I took a walk on the Cowiche Canyon Uplands from the Scenic Dr trailhead on this partly cloudy, breezy afternoon.  As you can see from the photo, 245 acres of the Uplands is for sale and at risk of development.  The Cowiche Canyon Conservancy has launched a capital campaign to raise the $1.2 million needed to purchase the land.  All of the land behind the sign could be houses if the money isn't raised.  For more info go to the Conservancy's website at cowichecanyon.org.  Now, after that shameless plug, on to the trip report.  I walked out the old jeep road to the junction with the 2-track that comes up from the north, then took the trail that heads generally northeast to connect up with the South Rim Trail.  From here I walked back to the jeep road and around the South Uplands Loop and back to my truck.  As others have reported, the wildflowers are starting to bloom:  lots of Canby's Desert Parsley and Yellow Bells, along with Grass Widows, Gold Star, and Sagebrush Violets.  It was too windy for flower photos, but there was a very interesting sky to the east & south. 

The early flowers are out above the south rim and all of the trails are dry.

Flowers: Above the south rim there are lots of Yellow Bells, Desert Parsley, and Grass Widows. I also saw Sagebrush Buttercups and some early Sagebrush Violets (love the purple two tone). On the Winery trail there are Buttercups and Parsley. The only flowers I saw in the canyon were some Buttercups on the west end. Many of the bushes in the canyon are starting to bud.

Route: I did a 10.5 mile loop. Starting on the east end I followed the canyon until the trail that goes up to the winery the back way, from the east (it's on Gaia and Caltopo). This is a steep bootpath and slightly scrambly in one part, 9 out of 10 people will be ok with it. After coming down the Winery Trail, go east a bit and go up the East Uplands Trail. Using Gaia and the Signage I was able to follow the south rim all of the way to west end of the canyon. The last section goes through an area strewn with antiques (a junkyard). Gaia is a little off on the location of some of the main trails, but is accurate on the less traveled trails. I finished with a 3 mile walk through the canyon. Watch this space for a Caltopo map of the route.

Nature notes: I saw at least two different Raptors in the canyon. There is a beaver dam about a half mile from the east end. If you look for color, you will find it; besides the flowers, my eye was drawn again and again to the colorful lichen. A link is provided to the Nick Zentner talk that explains the geology of the canyon and much more.

With a mix of blue skies, cool clouds, distant showers falling from thunderheads, and sweeping vistas, it's easy to say that central WA is big sky country.

Did Uplands trail to south rim. Baby parsleys seen and foliage for grass widows but too early for flower. Some mud, but minimum. Uplands trail at risk to no longer be open for public use, as this private land is now up for sale. Go to cowichecanyon.org for more informatio.

Wet snow and slush at Snoqualmie summit and about 10 miles beyond. After that, smooth sailing. Yakima River Canyon Road is free of ice and snow.  Beautiful blue sky as I headed towards Yakima.  I started by checking out to the Oak Creek Wildlife Area in hopes of finding some big game at the feeding stations. No such luck. Not enough snow yet to drive the elk and sheep down for an easy meal. 
On to the hike... I headed over to Snow Mountain Ranch. There’s a nice clean honey bucket down the trail from the parking lot. New interpretive sign since my last visit. Tall grass and lots of fresh coyote poop. I saw blue jays and an owl. A big gray cloud blew in and hail started flying sideways. By the time I hustled two miles back to the car the cloud was gone and the sun came back. I decided to head East and drive to Cowiche Canyon hoping for better weather. 
It was great. The canyon blocked most of the wind and there was no sign of clouds or hail. Beautiful red twigs and dried flowers along the trail. Fantastic rocks and easy walking on a smooth virtually flat trail. 
I was lucky to spot some bighorn sheep and deer on my return trip through the Yakima River Canyon. 
PS. Glad I had sunscreen today. Wonderful to feel sun on my face all day. 

I took my annual New Year's Eve late afternoon walk on the Cowiche Canyon Uplands today hoping for last light of the year.  There were too many clouds in the west for a sunset, but I did get some nice ones before the sun sank into the clouds, including these.  Hopefully they'll prove to be auspicious.  Happy New Year!