We went on this hike with a group of 6, some took a little longer to get up, and some went a lot faster. Expect to be a little sore. Some spots are a little steep, so be careful when it recently rained, so as not to slip. I got up with about one Nalgene of water, some snacks, and a warm jacket for the top, where it was pretty windy, and cold. Pretty views, huge rocks, and lots of trees! Some areas may be a little sketchy to get down, like I said there are areas that would be slippery area.

I started at the North Chuckanut Mountain Trailhead on the Interurban. Just a few minutes in I saw that the washout at the Arroyo Creek Falls has been repaired. There are now two great boardwalks over the creek and sandbags have been used along the creek side to contain the overflow-at least for now.

 I hooked up with the Hemlock Trail and took that until it forks off to the left where I kept to the right and got on the Huckleberry Trail. This continues up a bit steeply and then connects with the Raptor Ridge Trail. Going left from that junction it is about fifty yards to the ridge.

I had been hiking in a tee-shirt until I got on the ridge. There it was quite cold with a light wind, so on came a pullover and gloves while I ate my lunch-hard to imagine that it was mid-June. The new bright green growth on the firs in view up there were a welcome sight.

After lunch I headed back dropping down the Raptor Ridge Trail to the North Lost Lake Trail which continues down to the Hemlock Trail and back to the parking lot. I had gone nearly four and a half hours without seeing any one until I got near the Interurban again.

All of the trails I took are in good condition. There are some muddy spots but they are easy to avoid. One surprise, or mystery was along the Huckleberry Trail. There were about a dozen columbine in one small area. They were the only ones I saw. I wondered how they came to be there amongst the ferns and other thick flora. Had there been a lot of them at one time-perhaps before the area was logged over a century ago?

The area provides endless possibilities to create your very own hike by combining various trail. I chose to hike to Raptor Ridge overlook, following Hemlock trail on the way up and Raptor Ridge -> Lost Lake trail on the way down. Trails were predictably wet but not too muddy. 

Do NOT attempt hiking California street. If you find yourself on a paved road heading up, you did it wrong. Many maps show a connector trail in the end of the street. It is not true as the street ends with a private property, and there is sign warning about no access to the trail. You may easily guess I found it out hard way. That being said, maps posted along the trail do indicate there’s no passage through the street. 

Other than that unfortunate miss, I had no issues navigating my way. Fortunately rain didn’t last long and gave way to blue skies in accordance with the forecast. It still felt very chilly under the thick canopy - in fact, trail felt colder than a windy but sunny overlook. 

TONS of pollen there, I mean it! You can see in sun beams how dense it is. I’m not allergic, but my eyes felt really bad just because of all that pollen getting into them. 

Spent about 3 hrs on trail, taking lots of stops to catch breath on the way up and to scratch eyes on the way down. The trail was busy closer to the parking lot, but I was alone on the upper sections around the overlook. 

I drove out to ze Chuckanuts for a jaunt around the trails.  The parking lot for the Pine and Cedar Lakes Trail has been resurfaced and the Prius-eating potholes are gone!  I parked, made sure to lock up (prowlers are common at this TH), grabbed my pack and headed deep into the sorta-wild.  The trail starts off steep and keeps climbing for 1.6 miles to the junction with the Hemlock Trail.  While steep, the trail is wide and smooth with few obstacles.  There is one area of rock ice that I slip on almost every time on the way back down.  Stay to the right of the trail on the descent and you should miss it.

I checked out the Cedar Lake Overlook and its views of Mt. Baker, then toured both lakes before heading back northwest along the Hemlock Trail until it crossed the North Lost Lake Trail and became the Chuckanut Ridge Trail.  I climbed up the ridge and followed it back southeast to the Cyrus Gates Overlook and the start of the Rock Trail.  A WTA work party was back at it cutting up logs, shoring up sections of trail, and improving drainage areas.  They were kind enough to let me test out their hard work first hand (or first feet!) as I passed by.  The Rock Trail is one of the coolest trails in the Chuckanuts, with huge boulders, sandstone cliffs, mini-caves, and views of nearby Blanchard Mountain and the surrounding forest.  I hiked down to the North Lost Lake Trail and took it north to the Raptor Ridge Trail.  I climbed up and over the ridge back to the Pine and Cedar Trail and eventually my car.

All of the trails in the Chuckanuts are in great shape with only a few minor exceptions: The North Lost Lake Trail is very muddy in spots and has a couple down trees to step over.  The Hemlock Trail and Ridge Trail likewise have a few small blowdowns but that's it.  The rock ice on the P&C Lakes Trail almost got me again, so watch your step on the way down.

Summary: 14.5 miles w/approx. 3000ft elevation gain, 8am-4pm

We put together a loop hike today in Larrabee State Park, starting at the North Chuckanut TH. Our route was as follows: Hemlock trail to Huckleberry trail; on to Raptor Ridge, where we took in the view, then headed down the rest of Raptor Ridge trail to hook up with North Lost Lake trail; up to Madrone Viewpoint; back down to North Lost Lake; then on out to the Hemlock Trail and back to the parking lot. This made for a 9-mile loop going up, down, and all around! The trail system is well marked throughout the park, starting from the parking lot.

Conditions: we took Old Samish Bay Rd. to the TH this morning, thinking it might be less icy than Chuckanut Drive. Uh, that would be a no. That is not the way to go if you want to avoid ice. It was fine with my AWD Impreza today, but yesterday I'm sure it woulda been a slidefest. Also, coming from Seattle/Edmonds, Chuckanut is the more efficient route. It was below 30 degrees at 10 a.m. when we hit the trail, and it stayed chilly all day. The trail was icy/slippery in the first 1/4 mile, but after that wasn't bad. We didn't use spikes or poles today (well, I used poles on the last mile or so due to an IT Band issue). The slickest places were along Raptor Ridge trail and, as I've said, approaching the parking area. Otherwise, there was about one half to two inches of snow throughout the trail system, and it was lightly trafficked enough, for the most part, to be not too slippery. Still, I'd wear decent traction and watch your step.

The park is great for putting together your own loop, as well as getting some nice hill work in and just enjoying some beautiful woods. We probably gained about 1200 feet elevation today. The better of the two viewpoints is probably Raptor Ridge, which was resplendent with sunshine today and has a nice view of some North Cascade foothills. We ate lunch at Madrone instead, as two chatty groups arrived right when we did. Madrone only has a view if you walk to one side and strain to catch a glimpse of Baker through the trees, yet Baker looks pretty dramatic even from the limited perspective.

I only took one picture today, but it captures a sense of the experience of the place--lovely woods with spangles of sky, a peaceful place to be. We saw about 12 people on the trails today. Spent about 4 hours 15 minutes hiking 9 miles. Happy hiking, Everyone!