH by 5:30am. First car at the trailhead, which was a first. All of the spider webs I was walking through confirmed that I was indeed the first person on the mountain that day.. I had originally planned on bagging Philadelphia Peak after reaching the lake, so I borrowed an ice axe just incase (Thanks Ron!). Almost all of the snow is gone now, with the only remnants at the lake. There is a huge log that is blocking the trail at the final push to the lake. Not so bad to get over on the way up, but very hard to get around on the descent. Since I didn't get much of a chance to hang out up here the last time I came up, I decided to not climb Philadelphia Peak (Too brushy) and spend an hour or so up at the lake. Since I got an early start I had the whole lake to myself. What a way to spend a beautiful morning. This has to be one of my favorite places to visit. 1 hour 45 minutes to get up.. 1.25 to get down. Saw 4 groups of hikers (one solo) on my descent. Trail head was filling up fast when I got back to my car.

Oddly lonesome hiking on the Lake Serene Trail. Perhaps the dark storm cloud that got stuck on top of Mt Index this morning scared other wannabe hikers away. Only saw one other hiker today - and he was coming in as I was almost back to the trailhead. The rain blur ended before I started hiking, but the rain did make the rocky trail slick. The large blowdown a quarter mile below the lake - just past the franticly blooming trillium patch - provides no clean or super-easy way over or under. Beyond that the trail is in dandy shape. If you crave post-hole-up-to-your-knees snow action, then you can get your kicks on the snow patch between the lake and Lunch Rock - but hurry, the snow won't stick around much longer.

A very rainy slog up the stairs to the lake. There is a large log over the trail about a quarter mile from the lake. It is too narrow and muddy to crawl under, going below ends up in devils club, the slope above is steep, brushy and the thin snow cover was breaking free. If you can scramble up onto the log it worked the best. Lots of water on the trail from there to the saddle. Felt like we paid our dues and deserve some sunshine next hike.