Unlike a month ago, Cleator Road is now open from the Two Dollar trailhead. We continued up the road to the end at the Cyrus Gates viewpoint and Rock Trail trailhead. It was a beautiful late morning, and both road and trail conditions were stellar. Rock Trail at the trailhead is clearly signed. Heading mostly downhill at first, we quickly reached and crossed the intersection with the Double Diamond mountain bike trail running downhill to our right, towards the Fragrance Lake Road below. At this point the Rock Trail continues downhill to reach the initial, longest set of stairways (we counted 114 timber steps in the first bunch).
From there, the trail starts to turn northward along the base of the justly famous rock cliffs. On this day they were dripping water and quite green with moss and fern - lovely. The trail continues in very good shape, finally taking a sharp southward turn. We heard but didn't see, multiple woodpecker-type birds apparently signaling potential mates, as well as a barred owl at one point.
The Rock Trail ends in a "T" intersection with the Lost Lake Trail; we turned left onto what I think is at that point the "North" Lost Lake Trail, with the rightward portion called the "South" Lost Lake Trail - that could be wrong. Anyway we continued north on a wide trail in great condition except for occasional slightly muddy stretches, easy to navigate. Pretty quickly we could see glimpses of the lake below us through the trees; but the lake itself is at the base of a thickly wooded, steep slope - not accessible. We were looking for the trail spur on our right which would lead down to the lake. Be patient: it's obvious where it is, because there's a huge trail sign at the junction.
We took the spur to the lake, requiring balancing at one point on a log passage through a swampy area. There's not much room or viewing at the lake itself; we ate lunch standing up, enjoying the sun that had become more evident as the cloud cover disappeared. Then it was time to retrace our steps and climb up those wonderful new stairs. A very nice dayhike on a beautiful day. Hope yours is too!
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