Laboring Lower Lena Lake

Waking Sunday of Labor Day weekend, Dave was in the mood for a hike and packed lunch. This is never a hard sell for me. We have been so busy with work, life, and boating, we have had limited time for exploring our resident grounds.

I had been tagging pages in a recently purchased book on PNW hikes just for this opportunity. Lena Lake was listed under the Olympic National Parks as "follow a beloved all-ages trail to a picturesque emerald lake surrounded by timber-covered slopes in Olympic National Forest". It promised 6.8 miles round trip and 1300 feet of elevation gain. We ended at 1608 feet of elevation change.

Select image for Amazon link to purchase.

Dave packed us some pastrami sandwiches, while I loaded up our hydro packs with enough liters for the humans and made sure the pups were accommodated for their own hydration. We then headed out for what will be one of the last topless Jeep rides for the season. The ride from our home to the off 101 location was an hour and 20 minutes. We were greeted by a full trailhead parking lot, as warned in the book. The trailhead includes toilets and a need for a Northwest Forest Pass for parking.

We can both recognize the health benefits of elevation gain, but it always introduces Type 2 Fun. "Miserable while it's happening, but fun in retrospect." The trail to Lower Lena Lake is a steady (unrelenting) incline from mile 0 to 2 where we were met with our first bridge crossing. We had crossed through a switchback of well maintained trail with second growth forest and sounds of the rushing creek. It continues in the same climbing pace to another small bridge and mile 3 where we reached our ledge view point. It was positively a vista worth the climb!

You can pick up an annual Northwest Forest Pass at REI for $30 or a one time day use for $5.

The trail was listed as being a popular one for weekends. While that was an accurate description, we had plenty of our walk uninterrupted. When we did run into people, it was all welcome greetings and laughs for our smiling dogs.

Continuing past the ledge we headed towards the creek feeding the lake and the Brothers Trail to find our stopping spot for a picnic. The Brothers Trail reads as a hike possibly for another day with a less maintained trail with Old Growth Forest, moss covered gorge, waterfalls, bridges, and the creek never more than 50' away. Since we aren't the camping type of hikers, if we never make it further in, Lower Lena Lake was a well spent afternoon.

Past the vista ledge, you can continue the trail to toilets. They weren't functioning when we made it to them.

There is an additional decision you can make along this trail to head towards Upper Lena Lake. This choice will take you to the Olympic National Park, where dogs are not allowed. This could have been the reasoning to stay away for us, but honestly what we had going on was over doing it for our canines. They did well, but we had pushed them to their limit. A day of rest is in their Labor Day future.

Heading down, our previous elevation gain comes with the reminder that our knees are feeling creaky and we thoroughly enjoy hiking poles. Reaching the parking lot we were excited to head over to Hama Hama to find a cold beverage and some oysters. What we found when we struggled to locate a parking space among the 150+ cars, was that we had missed the social media memo that everyone everywhere should check this hidden gem out. It was a 90 minute wait to get a table and no promise of an open kitchen when we were seated.

We opted to head back to Quilcene, as recommended by our guide book. One of the fun features in it is the suggestion of where to find the best brew after your hike. The authors listed 101 Brewery as their local spot for hops. We found it had changed hands and is now affectionately named Quillbilly's. Initially, we were missing the Hama Hama view, but after getting to taste their pan fried oysters in our private enclosed pup friendly patio with service that felt like having box seats...we forgot all about it.

Quilbilly's is "Located in Quilcene, right on scenic Highway 101, where the foothills of the Olympic Mountains and the beautiful (and oyster famous) Dabob Bay meet. We believe in taking care of our community and customers while delivering a fun, relaxed atmosphere to enjoy delicious food, beer and cider that are sourced as locally as possible."

It was a great day, an early night to bed, and sore muscles in the morning. Highly recommend!