Larrabee State Park - Rock Trail — Sunday, Apr. 17, 2022

I did my usual conditioner in the Chuckanuts today which begins at the Lost Lake parking lot and continues up Fragrance Lake Road. The wash out is now passable, but still looks impressive. Then I took the turn off to Lost Lake with and an immediate left onto "Chin Scraper" up to the high point of North Chuckanut and the trailhead to the Rock Trail. This section is steep and eroded from trail bike use. It's also not for the faint hearted since at any moment a trail bike may crash into you with very little time to react which is why I usually don't hike it on weekends, but today seemed quiet enough. Chin Scraper was stomped out by hiker boots and had been there for years before I first hiked it in the late 1980's, long before trail bikes took over and made it hazardous for us simple hikers. I was lucky enough to only encounter one group of bikers today, but one of them told me it was a "bike trail". I gave them a short history lesson which wasn't much appreciated. I can always try. It's bad enough to feel unsafe on a trail which is clearly designated as "multiuse" with the right of way given to hikers, but it's especially annoying to be unwelcome on a trail that we initially built. I thought for about two minutes about avoiding it in the future, but nope. It's my trail too. Besides it the best way to do a loop that includes both Chuckanut summits and a good workout! So, after arriving at the top of N. Chuck I took the Rock Trail down to join the Lost Lake trail, then a right to pick up the trail over to South Chuckanut. After a quick lunch at the view knoll and a howdy to a couple of familiar faces, I closed the loop with a cruise down the logging road called "Burn Out". I saw very few people today after the first half mile or so. Gorgeous day, cold wind, and clear views!