Serene Lake / Bridal Veil Falls

In an effort to assess physical preparedness for a possible multi-day backpacking trip in August, Mike loaded up his pack with 30 pounds of gear for a day hike to Serene Lake and Bridal Veil Falls on the Fourth of July.  Chosen for its difficulty, this hike was 8.6 miles round-trip with 3000 feet of elevation ascent.   Knowing of the popularity of this destination, Mike arrived at the trailhead at 6:45 AM for easy parking--only 10 other cars were there at that time of the morning.

Trying to keep count of hikers along the way, he counted approximately 250 on the hike to and from Serene Lake, and another 150 past Bridal Veil falls!  That's a lot of hikers on one trail as attested by the fact that both parking lots filled, and cars still had to park along the forest road as well.

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls (East Cascade)

GPS Info

Here is the data from the GPS unit:

Maps

This Leaflet Map is provided by GPS Visualizer

Elevation Profile

This profile is provided by GPS Visualizer

Coordinates and other details

Mileage:	8.6 Miles
Elevation	2904 Feet
Time:	6:32:02 (total), 4:47:58 (moving)
Average Speed:	1.31 MPH (total), 1.78 MPH (moving)
Trailhead Coordinates:	N 47° 48.553, W 121° 34.400

The GPX file can be downloaded here.

Photos and Videos

Photos are available at this album, while a YouTube video is available here.

this album