[Just_Some_Hiker]

So, this past Sunday, after a last minute change of plans, I decided to call bullsh## on the weather forecast and head out to The Brothers for a solo day trip. I've been wanting to hit this one for a while but I never seem to make it out to the Olympics very often. I left Seattle around 5:00 AM and arrived at the Lena Lake trailhead at roughly 7:30 AM. After a few minutes of fiddling around I was off. It wasn't long before I was passing Lena Lake, which had about a half dozen tents peppered along the shoreline. No one was yet stirring. The nicely maintained and entirely snow-free trail helped me to keep a swift pace. I managed to make it through the approach in about 2.5 hours -- reaching the foot of the mountain around 10:00 AM. At this point I was slowed down a little by having to cross an avy debris field in order to reach the gully. As the climbing route came into better view, I could see that there wasn't a lick of snow anywhere on it, much to my disappointment. Instead there was a mess of scree and choss heading up a rockfall bowling alley. I climbed up to about 5,800 ft., got hit by a rock, and decided I was done for the day. On my way back down, I found a blood trail which led me to an abandoned pack. Given the amount of blood it was clear that someone had been seriously injured. I checked the pack contents and found a brand new, still-in-the-box pair of crampons and an apparently never-used ice axe. I scrambled around for a bit, yelling as loudly as I could, seeing if I could find someone, but nothing. After about 20 minutes I decided to just head out. I was back to the trailhead in about the same time it took to come in. Ready to contact the ranger, I decided to first check the log and see if anyone was overdue. There was a comment saying that a climber had fallen but was later retrieved. That was a relief. So no summit, but the approach definitely lived up to its reputation as being amazingly beautiful. The solitude was also nice; there were no other climbers going up that day and I didn't see another human being until passing Lena Lake again on my way out. If you have a low tolerance for scree and choss, as I do, consider passing The Brothers until next season -- assuming we have a normal snow year. I'll definitely be going back. Total trip time was about 7 hours car to car, nearly 17 miles RT, and roughly 7K of total gain. Gear notes: Brought an axe, an ice tool and crampons. Needed none of them. Also brought winter layers but only needed a light jacket. Bugs started coming out in the afternoon so bring bug spray for the approach. Helmet a must.

Lena Lake.

Washed out bridge.

Empty climbers camp.

Debris field.

[Rainie Too!]

Thanks for the update. Looking real good for some early Olympic climbs next month!

[MyFootHurts]

someone posted a link in another thread about a mountain rescue near the Brothers. NWhikers are everywhere

[Michael Lewis]

Thanks for this info. The Brothers has been on my list for a while and I was considering it, but I do hate choss. Good thing you had a helmet. Hopefully more snow next year.

[Redwic]

[puzzlr]

Thanks for the report. I've never come across something like that, thank goodness. At least you got resolution -- otherwise you'd keep wondering what happened.

[chl5629]

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crew-rescues-hiker-after-fall-in-olympic-national-forest/

[Voxxjin]

So did you keep the gear???

[Just_Some_Hiker]

[Hutch]

So you could return it to its grateful owner, correct?

[Just_Some_Hiker]

[Magellan]

I can't imagine doing that with no snow. Strong effort, and great call to skip the rest of the rockfall.

[Voxxjin]