The road to the TH was closed and we parked at the barrier and walked to the vista point and then took Rock trail to Lost lake to the Ridge trail and back to the parking lot. Beautiful, snow covered everywhere, lots of icicles hanging from the rock-walls. Winter wonderland. Did not need traction. The snow was soft. Used gators. It was very cold and used all my layers. 

Hopped over to the park after work on Thursday to enjoy the amazing sun and great temps. Parked at the fragrance lake trailhead and followed the directions on the hike description. Afterwards I went down to the beach to one of my favorite little lookout spots. Blackberries are ripe and provided an excellent trail snack for me and the dog!

I began at Fragrance Lake Road trailhead in the parking lot next to the ranger station. It is a steady gain up the road through mostly cedars, Douglas Firs and maples which offered a nice shade. At about 1.4 miles is Chuckanut Mountain Falls which was running pretty slight now but it still has some water cascading down a rock wall. At about 1.9 miles there is a significant washout that took out three quarters of the road and appears that there could be more activity judging by cracks in the road. At the junction with the South Lost Lake Trail the route continues up until about 3.6 miles at Station-J and then drops for about 0.8 miles at the junction of the Rock Trail. I went up to the rock formations and had lunch under the cliffs.

All the trails I took are in good condition, albeit a bit of mud here and there that is no problem. I was able to get in 9.4 miles in and nearly 2300 feet of total gain.

We headed out from Cygnus Gate down the Rock Trail to South Lost Lake Trail and the on the east side of Lost Lake to the waterfall. Minor obstacles with damp trail with some mud that should dry up soon. On the east side of the lake we did encounter three trees with limbs blocking the trail but were able to climb through and over. Encounter very few people. The road up to the gate has some rough patches but passable, not suitable for low clearance vehicle though. 

I did my usual Fragrance Lake Road/Lost Lake/South Chuckanut loop today. The parking lot was packed, but the trail wasn't crowded. Just after the junction with the Lost Lake trail I had a quick "howdy" with a couple I see up here often. It's always nice to see regulars like myself who love this area. After a brief stop at Lost Lake, I proceeded down the trail following the lake which eventually connects with the trail up to the summit of South Chuckanut and fabulous views. This trail is rough, but just fine until the junction leading up to South Chuckanut. I'd been warned by two helpful hikers that there were a couple of motor bikers who had almost run into them on this section. Luckily, I encountered the bikers right at the junction before heading up since after the junction this section of trail is steep, rocky, muddy and narrow with almost no places to get off to let others get by even if you are lucky enough to hear them in time. It's definitely not appropriate for motorbikes and hikers to share. I did have a nice chat with one of the bikers who expressed his feelings about not having enough places for them to ride. It got me to thinking about the idea of multiuse trails. There are more and more of us using trails whether we're hikers, bikers, motor bikers, horse people, or runners and there aren't enough trails for any of us. The idea of multiuse sounds good, but without looking at which trails would work, and which might need some accommodation to make them work we're going to have nasty encounters and injuries. It would be nice if the different user groups could get together and come up with some plans. I don't see the F.S. or Parks doing much in this regard. Does anyone know if there are organizations trying to make this happen?