We hiked from the Umtanum Creek Falls trailhead about a mile down to the Fall. Continued down the creek for a while, and then got out of the canyon on the south side and did a cross-country hike up to the South Ridge for some views of Mt. Rainer, Adams and Stuart. We closed the loop by going down another way. Wildlife count: Cayote, Deer, Mountain Bluebird and a few funny Lizzards. The snakes were shy and did not want to come out and play.
7.4 miles loop, about 1800 feet eleveation gain.
 
Pictures and track on topo map:
https://picasaweb.google.co[…]huser=0&feat=directlink
http://www.meetup.com/hiking-233/photos/8195382/

GPS track can be download here, if you sign in:
http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1667612

Darren
 

In search of some natural Vitamin D, we headed out to Umtanum Ridge, undaunted by the Durr Road access which included a creek ford (not bad), rough road (just go slow), and lack of signage (bring a map). With the wind howling, I set off from the parking lot to walk the old wagon trail 5 miles one way to a stunning overlook of Yakima Canyon. The wildflowers were out in full force, a colorful riot of blues, yellows, pinks against the mercifully blue sky with big puffy clouds. Life is good.

The road/trail is in fine shape, apparently good enough for two guys in their pickups to drive to the end of the ridge. Why you would do that is beyond me. We originally had intended to do the entire loop as an overnight backpack, starting out Umtanum Ridge, dropping down to Roza Creek, and making a loop back, but hubby was having problems with his foot so we went to Plan B. It would have been hard to keep a tent up in that wind but I missed seeing the full moon rise over the canyon. Next time.

The views of Mt Rainier, Mt Steward, and the Cascades is really stunning and other than 2 guys in truck and one other hiker I saw no one. The new wind turbines add a post modern touch to the landscape. I actually liked it. Better than more salmon killing dams.

The next day, did a short day hike up Hardy Canyon, also lovely green, full of meadowlarks singing, and expansive views back towards Umtanum Ridge. Highly recommend the area for spring time hiking.

I'd like to pretend that I'm smart and drove to Umtanum knowing that I'd find a beautiful day when it was crappy on the west side. Fact is, I had to go to Ellensburg anyways, so I took my stuff with me and was pleasantly surprised to get a really nice spring day with big puffy clouds, sunshine, a little wind and just a little snow fall. Temps were in the mid 50's in the canyon and not quite freezing on the ridge. It can be raining cats and dogs on the west side and in the mountains (and it was), but there is often sun here. The Manastash Pass DOT traffic webcam is a good one to check out on rainy Seattle days when you have some time to drive - about 2 hours from Seattle.

There are no flowers out yet, but the trail is mostly dry and snow free. Didn't see any ticks today either, which is always a pleasant bonus here. A few people around but I had the ridge to myself.

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Goober Canari and I set out for the sunnier, drier, side of the state with a hike along the Yakima Rim. It took us around 2 hours to get from Puget Sound lowlands to Ellensburg. The Umtanum Creek crossing was not difficult w/ my SUV, the water only being a couple of feet deep. We began the ascent up to Umtanum Ridge from there. We saw the only person we would see up there on a motorcycle. We found the north trailhead which is another old road. We chose to continue in the car and drove almost 4 miles on the rough road before parking and setting out on foot. The views are incredible up on the ridge. Mt Rainier and Mt Adams to the west and the Stuart Range to the north. Skies were clear but it was quite windy, enough to keep us in jackets. We walked to the end of the road and a little ways past to the edge of the ridge. From this vantage point we could see the Yakima River with its many twists and bends, as well as the Mahre Ski Pond. The wildflowers are at their spring peak. The most prevalent are the Balsamroot and Lupine. We also found numerous amounts of flowering Simpson's Hedgehog Cactus. There were many other varieties of wildflowers and the hills were still quite green. We also noted many old fenceposts including corner posts weighted down with rocks. Incredible that settlers at one time attempted to scratch out a living up here. We returned to the car - about 5 miles round trip of hiking. We next set out for the Umptanum Creek trailhead off of Highway 821. Quite a few more folks at the parking lot for that trailhead. We crossed the suspension footbridge and ducked under the RR tracks. We hadn't gone but a few paces before we spotted a PNW Rubber Boa slithering away in the grass. These snakes are supposedly not often seen by people but another WTA writer posted a picture of one recently and now our sighting (it was too quick for my camera). We walked about 3 miles or so along the creek. The temps were warmer down here with less wind. We also saw desert marmots and evidence of beavers (but no beavers) and, at our turnaround point, a rattler (No, not Theo Ratliff, a rattlesnake). Goober's fine trail moxie enabled him to see the rattlesnake on the trail (before one of us stepped on it) and we watched it slither into the tall grass. We would also see a garter snake, making 3 types of snakes sighted. We returned to the car having logged about 10 miles on foot and many more in the car. We encountered few bugs and no ticks (and no Tic Douloureaux). We topped off this great day in the sun and nature with a stop at the Tav in Ellensburg for Super Mother Burgers and cold beverages. I hope to return to this area to do more exploring of the Yakima Rim area. Now is a great time to head here with the comfortable temps, sun, wildflowers, and snow free trails/roads. I wouldn't recommend a passenger car for the drive up to the ridge, however.