Two Lakes in a Day

Fragrance and Lost Lakes, 6/15/08, 10 Miles, 1700 Elevation

On the way to Bellingham, between I-5 and the Puget Sound, stands a mountain. Not a great mountain by any measure in Washington, but a significant hill none the less. large enough in size to house two little lakes and a 10-mile hike between the two. So on this day, a bright day over Washington, the CHS hikers made their way up the mountain to first Fragrance Lake then to Lost Lake.

Fragrance Lake is a small-ish lake set in a divot in the sandstone hill. The interesting thing about this area, is that there is a vein of sandstone that runs along the Puget Sound from the Northwest to the Southeast through Chuckanut Mountain. Sandstone is not seen in Washington very much - if you want to see it up-close and personal come to Chuckanut Mountain. The cliffs that surround Fragrance Lake show this vein nicely.

After leaving Fragrance Lake we climbed up over a hill to a long trough cut into the mountain cradling Lost Lake. We sat above the lake for lunch with views from one end to the other. Across the lake stood a snag that none of us took much notice of until someone pointed out movement on one of the branches - a bald eagle sat there perfectly camouflaged against the dark forest behind.

So although this little mountain doesn't look like much compared to the greater mountains in the cascades, its flanks still hold the beauty we expect to see in what wee'd consider "true wilderness."