Monogram Lake — Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022

Road: pretty simple, 7 miles off Hwy 20 of easy and enjoyable pavement with great views.

Trail: the first 1/2 before the junction was steep but nice tread and decent switchbacks…though there is an overgrown section with lots of vegetation (including some wayward stinging nettles) that you have to bushwhack through. The second half once you hit the junction throws switchbacks to the wind and you just go straight up…so my legs tell me. Water sources were nicely spaced, though I didn’t actually need to fill anything until I got to the lake. 
Wildflowers  were still present around the lake, as were lots of blueberries. Saw 6 individual black bears, one of which was a pretty cinnamon bear that 2 fellow hikers excitedly and inaccurately described as a “grizzly”. Anyways. Black bear that was brown. They were all well-behaved. There were about 6 trees over the trail that needed clambering over or around. 
Please follow LNT guidelines if you visit, I.e., use the provided pit toilet and the provided tent and cook areas.