Raptor Ridge Trail, Hemlock Trail & Larrabee State Park - North Lost Lake Trail — Saturday, May. 7, 2022

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.