Grizzly Lake

Today the 3 roommates and I hiked up to a mountain lake called Grizzly Lake. It was about a 45 minute drive to the trail head, and then an hour and 15 minute hike. The drive was up a 4x4 jeep road. The FJ took care of business.

The hike was incredible! 3 miles with over 1200 ft in elevation gain. It seemed like we hiked through several different ecosystems. At the beginning it was a cobblestone stream in the alpine evergreens. We were surrounded by Christmas trees. As we approached the tree line our surroundings turned to large snow covered rocks. Right before we arrived to the lake we were in 8-10 inches of powder, similar to ski terrain.

The lake was amazing. It looked as though God carved out the lake with an ice cream scoop. Grizzly lake is surrounded by 2000 ft cliffs on all sides, with the south end being a stadium of evergreen trees. The south bowl almost looks like a mountain church of sorts, with the lake being the pulpit. There's a snowmelt aisle and evergreen pews. See the picture below...

I'm becoming more and more captivated by the scenery out here. It's much easier to find my mountainside for solitude when everywhere you look is a landscape painting. Solitude is key, especially when you're constantly surrounded by community. You'll notice that Jesus finds his 'mountainside' after being in large crowds for an extended period.

Being out here for only a month has already changed my perspective a lot. Life is simple and God is good.