Blanchard forest hike

Trail to Lily and Lizard Lakes

My friend Melanie and I decided to hike up to Lily and Lizard Lakes on the Blanchard Forest Block, south of Bellingham. There are trails that go several different places, so we wanted to head up towards a couple of our favorite lakes. We started at the Upper Trailhead and were joined by a friend of ours for part of the hike, Chris and his dog Bo.

Bo, Chris, and Melanie (I took the picture)

The four of us hiked up to the junction that leads to several different trails. Chris and Bo went off towards Lizard Lake, with a plan to hike up the British Army trail. After they left, the two of us went up the middle trail, one I had not been on before, that leads to what I hoped would be a vista overlooking Lake Samish and a view of Mt. Baker. With the overcast skies, there was little chance of a good view, but we went anyway.

Lizard Extension trail

There were three trails, one to Lizard Lake and one to Lily Lake, with another middle trail that I had never been on before. It went mostly uphill and joined the service road, with what I hoped was a view. But after quite a distance and no view, we turned around to go back to the trails we knew.

Upon reaching the service road

Before heading back, when we reached the end of the existing trail, we noticed many signs on trees, telling us of logging that will be taking place shortly. There were many doomed trees giving us the bad news. I was glad I got to go up there to see these lovely trees before the logging starts.

Lizard Lake

We turned around and returned to the junction and decided to take a quick trip over to Lizard Lake, just to see what it looks like today. Skipping Lily Lake, we took the trail over to the Alternate Incline Trail, which leads back to the service road that would take us back to the parking lot.

Alternate Incline Trail

This lovely trail meanders downwards towards the service road, and it was nice to walk down it today, as we made our way back. I enjoyed it very much, although not so much the service road (which tends to be hard on my feet), but we made it back in good time. We had been expecting rain all day, but we returned, dry, without mishap.

Me and Mel at the junction

Before he split off, Chris took this picture of the two of us, just before we started down the Alternate Incline Trail. Today, we climbed and descended around 1,500 feet during our hike, and covered around 7.5 miles. It was a really good day! And as we came into sight of the car, it began to rain. We were once again blessed by the Weather Gods. And now I'm home, finishing up my post, and ready to rummage around looking for something I can eat on my diet. Another great outing with a dear, dear friend.

:-)