September 2, 2023
Introduction
Nestled on the western edge of the Olympic Mountains, accessed from highway 101 on the Hood Canal, Mount Bretherton offers a challenging yet rewarding scramble that provides great views (on a clear day) and is in the class 2-3 range. The actual scramble from Upper Lena Lake is not that long. It’s the approach from the Lena Lake trailhead that adds to the time, effort and mileage.
Overview
Our journey began at the Lena Lake Trailhead, just 7 miles up NF Road 25 from Highway 101. We began hiking at 6:30AM.
Our original plan was Mount Bretherton, and time and energy permitting, to bag Mount Lena as well. We kept a steady hiking pace, and about 6 miles in, just as we hit the “root” section of the trail, we were caught by another hiker (Abby). We let her pass, but ended up keeping about the same pace. After talking on the way to the Upper Lena Junction, we learned we were all from Olympia. Abby is an accomplished Mountaineer guide, and had recently completed the Mount Rainier Infinity Loop. My buddy, Lon, offered Abby some ideas for hiking scrambling, including the Putvin Traverse. We also invited her to join us. At the junction, she said she’d join us up Bretherton. What followed was an epic single-day trek to the summit of Mount Bretherton and a traverse of the Putvin way trail and rugged St. Peter’s Gate over to Lake of Angels, and then back down the steep Putvin trail to the NF-25, where we ended up road walking 4 miles in one hour back to our cars. We got to the cars by 8:15PM, just as it was getting dark. No headlamps needed.
Lena Lake and Beyond
The Lena Lake Trail itself is a serene forested path that gradually gains elevation. The trail to lower Lena Lake provides a gentle warm-up for the second leg to the upper lake.
Summiting Mount Bretherton
Lon and I discuss which side of the lake to access Bretherton. I had beta suggesting the near or east side. He thought the west. We chose the east, because we were right there. It was the correct choice.
We filled up on water and began ascending the gully. The route was pretty straightforward.
Once on the ridge/saddle between Bretherton and the peak to the north, it was just a matter of way-finding. We actually crossed to the far side to go below a big rock column.
The summit actually came pretty quick. Lots of room. Lots of flying ants (of course!), and no summit register. After a quick snack and water, Lon was going to go out on a ridget to another lower peak. I asked, what next? The suggestion of Lena came up. And then I said, it’s noon, what about the Putvin Traverse? Lon said, “I mentioned that earlier”. Which he had. Abby was all in with us. In theory it was roughly the same distance either direction. Technically, it’s slightly longer to do the traverse, but who’s counting 🙂
The Putvin Traverse
The traverse from Upper Lena is absolutely stunning. A nice way-trail that’s mostly easy to follow but not always. It takes you up and over a ridge through a saddle, eventually leaving you on the west side of the ridge, where there is a series of meadows, lakes and tarns. Some marshy sections. Shortly after getting across the saddle, the infamous notch that is St. Peter’s Gate comes into view. We watched it for the next 2 to 2-½ miles. Eventually, we broke out of the sub-alpine forest to look directly at the ascent of St. Peter’s Gate, which appears rather ominous and large. More climbing. My legs were feeling it. Abby and Lon seem to be climbing with ease. The climb begins with a large mostly consolidated talus field that turns to unconsolidated glacial moraine, talus and scree, what I like to call scalus. We took a high path on climbers right and drop onto the top of the snow finger, which was a mistake. We’d been better off to stay low closer to the snow finger and giant rock monolith. Crossing the top of the snow near the moat was fine. Abby took lead. There was enough soft snow to sort of kick a step. But also enough dirt and veggie debris on the crown to give traction. The dirt above the snow was steep, but not too loose. Or rather footing was’t too bad. We descended the south side to Lake of Angels on the left side, hugging the headwall on small broken shale. We were in the saddle of St. Peter’s gate at 4:45PM. Four hours and 45 minutes from the summit of Bretherton.
At the lake 30 minutes later, we took a good 20 minute break for food and water. Talked to some campers who were considering the traverse. We started down from the lake around 5:40PM. The way down we were moving pretty fast. Hopping rocks. I was moving about as fast as I could. Eventually I had to slow down. Mostly out of safety and tired legs. Abby and Lon easily left me back but also waited. It’s about 3.5 miles and a 4,000′ descent. We arrived at the road about 7:15PM, right behind three backpackers who just exited. The backpackers were not too keen on offering a ride when we asked if one of us might get a ride 4 miles down the road to out car but they said they’d need to clean up first. We started walking and were passed by three single occupancy vehicles. No one stopped. We walked the four miles in one hour, arriving at our cars at 8:15PM, just as it was dark.
Stats
22 Miles
8,000′ total gain
13 hours 53 minutes
Conclusion
Our single-day adventure to Mount Bretherton and the Putvin Traverse was yet another long day. We found plenty of water along the way. The trip was made better by connecting with Abby. It was a day filled with fantastic views, unexpected encounters, and the joy of exploration
Every foot forward, is a step in the right direction 