Grizzly Ridge

Grizzly Ridge was a great hike. It starts at the Pamalia Lake trailhead but instead of going left at the lake you go right. This hike was done during a Friday over the summer after work. Since I was so hungry I pushed a 3 mile plus an hour pace uphill through the gorgeous forest of the Western Cascades. Once we completed the hike to the lake we began the even steeper uphill climb to the backbone of Grizzly Ridge which is the next high point east of Mount Jefferson. This part of the hike was very arduous but it was doable with just a few breaks. At this time of year there may be some snow melt so there were some small waterfalls along the way. Then once on the top there was still some snow. Then we trekked around for a while until we found a campsite worthy of staying the night at that also had close by views of Mount Jefferson. While views of Pamalia Lake are blocked by the tree cover the views of Jefferson are more than enough to merit this hike to the crest of Grizzly Ridge. Then we settled in with views of Jefferson for dinner. Then I set up to take photos of the sunset that turned out great. Then we built a fire swapped stories and headed to bed. The next morning we awoke to another great day. Went back to the edge of the ridge too see if Jefferson was still there. Once we all snacked on granola bars we were headed back down to the parking lot. The sights on this trail are amazing and the pace was phenomenal in that we covered the 4 miles of hiking in a little less than an hour. This was a great trip and I was thankful I got to share it with my brother and my best friend.

Likability 10/10 I highly recommend this hike, but you have to buy the hiking permit in advance online. (Though that is completely worth it.)