Lower Lena Lake
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we headed to the Lena Lake trailhead for the 3.6-mile hike to Lower Lena Lake. This outing was our family’s first hike on the Olympic Peninsula since we moved to the area in June. Hoping to avoid snow, we chose this trail for its lower elevation. The trailhead had some icy puddles, but the trail was snow-free.
Not far into the hike, we crossed a footbridge over a creek filled with moss-covered boulders. These impressive rocks are part of a 1,300-year-old landslide that altered the valley and created Lower Lena Lake.
At the lake are views of the wooded foothills of the Olympic National Forest and The Brothers, two mountain peaks visible from our home on the Kitsap Peninsula. The slightly taller south peak is 6,842 feet, and the mountains mark the boundary to the Olympic National Park.
It was an unseasonably warm day for November, and we stopped for snacks at the lake. A friendly squirrel crashed our picnic and posed for photos. It was another 3 miles to Upper Lena Lake, which would be an adventure for another day.
Some mushrooms we saw along the trail.
