Fragrance Lake hike today

Pretty trail

Today Melanie and I split off from the rest of the Senior Trailblazers to blaze our own trail at Fragrance Lake. It's a nice place and well known to both of us. The rest of the group decided to hike locally also, because of smoke in the atmosphere. Nobody wanted to drive up to the High Country and be dismayed by the haze. Down here, the weather was cool and overcast for the first part of the day, with an ideal hiking temperature. The air quality was also perfect.

The service road is still beautiful

There are two ways to get to the lake from the Larrabee Parking Lot, one on a nice trail, and the other back along a very nice service road (see above). We headed up to the lake via the trail, stopping at a viewpoint (which I thought I got pictures of, but instead I managed to turn on my phone by mistake and drain the battery).

Fragrance Lake

I was surprised by how many people we saw on the way to the lake. Lots of hikers, bikers, and runners. Everyone, it seems, was taking advantage of the cool morning weather, with little to no breeze.

Even a few fishermen

We saw these two fishing and asked if they caught anything, and they told us that the county stocks the lake with fish; although they had not caught any yet, they'd had a few nibbles.

Tree growing out of a rock?

Halfway around the lake there is a trail that leads down to the Two Dollar trail on Cleator Road. To make our trip just a little longer (so we could log six miles), we walked a short distance on this trail because it's so beautiful and enjoyable. Not far beyond this spot, it begins to head downwards, so we turned around and headed back to the car via the service road.

Me, captured by Mel

Melanie took this picture of me, and since I don't see any obvious unpleasantries, such as rolls of flab spilling over my pants, I kind of like it. We also did about 1,400 feet of elevation gain and loss, and just shy of six miles when we returned. It meant I was powerfully hungry when I got home, so the first order of business was a hearty lunch! 

Now I'm finishing my post as I consider the fine day I am enjoying: a nice hike, great company, and now a full tummy. If I can just stay away from the news, I should be content and serene for the rest of the day. It's always good for me to get out and take pleasure in the forests that surround me.

:-)