Baldy - Yakima CanyonRecent Trip Reports
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trip reports for this hike.
Baldy - Yakima Canyon
— Jan 23, 2012
— mOuNtAiNeEr51
Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
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Just an update about snow conditions in Yakima Canyon area. About a foot of snow that is soft and easy...
Just an update about snow conditions in Yakima Canyon area. About a foot of snow that is soft and easy to break trail with. Snowshoes could help a bit, but are not necessary for strong hikers. Breaking trail was easy enough without them. Yakima Canyon is so pretty in the snow.
Baldy - Yakima Canyon
— May 01, 2011
— Sawin' Ya
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
No water source
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Baldy Butte in the Yakima canyon is a great place to visit this time of year, especially because camping in...
Baldy Butte in the Yakima canyon is a great place to visit this time of year, especially because camping in the three BLM campgrounds is free until May 15th. Big Pines Camp is my favorite for scenery, birds, and accessibility (right across the street) to this hike.
The trail begins across the highway from the northern border of Big Pines CG. You'll see a "gate," and a dirt road that heads up the hill immediately, but look for a fainter, more level path on the left. (If you take the dirt road, it will soon end in a gully.) This faint path remains mostly level for a few minutes before beginning the scant 2000' climb to the summit of Baldy. The first half of the climb is moderately steep, with a short flat stretch of flat trail before the steeper half begins. Views are pretty good here, and don't get better enough for me to repeat the second half of the hike to the summit, unless I take a pack to spend the night enjoying the sunset views and stars, and the sunrise views the next morning. The trail "only" gains about 1200' in the last 1.25 miles of trail, but it's dusty and pebbly; slippery when dry! Going up wasn't bad, but watch your footing on the descent. If you do get all the way up, on a clear day you'll have a great view of the Stuart range, as well as the tops of Rainier and Adams. There are views south and east as well, best viewed in the morning light. The flowers are a bit late this year, but there were enough to satisfy me after this long winter. Peak bloom in the next two weeks? Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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Ethan Schrank & I hiked up the west ridge of Baldy in the Yakima Canyon this afternoon. Baldy is...
Ethan Schrank & I hiked up the west ridge of Baldy in the Yakima Canyon this afternoon. Baldy is the mountain with the huge face of folded basalt just south of the BLM's Lmuma Recreation Site and, at 3225', is the second highest point above the canyon. To climb the west ridge, park at milepost 10, cross the fence, and make your way to the old road traversing up the hillside. This road climbs to the crest of the ridge & then follows the crest upwards. At first it is a bit overgrown with cheatgrass, but farther along it becomes a clear trail all the way to the summit. The higher we climbed, the better the views became: up & down the canyon, then the Stuarts, Mt Rainier, Nelson Ridge, Mt Adams, etc. We saw a bald eagle soaring over the canyon and, a little later, 2 paragliders soaring on the updraft around the summit (see them in the upper left of the first photo). About half way up an immature big horn sheep came around a rock, caught sight of us, and took off along the side of the ridge. There was lots of nice bitterroot, desert buckwheat, & linear-leaf daisy in bloom. This hike is probably best done a few weeks earlier when it is cooler & there are more flowers, but we had a nice breeze to keep us cool as we climbed.
Baldy, Yakima Canyon
— Mar 18, 2007
— mytho-man
Day hike
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Ethan Schrank, Dennis Hasslinger, & I went up the west ridge of Baldy in the Yakima Canyon today (park at...
Ethan Schrank, Dennis Hasslinger, & I went up the west ridge of Baldy in the Yakima Canyon today (park at milepost 10). With 2000' of elevation gain in 2 miles, it was a good early season conditioner. Canby's Desert Parsley, Yellow Bells, & a few Buttercups were in bloom, but its still too early for the showy wildflowers here. Nice views from the top of the Yakima Canyon, Adams through the clouds, & all but the top of the Stuarts, though most of the rest of the Cascades were socked in. The day was sunny & in the lower 70s with a slight breeze. What a great hike! |
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