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OLYMPIC WILDERNESS ADVENTURES: LENA LAKE

June 25, 2023 @ 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Upper Lena Lake

Join IslandWood wilderness guides for a memorable family-friendly adventure to Lena Lake!

 

This summer we’ll explore some of the most fern-filled river canyons, pristine freshwater lakes, and wildflower meadows, not to mention bird’s eye views of the Buckhorn Wilderness and the Strait of Juan de Fuca! We are offering three guided adventures this summer, of varying intensity and mileage levels

ABOUT THE HIKE

On this adventure, we’re headed to Lena Lake, a large 55 acre freshwater lake in the Hamma Hamma drainage at 1,800 feet elevation.

BEST HIKE FOR: Families with kiddos 8 years +, beginning hikers, conditioning, and a “destination” type hike as this trail has streams, cascades, wooden footbridges, and a huge freshwater lake as the reward!

LENGTH:

7.2 miles, roundtrip

ELEVATION GAIN:

1,300 feet

A LITTLE HISTORY

Lena Lake formed about 1,300 years ago, when a landslide blocked off Lena Creek. This landslide was likely generated from an earthquake. When the rock avalanche blocked the stream and created the lake, the water drowned nearby trees which were preserved in the lake. Even today, you can find where the creek goes underground as we hike up towards the lake. Our wide and well-maintained 3.6 mile trail winds up gentle switchbacks and through old and second growth forest, over charming footbridges, past beargrass, and under towering firs.

 

ABOUT OUR NEW SERIES, OLYMPIC WILDERNESS ADVENTURES

The Olympic Peninsula or “OP” for short is characterized by driftwood-strewn beaches, cascading waterfalls and miles of trails in a temperate rainforest. The Olympic mountain range is the second largest mountain range in the state of Washington and a biodiverse ecosystem for many species. Let’s get to know our Western Washington home and biomes, together, on some incredible adventures this summer!

Your guides and trip leaders will be John Klemesrud, Christina Woolf and Tom Woolf.

Since 2019, John, Christina and Tom have hiked thousands of miles in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park.

Together, they will share their best-kept secrets for safely exploring these forests and streams, along with IslandWood’s mission of community and environmental stewardship. We’ll observe Leave no Trace principles, model expedition behavior, and safely investigate the biodiversity of these sub-alpine ecosystems.

 

ABOUT OUR GUIDES:

At IslandWood, John is our IT and audiovisual tech who makes our presentations and meeting spaces efficient and creative. John is an avid hiker, mountain biker, and naturalist, experienced with navigating the less-maintained way-trails through exploration, and the study of historic and contemporary maps and texts to learn mountain ranges and watersheds. He has hiked 1,350 miles of Olympic Peninsula trails in the last three years alone and provides leadership and trip-planning expertise on trail conditions in any season. On the trail, John is just as apt to tell you the natural history of the pacific yew tree, as he is about the latest wildlife images captured with his motion-detector cameras at IslandWood, and as musician, what songs he’s working on.

 

Christina is a Washington State Master Naturalist (2023), Master Birder (Seattle Audubon, 2011), WDFW Wetland Monitor (2014), Certified Beach Naturalist (2014), and Certified Interpretive Guide (National Association of Interpretation (2015), and has been joyfully teaching environmental education for over 20 years. On the trail, Christina will geek out with you about wildflowers, spleenworts, and pro-tackle any snake she finds. She has hiked thousands of miles with John & Tom in the Olympic mountains and can’t wait to discover and wonder along the trail with you! Christina holds current Wilderness First Aid and CPR certification, and is known to wear sleeves of moss as a scarf.

 

 

Tom Woolf has more than 20 years experience as a classroom science teacher, environmental educator, and backpacking and kayak guide. He has taught and led trips in the Everglades, the Appalachians, the Canyonlands of the Southwest, and the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, among other places. He is a certified Washington State Master Naturalist (2023). Here’s Tom, camping at Ancient Lakes, holding some colorful wolf lichen, Letharia vulpina.

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Organizer

IslandWood Community Programs and Events
Phone
206-855-4300
Email
communityevents@islandwood.org
View Organizer Website

Venue

IslandWood 4450 Blakely Avenue NE Bainbridge Island, 98110 United States
IslandWood 4450 Blakely Avenue
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 United States
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