Bottom Line: "They're here..." :) Flower season begins!
Stats
- Distance: 7-1/4 miles
- Vertical: 970 feet
- Duration: 2 -3/4 hours
- Weather: Mix of sun and cloud; warm; spring has sprung
- Takeaway: Good loop trail for desert scenery and flowers that will only get better in the coming 6 weeks or so; there are about 6 species of early bloomers out right now with patchy spots of fairly dense blooms, mainly on the upper south slopes of the canyon; this show will build in time to a climax of Balsamroot and Lupine (I would guess in mid-April or so?); the vineyards and orchards in Yakima are not blooming yet
The upper Cowiche Canyon trailhead parking lot has space for maybe 20 cars or so. Good flow of people coming and going to keep parking spots opening up. We hiked counterclockwise: South Rim Trail to Radio Flyer (up and down through creek drainages), down Lone Pine into the Canyon, east on Cowiche Canyon Trail (interesting rock formations and a number of bridges over the creek), and then returned via East Uplands Trail to the upper trailhead (uphill portion to scale the ridge).
The trail was in good shape. There was some dried mud on Lone Pine. There are actually a number of huge, "lone" Ponderosa pines in the canyon - beautiful. The canyon had some significant rockfall on the trail - I could not tell how recent. Saw my first butterflies and bees of the season - they seem to know where the flowers are :) Did not see anyone on the Rim Trail, but the Cowiche Canyon Trail gets more traffic. Most of the trails are open to mountain bikes, but this is cross-country terrain not screaming downhill, and everyone was sharing the trail and having a good time.
Valley Brewing has a good mix of IPAs, street tacos and outdoor seating to relax after your workout.
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