A great break from the clouds and drizzle on the west side of this state, we left on our small hike, about 2 miles into the canyon, around mid-day. It was in the mid 60's. Not a lot of other folks, not a lot of animals or flowers yet, but there was evidence of beaver activity. Several dams were along the stream. We even saw a beaver 'springboard', where a short tree was felled under a higher and bigger tree, so that one could be cut up and dragged away in smaller pieces. Amazing! This is a good late winter hike for those not wanting to contend with snow, although others said they hiked up onto Untanum Ridge and encountered patches near the top. Anyone who likes desert hiking, this is a good time to get out before it gets too hot. Enjoy!

I led my monthly Winter Walk for the Cascadians today. I was recovering from a nasty head cold so I needed an easy walk & Umtanum Canyon fit the bill. Our party of 6 walked 31/2-4 miles up the canyon & had lunch in the sun on a buttress on the south side of the creek. The lower part of the trail was compact ice with about 1/2 inch of snow which gave us some traction. Farther up it was just 6-8 inches of snow. The creek crossings were icy, but not too difficult. The day was sunny, but this time of year the canyon is mostly in the shade. We saw one small heard of big horn sheep in the distance as we ate lunch. Except for the last 1/4 mile back to the cars we had the canyon pretty much to ourselves.

The flowers are peaking right now in Central Washington... it was a beautiful day - 70 degrees, sunny, no ticks, no rattlesnakes. Saw tons of wildflowers and every color songbird you could imagine, including a couple orioles and handful of goldfinches.

The trail was fairly crowded with bird watchers, but mostly we were alone and it was quiet and peaceful. A great hike for this time of year.

Quick follow on to my report from last Tuesday - I went back to the canyon today, this time with an accomplice (and with the sunscreen!). It was much busier on a Sunday, of course - the trailhead car park was pretty full, but most people seemed to stay by the Yakima River or the lower sections of Umantum, so relatively few people more than a mile in.

It was surprising for only five days later just how many more flowers seemed to be out this time - a week of great weather works wonders, it seems. I spotted multiple species that I didn't see around Tuesday.

The weather had obviously worked wonders for the rattlesnakes too, because after Tuesday's failure, they were certainly out today. We saw two, and most of the other people we passed had seen one or two as well. I was a little worried that there were several people walking dogs on a trail of which the Desert Hikes book says 'rattlesnakes are frequently seen in the summer', and is one of four places specifically name-checked on a Google search to go looking for rattlesnakes in Washington. One man on his way up had his dog on a lead, and specifically asked us if we'd seen snakes, but three just had their dogs running around loose, and one went off barking at a snake. I wouldn't let a dog of mine do that :-(

So the quick summary - if you like snakes, it's a great place to go, and if you don't, stay clear until autumn!