Hiked this one by my lonesome today. This is a loop that I do often starting on Chuckanut Drive at the Lost Lake parking lot and hiking via the gated road and then Chinscraper to the top of North Chuckanut, then picking up the Rock Trail to Lost Lake for lunch and then on to the top of South Chuckanut for views before closing the loop via Burnout. It was a lovely day for the most part and I didn't see a soul for a couple of hours. I'd planned to take a break at the view east of Baker from South Chuckanut, but encountered two women with dogs. The Shelties were fine and didn't find me interesting. They were lovely in fact. The Pit Bull was another matter. All dogs were on leashes which I appreciated. However, the Pit Bull was in the stance that I consider aggressive and growling deeply. I needed to back into sticker bushes to feel a safe distance and still didn't feel safe enough to pass it. I've had some less than positive experiences with pit bulls which might have added to my distress. In either case, since I didn't feel safe passing the dog, I said in probably not my nicest tone of voice, "get your dog away from me". I don't know, there's something about a powerful, growling dog in my face that ruins my mood. I was met with "you are a b**tch. F**k you. I tried to talk to them calmly and explain to them that I'd been attacked by a pit bull in the past and was afraid of them. Didn't get me anywhere, just more "f**k yous and b**ch, and if I didn't like their dogs, "I should get out of there". Never mind that I should be able to be where I want to be on a beautiful day in the mountains. My favorite comment from them was that I was "insulting their dogs". Really, it wasn't their dog's fault. I kind of liked the Shelties, the Pit Bull needed some behavior training, but the real idiots were the dog owners. Dogs don't know any better, but their owners should. This is coming from someone who probably loves dogs as much or more than anyone. I've hiked, backpacked and scrambled thousands of miles with mine. Yes, this is a rant, but really if dog owners want to be able to keep taking their dogs on these trails they need to be aware of their behavior. I've never even considered banning dogs from trails, but I thought about it driving home today. It really felt like the hiker version of road rage today and I hope I never hear it again. Most folks are at least apologetic when their dogs frighten folks on the trail. These women were awful and a little scary. The Chuckanuts are usually a friendly place to hike, but this is the second encounter I've had like this there. I've never experienced this anywhere else. Hopefully, I won't again.

Did a trail run/hike with my brother while he's visiting. Fragrance Lake trail is in good condition. Double Diamond is doing pretty well overall, with a few places of mud and standing water. Got snowed on as we reached Fragrance Lake and continued up Double Diamond. Dropping down on the Rock Trail was good, although the stairs can be a bit slick with the slushy snow/rain/general wetness. The Lost Lake trail between the Rock Trail and Raptor Ridge is a muddy mess with a few small blowdowns across the trail (all passable). After Raptor Ridge, the trail dries out and was fine until we turned off onto Chuckanut Ridge. The ridge trail is beautiful and in good shape overall. Once we turned off onto the Lower Ridge trail, there are a number of blowdowns. All are passable and most are small, but there is one set of three that required some over-under combination moves. The weekly WTA crew was working down by the pavilion. With the temps dropping and more precipitation on the way, I would recommend layers and water proof shoes, especially if you plan on dropping down to Lost Lake.

I have a yearly goal of hiking 200 miles per year with at least 10 of those coming in every month, to force myself to get outside even in the cold and wet months.

This year I was 14 miles short until yesterday. After a short 3 mile snow hike yesterday I woke up early today and set off for a 12 mile hike in the Chuckanuts. I started at Mount Chuckanut trailhead and from there I went up to North Lost Lake trail, to Rock Trail, to the Ridge Trail and back to my car. I started at about 5:30am and hiked via flashlight for the first half. I never had any expansive views but the trees and mist in the early morning light made for some interesting scenery. 

I was back to my car by 10:45, having walked 12 miles and climbed 2,200 feet. 

The trail was in great shape as it always is and the star of the show was Rock Trail with it's boulders, huge sandstone walls and eerie mists. 

Feels good to have met my goal for the year, even if it didn't happen until 12/30.

Did this as a loop.  Started at the Cyrus Gate trailhead, which is at the end of Cleator Road.  This is a nice trailhead as there is a view of the bay, a privy and picnic tables.  I started at the far south end of the parking lot to do Rock Trail.  Anyone who appreciates sandstone will enjoy this. This time of year the light is really nice with all the leaves off of the trees.  Lots of icicles hanging off the sandstone.

Next I continued on to the junction of South Lost Lake Trail and North Lost Lake Trail. I headed north to the north end of Lost lake where I turned south to travel down the east side of the lake to find the outlet - waterfall. Primitive trail to the waterfall. Next I back tracked and took North Lost Lake Trail to the junction with Chuckanut Ridge Trail.  While it may be a ridge, it undulates some, and due to the popularity with mountain bikes, there are a lot of extra bike tracks up there.  Just stay left always and you will eventually hook back up to the start of Rock Trail and can get back to the parking lot.  This was ~8.75 miles.   There are a few obstacles on the trail but nothing bad.  Just watch for bikes.  They are on you before you have a chance to notice sometimes.  And go early.  I only saw the bikes on the ridge and very few others on the rest of the hike.

Started the hike from Cyrus Gates Overlook around 10:30 on a really nice late fall day.  The Rock Trail is one of my favorites as the rock formations and fern grottos are phenomenal.  The trail down the steps is steep but doable, poles help. Continued on to the other side of Lost lake to the outfall (waterfall). One of my favorites spots in the Chuckanuts. A beautiful turnaround spot and snack spot. Then headed back to Lost Lake trail and headed north to the Raptor Ridge Trail. Had lunch at Raptor Ridge, enjoyed the view. I have never seen a raptor at this spot. Turned around at this point back down the Lost Lake Trail to the Rock Trail and headed up all those stairs. They seem intimidating but it’s not as hard as it looks. Views back up at the Cyrus Gates Overlook were fantastic. Lost Lake trail was quite muddy but not too bad the rest were in good shape. Plenty of mushrooms to look at and the leaves on the trail were crushed down but still real pretty.