Hike 2 of 47 - Fragrance Lake

Fragrance Lake (elev. 1,100') is located in the Chuckanut Mountains, which are reached via Route 11. The Chuckanuts are foothills of the Cascades and the only place where the mountains meet the ocean. The views can be amazing, looking out over Samish Bay, with the San Juan Islands on the horizon.

Sunday morning came a bit too early for me! I knew it would....and it did.   Being an evening shift worker, I'm usually just getting tired around 2:00, falling asleep around 3:00 a.m., and my best sleep occurs between 4:00 and 8:00 a.m., so the thought of getting up and out of the house by 8:00 is enough to make me cringe....and it did. However, I really wanted to be on this trail long before the crowds on what was going to be a beautiful, warm summer day. So, I set my alarm for 7:15 and woke up at 7:10. Most of my gear was waiting by the door, so I got dressed, downed a cup of coffee, loaded up Jack and I was on the road by 7:55. I headed north on I-5 for about 5 miles, and exited at Exit 231 (Route 11-Chuckanut Drive). Within one mile of exiting the freeway, the farm lands were enveloped in a fairly thick fog. As I headed north, the fog seemed to be getting thicker. Naturally, I was hoping it would burn off by the time I trudged my way to the viewpoint on the way to Fragrance Lake.

I was the first car at the small parking lot at the trail head, located just after the entrance to Larrabee State Park. The trail head parking is on the right and holds about 6 or 7 cars. I backed in to make leaving that much easier. Route 11 is a narrow, winding road and backing out onto it on a busy summer weekend could be difficult. I hung my Discover Pass on my rear view mirror, put on my pack and we were off.

My GPS listed this trail head at about 170' elevation. This trail starts with couple steep switchbacks, meets up with the Interurban Trail, I turned right and after about 25' I picked up the Fragrance Lake trail on my left. I climbed and climbed up a series of switchbacks passing a tipped-over tree. It always amazes me how big the root ball is on these trees. Although this tree was only about 3 feet in diameter, look at how big across the roots are.  It's difficult to put into words for others, so I sat Jack in front of it for comparison sake.  He's a good size dog, over 90 lbs and about 2 to 2-1/2 feet tall. Quite impressive...



Jack in front of a tipped-over tree



From the trail head, I climbed for about 40 minutes before reaching a well-marked turn off to a Viewpoint. That's what the sign said "Viewpoint .2 mi".  On this trail, there was one blow-down that took a big step over. Initially I thought that one could prove challenging for little kids, but if they made it up those switchbacks, then that toppled over tree won't be much of a hindrance. Out at the viewpoint was a nice log to rest on, and a split rail fence to (hopefully) keep anyone from falling back down to the roadway. Unfortunately, the marine layer was still resting over Samish Bay. Although beautiful in its own way, I wanted to see the islands and the water. I could see the tip top of some islands poking through the white cloud layer.




Looking west over Samish Bay

We headed back down the Viewpoint trail and turned left on the main trail making our way toward Fragrance Lake. As I came to the main trail, I could hear some women talking, and so did Jack. The trail then began another series of steep switchbacks and the we took a break on a log bench, to let the women catch up and pass us. We passed these amazing "nurse trees"....I just love these trees! 



At least 3 trees growing on top of this downed tree. Isn't nature amazing?




And one tree growing right on top of what's left of what was a GIGANTIC tree.



The lake is another 1.1 miles from the Viewpoint trail. It may just be my imagination, but the second set of switchbacks seems harder than the first set, although the elevation gain is very similar. Perhaps there are fewer switchbacks, I don't know and I didn't have the energy to count them!

Just before reaching the lake we passed through a bike barricade. Fragrance Lake trail is open to hikers only while other trails allow horses and/or mountain bikers. I saw none of either of those.  When we reached the lake, Jack walked into the very clear water and took several long, cool drinks. After he finished quenching his thirst and cooling off, we headed counter-clockwise around the 7/10 mile loop around lake, crossing over several boardwalks and bridges that were part of someones Eagle Scout project in 1999. Presently there is not any water passing under them, but some areas were muddy.   There are lots of benches placed at waters edge all around the lake. Around the back side of the lake there are some interesting rock formations, that look to be a hangout spot for some people. I saw evidence of a camp fire that was built under a rock overhang. Lots of skimming bugs flying over the lake, too.

 

Beautiful spot for a picnic!








As we approached what I thought was the completion of our orbit around the lake, we headed off to the right to pick up the next leg of our hike. After about 1/10 of a mile, I realized that this area did not look familiar, so I turned around to see what I would have seen on my way up....nope, definitely did not look familiar at all. I must admit there was a very brief moment of panic; am I lost? How could I be lost? Then I realized that the bridge we just crossed looked similar to the one at the beginning of the loop had we gone clockwise instead...similar, but not the same bridge. So, we walked back to the trail junction we just left, and finished our loop around the trail. Occasionally looking back while hiking is a good way of "staying found"; it gives you another perspective.

We went back to, but not through, the bike barricade and took a left. We passed a lady with her little dog, who was off-leash. It was the first time we've ever passed a little dog who didn't snarl and growl, I was impressed and thought about them for the next several minutes. Within 1/10th of a mile, we got to another bike barricade and out on to what I now know is Fragrance Lake Road. It's an old road, just gravel, trees on both sides. We headed right which was somewhat south, and passed a sign on the left for Lost Lake Trail. Someday we'll do that hike. After stopping to chat with a man and his son, giving them some directions about how to get to Lost Lake Trail, about 1/2 way down this 2 mile road we passed a small waterfall. Jack hopped in and got a drink and I stared at it, somewhat mesmerized by the sight and sounds of the waterfall. It was a small one, maybe a foot wide and falling 15 feet or so, but there is something soothing about the sound of water.

We passed another woman who stopped to pet Jack, and a family with one small child and a dog hell bent on meeting Jack. Soon, I could hear the traffic noise and the trail ended in the Clayton Beach parking lot. Crossing the parking lot, we picked up the Interurban Trail and headed north. One half mile later, were were back at those first few steep switchbacks that started our adventure. The trail itself is excellent condition, rooty in parts, is completely mud-free and downright dusty in parts. I saw many more people who were just headed up the trail as I came back down. I was glad that I made the effort to get up and out of the house "early" to beat the crowds! 

Heading back south on Route 11, the traffic was quite a bit heavier and the fog was gone. Many people were pulled off to the turnouts to catch of glimpse of the amazing views of Puget Sound. Next time I'll This was a good hike, an excellent workout and close to home, and I'll certainly be back to explore more of what the Chuckanuts have to offer as part of my 47 Hikes.

Sunshine and Shadows!

The elevation profile pretty much says it all!




Fragrance Lake Summary - 8/28/2011

Miles:  6
Time:  2 hours 15 minutes
Calories:  1,450