April 12, 2023 - by Bellingham, WA, USA
Stats: 18 km / 790m gain / 706m high point / 5:25 hours MT
This day was filled with glitches. But in the end it all worked out. We did end up hiking an extra 6 km but that got us to El Nopals right at dinner time. Instead of taking the regular Chuckanut / Samish Bay trail to the Oyster Dome, we entered Blanchard State Park from the other side, parking at the upper parking lot.
Glitch #1) One of the drivers did not stop in Chilliwack first, which left Ling and I wondering where they were? A bunch of us were already gathered in Abbotsford. So she had to drive herself. Glitch #2) One of the drivers saw Al Smith driving behind them on the freeway. But where was he? Sheri showed up at the last minute and didn't want to go for dinner afterwards either, so she could've gone with him. My mistake is that I posted the change of route to our Facebook Event page, but not as an email to the club. So we waited for 15 minutes, not being able to connect with him by phone. But no one seemed to mind the wait, judging by the steady flow of conversation. I came to the conclusion that Al was already in the US and didn't have his phone on. So there was nothing to do but go without him. Yes, he's a very competent hiker and guide, but he'd be wondering where the other 13 hikers were. And I had no reception there until about an hour into the hike. He never did end up getting my message.
Glitch #3) As you can see in the photo of the trailhead kiosk and as stated in the Destination Hikes book by Stephen Hui, in about half an hour on the logging road, we were supposed to turn left onto the Alternate Incline trail. But after a while, I started thinking we must've missed it somehow. I had lost my reading glasses probably when I stepped off of the road as one of several logging trucks came booming by, so I couldn't check my GPS. We waited for the remainder of the group to catch up, and as I was explaining my predicament, Frank held up my glasses. Phew! Seeing that we were quite a ways further than the Alternate Trails turn-off, we decided to keep hiking on the logging road and do a broad horse-shoe, approaching Lizard Lake from the north, not the east.
So take note: There is no sign for the Alternate Incline trail. Instead it reads: Lizard / Lily Lake trail.
Glitch #4) So on we trod, over muddy road that was chewed up by the heavy logging trucks. But as we rounded the corner after I was just assuring the group that we were almost at Lizard Lake, we saw a huge crane loading logs onto a hugh truck which took up the total width of the road. Shoot. Were they going to make us go all the way back now? Thankfully not. But the friendly guy said not to come that way anymore.
On my Garmin GPS it stated that the last stretch, where the FSR turned into trail, was very "rough". Not so. It was in good condition and a relief to be in the forest after almost 2 hours on the FSR. Here we arrived at a four-way junction. It wasn't far to Lizard Lake.
There was a campsite by Lizard Lake but no toilet. Small patches of snow were tucked into shady spots along the lake shore.
Leaving Lizard Lake, we turned right pretty quickly onto the Lily Lake trail.
And guess who we ran into on the short side trail to the North Butte? Al!!! I was so happy and relieved I almost gave him a hug. He'd never gotten my message but came to the conclusion that this is where he'd find us.
north
The San Juan Islands - west.
Back to the Lily Lizard Connector trail and that brought us to Lily Lake.
The plan was to have lunch here but it was pretty cold. So we agreed to have lunch at the Oyster Dome where the rocky bluff would reflect the sun's warmth and where the views were even more expansive than on the North Butte.
At the Oyster Dome.
Group shot left to right: Al S, Frank B, Linda I, Sheri K, Peter F, Ingrid F, Irene H, Allana W, Christine C, Don T, Simon H, Lorenz B, Ling S + me
From southwest to northwest, from the Olympic Mtns to the oyster beds in the Salish Sea to the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island.
We were all good and ready for this nice long warm lunch break.
The first flower we saw this year; a trillium.
Then we backtracked, turning right at Lily Lake, and heading south on the Lily Lizard trail. No more glitches after lunch. Sheri and Frank and Al parted ways with us at the Max's Shortcut junction.
And seven of us arrived at El Nopals at 5:30pm. Just in time for happy hour.
The red line in the middle of the crescent shaped loop, is where we should've turned left.
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