Two hikers killed after dead tree falls on popular trail in Olympic National Forest
Jan 21, 2026, 8:08 AM
A view of Lower Lena Lake in the Olympic National Forest. (Photo courtesy of Washington Trails Association)
(Photo courtesy of Washington Trails Association)
Two hikers died after a tree fell on a popular trail in the Olympic National Forest on Jan. 15.
Three friends, Christine Mutchler, Kathy Pickard, and Kathy Todd, were hiking to Lower Lena Lake at approximately 12 p.m. when the top of a dead fir tree broke off about 10 feet up and fell on the trail. Pickard was killed instantly, while Mutchler was seriously injured on the trail.
Todd contacted Jefferson County 911 and reported the incident once she reached a clearing, prompting a search-and-rescue helicopter from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island to be deployed.
As Todd waited for help, two ER doctors were also hiking on the trail and stumbled onto the scene. They attended to Mutchler, who was still breathing, until the helicopter lowered a basket for Mutchler to be put in so she could be transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Minutes before the helicopter arrived at the hospital, Mutchler died.
The doctors on the hike who attended to Mutchler’s injuries escorted Todd down the trail and drove her back to Kitsap County, according to The Kitsap Sun.
Mutchler, 70, Pickard, 76, and Todd, 74, would all regularly get together for group hiking, biking, or skiing. Todd said she had known Pickard for about 15 years, The Kitsap Sun reported. Pickard was a former fitness director at the YMCA and a retired radiology tech at Harrison Hospital. She is survived by two children.
Mutchler was most recently a part-time UPS delivery helper. She is survived by one daughter.
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