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Hike: Fragrance Lake (WA)
By Arlene
*****
In the game of ice hockey, you get a hat trick by scoring 3 goals in one game; today’s hike to Fragrance Lake earned us a hiking hat trick as we scored 3 significant goals in just one hike: a really big view of Samish Bay, a lovely mountain lake, and a cascading waterfall. All for the price of admission: a long drive up to Chuckanut Mountains.
After last weekend’s foot pounding on rocks, today’s hike was like walking on a carpeted forest floor. The trail began near Larabee State Park and started gaining elevation immediately. In less than a mile there was a turn off to a View Point as picturesque as any in the Northwest.
Our next stop was the lake with a nice perimeter path and views of massive sandstone cliffs, fragrant water lilies, and skunk cabbage (not sure which of these plants might have given the lake its name).
The route recommended by our guide book took us back to our car by way of an abandoned road through beautiful stands of old cedar, Douglas fir, and hemlock. We also got our final goal, the view of a waterfall.
Each hike now allows me the opportunity to log another wildflower. Today I had many flowers to photo (which challenged the patience of my fellow hikers). The one flower in abundance in multiple places was the alumroot (AKA Heuchera or Coral Bells when domesticated). So by the end of the hike I had probably scored 4 goals for an extra-large Hat Trick.
