Umtanum Canyon
Jul 03, 1999
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Umtanum Creek Canyon
- Region: Eastern Washington -- Yakima
- Agency: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife - L.T. Murray State Wildlife Recreation Area
- Avg Rating: 3.60
- Be Aware Of
- Overgrown
Because of the wet side’s low elevation snowpack, we chose the dry side’s Umtanum Creek Trail (#20 in 55 Hikes in Central Washington) over the 4th of July weekend and we were pleased with our choice. The trail follows Umtanum Creek, which drains into the Yakima River, up a canyon with steep walls of reddish brown basalt that contrast beautifully with the lush green of the cottonwoods and aspens. Air temperature at the trailhead was about 70 degrees and as we progressed up-canyon, cooled noticeably and quickly, aided by the overcast and occasional showers.
A few short minutes up the trail, my daughter stopped when she heard rattlers on both sides of us. I suffer from the common middle age affliction of minor high frequency hearing loss and didn’t hear them at all. The rattlers’ warning apparently falls within that particular frequency range, so boomers listen up: when in rattler country, hike with someone that doesn’t suffer from the same malady. It would be interesting to hear of others who’ve had a similar experience and what measures they took to compensate for the disability.
As we moved further up the trail, we made diligent use of our trekking poles but saw or heard no further evidence of snakes, probably due to the temperature drop, and much to our relief because the vegetation was dense and knee high in places, often obscuring our view of the ground. Soon, the unexpected beauty around us took our minds off the danger lurking in the grass and we began to appreciate our surroundings. The canyon bottom is not unlike a long oasis, framed by the complex structure and colorings of the canyon’s steep sides. Numerous, colorful birds and their music accentuated the spring like atmosphere.
At several points along the trail we were faced with a choice of which fork in the trail to take and we opted for the fork that showed evidence of more traffic which, in several instances, proved how many hikers had taken the wrong fork also. When we later reviewed Spring and Manning’s guide, we realized that if we would have kept it handy we could have avoided most of the wrong forks. Prior to the trip we had attempted to purchase a large-scale topo of the area but couldn’t find one at REI or Metsker’s.
At about three miles up the trail, we found a delightful campsite accessed by an easy ford across the creek and the following morning we were rewarded with a stunning view of the canyon walls in the early morning light; absolutely beautiful and a confirmation that we had, with the help of Mr. Spring and Mr. Manning, chosen a very enjoyable hike and one I highly recommend to those lacking familiarity with the beauty to be found in the dry side of our state.
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