Ray Westberg was the popular wrestling coach in Ellensburg who died in 1997 at the young age of 47. This trail was built and dedicated to him, with a memorial placed at the high point on the ridge. The route isn't heavily used by hikers, but it is popular with birds--birds on the ground and in the air.

You can expect to find grouse scurrying through the brush and Lewis's woodpecker pounding on the trees. In the air, look for a mix of northern flickers, bluebirds, meadowlarks, and the ever-present red-tailed hawks. If birds aren't enough of an aerial display, this is also butterfly heaven in late spring. Birds don't do it for you? Well, deer and elk also roam the region, and no one can find fault with the spectacular views--especially from the site of the Westberg Memorial at the top of the ridge.

The trail starts on an old jeep track that first crosses an irrigation canal on a set of railroad timbers, and then heads up a steep gully. Be cautious because this stretch of trail is prime snake terrain. At about 0.3 mile, the trail splits, with both paths leading to the same junction about a mile farther up the route, so you can actually turn this into a short loop. Go right. From the split, the trail (both of them) climbs steeply. Indeed, in the 1.5 miles from the split to the memorial site, the trail gains almost 1800 feet in elevation, all without benefit of switchbacks.

As the trail climbs, the scenery gets even better. Birds are likely to keep you company along the entire trek, and amazing flower displays are possible all around: brodiaea, lupine, balsamroot, phlox, paintbrush, yellow asterlike beauties, microsensis, and others. When the bitterroot is in bloom, any exposed rocky soil area flushes pink with its blooms.

The memorial site, which can be seen from all along the trail, offers stunning views of the Kittitas Valley and the sweep of the Cascade Range, with Mount Stuart capping the mountain scene. Continue another 3.0 miles if you want to get to the University of Washington's Manastash Ridge Observatory.