5.5 miles
950 feet elevation gain
In celebration of hike-a-thon, I went on a hike this weekend with with my team, The Amazing Shaw Family. We chose Fragrance Lake for our adventure as it’s centrally located between our homes. We hoped the hike would push but not overly challenge my niece and nephews, who range in ages from 4 to 7.
The Amazing Shaw Family. Â From left to right: Back row – Katy, Kirsten, Anthony, Bethany. Â Front Row – Nate, Collin, Ava. Â Not pictured: Eileen
Ava strikes a pose
The trailhead for Fragrance Lake begins at Larabee State Park south of Bellingham. The parking area was full so we found parking inside the state park and walked to the entrance. We paused for a family photo at the trailhead, although sadly we were missing one of our team members as my mom Eileen was not able to make it.
On the trail
Hiking up switchbacks
Checking out an old burned out tree
The trail is a pleasant and well-maintained path through moss-covered old growth forest. Collin and Nate pretended to be motorcycles and zoomed past and around eachother as we walked. After one mile, we came to a junction with a short spur trail to a view overlooking Samish Bay.
Anthony regards Samish Bay
Ava and me
Collin and Kirsten
Bethany and Max
The trail dips in elevation for a bit before continuing uphill. There are some surprisingly steep bits in this section and we did a bit of slipping and sliding. We also took lots of breaks at the many conveniently-placed benches along the trail.
Break time for the Marquez family
Nate deftly dodges our attempt at a kid’s picture
Cousin time 😊
Nate takes a breather
The Marquez ladies
We came Fragrance Lake around 1:00 and stopped for a lunch break. We elected not to take the short loop around the lake as the youngest two kiddos were getting tired and we didn’t want to push our luck.
Ava regards the lake
These two are adorable. They love spending time together 😊
The Marquez men
Nate models my hat
The Shaw sisters 😊
On the return trip, I ended up at the back of the pack with my 7-year-old niece Ava. She insisted on waiting until the rest of the family was out of sight so we could pretend that we were on a hike alone. She’s been hearing stories about Aunty Katy’s hiking adventures for years and has been looking forward all week to Sunday’s hike. And so have I. It was such a pleasure to share my passion of hiking with her and with the rest of my family.
My heart is full.
Ava thought this tree looked like it was wearing a crown
Ava strikes another pose
Being silly
Ava and Aunty Katy
The hike-a-thon is here! During the month of August The Amazing Shaw Family will be raising money for the Washington Trails Association. Please consider sponsoring a member of my hiking team by visiting one of the links below.
Unicorn (that’s me!)
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