Thursday, April 30, 2009

Umtanum Canyon






Umtanum Canyon is one of my favorite spring hikes. When six months of overcast, drizzle and 30 to 50 degree temperatures are starting to wear on you, just motorvate over the hill to central Washington and reacquaint yourself with dust. Spring is also the best time to see wildflowers in bloom here.
Umtanum Canyon is just a few miles south of Ellensberg on the Yakima Canyon road. The canyon itself is on BLM property, but just outside the canyon is the L.T. Murray Wildlife Recreation Area (where the deer and antelope play? Not exactly, the WRA's used to be called "game reserves" in times of less delicate sensibilities) and wildlife viewing opportunities abound. We saw elk (just outside of Roslyn) and big horn sheep (in the Yakima River Canyon about 4 miles from Umtanum), as well as quail, thrushes, pelicans (in the Yakima River) and swallows.
The trailhead parking lot is often pretty full, as it is popular with people fishing or rafting, so best to arrive early or on a weekday. The trail begins with a nice suspension bridge that sways when you walk on it, then a short trail under the Railroad tracks and you're in Umtanum canyon. Follow the creek for the next 3 1/4 miles (where the trail ends in a closure to protect wildlife between Feb. 1st and July 15th), or when open proceed another couple miles to Umtanum Falls, a trail which can be accessed separately from another trailhead off of Wenas Road.
Along the way you can see wild apple trees, descended from a small orchard that was part of a homestead here in the 1880's but have gone untended for decades. You'll find the only cactus I know of that grow naturally in this state, and lots of wildflowers like larkspur, balsamroot, lupine and desert parsley. There are also the less colorful but equally beautiful sagebrush, rabbitbrush and bunchgrass, and a large, lovely grove of quaking aspen.
There is a creek crossing involved, but the creek is narrow and shallow and there are usually logs to walk across. The beavers along the creek have been , well, busy as beavers, and we saw at least a dozen dams at various points along the way. There are also snakes to be aware of, both rattlesnakes and gopher snakes, the latter not poisonous but with fangs that still hurt and oh yes, gopher snakes can climb and are occasionally spotted hanging from a tree branch. Remember to look down and up. Speaking of up, the more ambitious will want to explore the trail that leads to your left just after crossing the RR tracks at the beginning of the trail, which in about 1 mile (600' elev. gain) leads to a nice overlook of the Yakima River and its canyon.
Be sure to save time for a drive down the Yakima canyon. There are some beautiful sights (such as the aforementioned big horn sheep & pelicans) between here and Selah, and some turnouts to stop and admire the view.

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