A hike without many of our regulars

Chris, Steve, Susie, Richard, me, Mike, and Carin

The Senior Center is now closed for an indeterminate amount of time, because of the coronavirus. We met in the parking lot and drove to our predetermined starting point. We had been scheduled to drive to Whidbey Island to roam around Hoypus Hill, but without Al (who showed up this morning but not to hike), who knows this area well, we decided instead to simply hike up the trail to Fragrance Lake, then up the Lost Lake trail to the Rock trail up to Gates Overlook. Then back down the road and the Fragrance Lake trail.

Sky and tree reflections at Fragrance Lake

Before we headed up to the Lost Lake trail, we took a short side jaunt to see the lake. You can see it was quite calm, and the sky, although cloudy, was not in any danger of sending us any precipitation. It was muddy, though, and we spied a nice little grotto that made me smile.

Just enough water to make it interesting

This little spot on the Lost Lake trail is different every time I see it. Today I thought it showed just enough of a waterfall to add interest to this spot. Sometimes it's completely dry, but not today.

Mike at the beginning of the Rock trail

The Lost Lake trail meanders gently downhill, until it meets the Rock trail. where it then begins a rather steep uphill to Gates Overlook. It also includes around a hundred steps. Until we got to this point, I was doing fine, but then I slowed down considerably on our way up to the overlook.

Licorice ferns dressing up the rock

There are so many beautiful vistas to see on this short 1.1-mile trail, and I've taken many pictures in the past, and today these ferns decorating the rock were worth a picture, not to mention all the mossy trees.

Our lunch spot at Gates Overlook

We had a very enjoyable lunch at the overlook, although there was a slight breeze, and the temperature was not all that warm. And you can see that the sky looked like it might begin to clear. It didn't, although we did have a few sun breaks on our return trip.

Cool trees on the return

I have admired these trees many times on our trip back to the cars, but today I was able to snap a shot that shows a few mossy anomalies. That one next to the trail with the green burl on it has fascinated me over the years.

And then we were finally back to the cars, after having gone almost ten miles (9.9, with 2,700 elevation gain and loss) and I have to say I was the slowest one of the group, wishing I had my usual pacesetter (Al) and my chief cheerleader, Melanie. Hopefully they will be back next week. In any event, the glass of wine I allowed myself to indulge in early has soothed my aches and pains. It was a great day overall.
:-)