Seven brave souls met me as arranged at the Clayton Beach Trailhead. Except I found out that this trailhead is more properly known at the Lost Lake Trailhead. I have no idea why someone would refer to this trailhead as a trailhead for Lost Lake. Anyway we took off on time, in very chilly, gray and dry conditions. So far the weatherman was true to his word. The Burnout trail is relentlessly up but not a severe grade. After a couple miles we were rewarded with a really nice view of the San Juan Islands. Even with the gray skies it was impressive. After 4 miles we finally topped out in a clearcut that had a really expansive view to the West. Mike even claimed he could see Mount Fuji. We found a nice spot nearby for a lunch spot. So far we had seen one other person on the trail. That was soon to change as the closer we got to Fragrance Lake the more people we saw. The Fragrance Lake Trail was very busy. We did get a nice surprise on the Fragrance Lake Trail. We ran into several people gawking up into the trees and it turned out to be a pretty good sized Owl sitting there sizing us up. That was fun. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Total of 8 miles and about 1600 ft elevation gain.
It was a really nice day in the woods with a pleasant group of people. Photos on the MBC Flickr Page.
Ed Alm
Mount Baker Club 