Grizzly Bear Ridge - Wenaha River - Slick Ear Loop — Monday, Sep. 2, 2019

Hiked Grizzly Bear Ridge down to the Wenaha River trail and back over three days to camp and fish the river. (Did not hike Slick Ear, but the system won't let just enter the Grizzly Bear trail as an out and back). Departed Twin Buttes trailhead and proceeded down the ridge line through woods and open meadows. Elk, coyote, mule deer, grouse, and stellar jays along the way. The upper portion of the trail has seen recent foot and stock traffic and many deadfalls have been cleared, though there are a few areas of shoulder high overgrowth the trail is easy to follow. This area was heavily burned in the 2015 Grizzly Complex fire and there is lots of standing dead timber which could occasionally be heard coming down. (Choose your campsite wisely!)Once switchbacks down to the river begin, little to no trail maintenance has been done. Many deadfalls to navigate over, under, or around on steep hillsides and head high overgrowth as the trail parallels Rock Creek. Without maintenance soon, this portion of the trail won't exist much longer. At the bottom of the trail, intersect with the Wenaha River trail and head either up or downriver. Upriver will take you to Slick Ear and beyond, downstream heads you off towards Troy. I went downstream and camped about another .4 miles from the intersection, where as other trip reports have noted, some previous campers haven't done a good job of leave no trace. Lots of standing dead timber along the river bottom and the Wenaha River trail in that direction is a frustrating exercise in dealing with deadfalls. Saw or heard no other people on the trail, but heard plenty of elk bugling at all hours of the day. Salmon are currently spawning in the Wenaha River, which should be left alone to do their thing, but the fishing for trout was excellent. Camped two nights and came back out on the same trail.