Lake Serene is a stunningly beautiful lake up in the mountains past Goldbar, just a little over an hour from Seattle. I had met a new friend who had just moved to the area and was interested in going hiking, so me and friend took him and his friend to hike up to Lake Serene.
I’ve hiked around the area in the past, but I never actually did the hike to Lake Serene so I was excited to do the hike myself. Not only that, I love the Pacific Northwest and always like showing off the natural beauty to visitors and newbies—especially when my new friend was from a desert. Palm Springs is basically the opposite of western Washington. Palm Springs is a desert and western Washington is lush green forest.
What I did not bother to look at when planning this hike, nor did I notice the sign at the trail head, was the level of difficulty. The hike is very strenuous. Take that, plus the fact that I was really overweight and out of shape at the time (I have since lost 20 lbs and am working out regularly), and you have a recipe for one hell of a fucking hike. Most people stop at Bridal Veil Falls, but I did the whole thing.
I thought I was going to die every step of the way, but I made it to the top and have these photos to prove it. One couple passing us was seriously worried about me, but I told them I had friends with me. They were just up a little way ahead. My friends were nice enough to wait for me as I huffed and puffed my fat ass up the steep switchbacks of the rather rocky trail.
The hike is definitely worth all of the effort. If nothing else, it convinced me I needed to get back in shape. I think the lake would have been more picturesque if I had arrived much earlier in the day, but there was little chance of that happening unless I wanted to start hiking before dawn (I did not). Still, Lake Serene is stunning. It’s a bit cold even in the summer because of the high elevation (there was even snow still around), but that did not stop some people from swimming!
