[Slugman]

My friend Craig (Yetiman) and I wanted to go hiking, not snowshoeing or slush-slogging. Where to go, with most good winter hikes unavailable due to road washouts and beaucoup snow this year? Fragrance Lake fit the bill. There is no snow at all, and only a little mud. I picked Yetiman up at his place in Everett at 8:15, and we were at the trailhead across from Larabee st park at 9:45, inculding a drive-thru breakfast. A $5 fee will be assed for parking by the state park. If you come from the south as we did, don't follow the directions given on the wta trail guide entry for this hike. Get off the freeway just past Burlington at the sign that says "Chuckanut Drive - Larabee St Park". Turn left off the freeway, and follow this road for 15 of the most scenic miles around, and you're there. Shorter, better, faster. We headed up the trail at 10, and took the side trail to the scenic overlook, a must-see detour. The rocks near the cliff edge are very slippery, so stay back. We enjoyed the view of the San Juans, Whidby, Anacortes, etc, for quite a while, while every type of weather moved through. Cloudy, mostly sunny, a brief drizzle, sunny again, we saw it all in one short hour. Then it was up and up to Fragrance lake. There are more giant trees here (the whole trail) than most wilderness areas, some Doug firs, some cedars, all humongous. We took a left turn at the junction right before the lake, and started along the bottom of the cliffs bordering that side. Many interesting formations greet the eye here. When we reached the outlet stream, we turned left again to parallel the cliffs as they angle down to almost trail level. The path then hooks left up the last feet of the cliffs, meeting up with another trail in about 100 yards. We turned left again, and hiked up and up to the top of the cliffs overlooking the lake 200 feet below. This is another must-see destination. We had lunch there, and then went back the way we came to the lake shore, and turned left to complete the loop of the lake. When we got to a nice place to swim the dog, I decided it was too cold for her, but when I skipped a rock for Yetiman to photograph, Daisy leaped into the lake to pursue the rock. Oh, well, might as well play with her now, so she got to chase a tennis ball out to the middle of the lake a couple dozen times. I dried her off with a spare tee shirt I had, and we headed back. We stopped again at the overlook of the water, and watched the sun set in golden glory behind the San Juans. We bailed at 5:15, and made it back to the car at 5:50, just in time to avoid a ticket from the state park ranger who was waiting for us. At least he left when we got there, so I assume he was waiting for us, maybe to be sure we were OK, maybe to impound our car as the signs warn. All's well that ends well! This is a first-class hike at any time of the year, maybe the best winter hike around when everything else is snowbound.

Craig-dont feed the dog

Forest giant-notice the hat

Golden sunset over the San Juans

Sluggy and Daisy

Soft water reflection

[nitpacker]

Next time check out the lost lake trail. You pick it up from the Fragrance lake road. It is a longer hike than fragrance but it takes you to a more isolated area. Be prepared for mud at this time of year. Lost Lake is large and does have some trout, although it has difficult access.

[Trevor]

Thanks for sharing slugman. I have been searching for available hikes for this time of year. I have been looking towards the san juan islands for possible answers to my hiking dormancy. This one seems like it warrants a trip.

[sarbar]

It is worthwhile to pick up a copy of DayHike! North Cascades by Mike McQuaid - he covers all the low elevation hikes in that book, and he lives in Bellingham. Good coverage of the Whatcom hikes near Larrabee State Park.

[Slugman]

I haven't yet been to Lost lake, but Yetiman and I plan to return to this area using mountain bikes (where allowed) in a couple of weeks. I was surprised by how big the trees are, even though I did this hike two years ago. Both hikes are covered in "Winter Hikes in the Foothills and Lowlands Around Puget Sound" by the Mannings.

[sarbar]

Mcquaide is awesome author-I attended his book signing in Mt. Veron with Robbieh back in 2002 for the DayHike! book. He writes columns for I believe the Everett Herald? He also did a good book on trail running-which also covers the Mt. Ridges in Bellingham such as Chuckanut and Blanchard. I have the winte rhiking book also, but I feel McQuaides book covers it better, more indepth. Have you done Oyster Dome yet? Nice.... And the parts of the PNT that go across there are very nice also.

[Slugman]

The "Dome" is still on my list for this winter. I will have to check out that book, sounds worthwhile.

[dreamr]

Thanks for the tip I forget about the chuckanut area. Had a wonderful short backpack and a weekend of fishing with my g/f on pine and cedar lakes last spring.

[cave coyote]

you could have saved 5 bucks by coming in from arroyo park. the route is a little longer but it uses the lost lake ridge to access the lake. Or you could have shortened it buy taking the Cleator road to a trail that access the the lake from thr north.