Left from Bellevue this morning and it took a little over 2.5 hours to get to the trailhead via I-90. Directions are good to the trail - be mindful of the "immediate" turn right after the bridge. It is immediate! Wildflowers are in bloom - beautiful right now starting right at the trailhead. We went up the canyon trail about 3 miles, past the aspens, past the brushy area and continued onto the rocks for a while. Finally gave up on the loose rocks, had lunch and headed back down. We could see the top of Mt. Adams in the distance about half way up and there were Big horn sheep in several places on the ridge. Great hike!

Go to Waterworks Canyon! Go now! The balsamroot, lupine and phlox are amazing! Many other flowers are also in bloom, serviceberry, currants, larkspur, lomatiums, are just a few that add to the display. We only got about 2 miles up the trail, which is pretty darn steep (to the aspen grove), but the wildflowers started right at the parking lot in an amazing mass of blue, yellow and pink. Keep going for more masses of flowers about a mile up, and we heard that the ridges were blooming, too.

WTA's website hosts a cover photo entitled, "Big Skies, Early Wildflowers". Today's outing in Waterworks Canyon and beyond was a big hike, with big skies, big wildflowers, Bighorn sheep, big bushwacking and big views! Too Slim and I set out to see wildflowers on Mount Cleman. We did not intend to hike to the top. Rather, we had our eye on a ridge that departs from canyon trail to the west, where we'd seen wildflowers on a bench while looking from the saddle east above the canyon. From the aspen grove in the creek we took the game trail to the left and traveled west and up towards a wall of lava rock stretching up the hillside. We traveled carefully on slippery, dry game trails until we could look up and see a break in the lava rocky spires high above. From there we hiked straight up through the scree shaft and followed the ridge up, up, up. Flowers continued to thicken and we came to an amazing rock garden full of wildflowers. The balsam root and lupin and phlox were absolutely perfect this afternoon! We couldn't contain our excitement at the beauty of this place. The way tops out at a flat spot... my tent would LOVE this! We met two dozen Bighorn sheep and a dozen deer in the bowl just over the crest. At this point the landscape changed from rocky and full-on flowers, to native grasses and swooping hills. This trail is NOT for everyone. It's very strenuous, the trail is more of a trace, it's extraordinarily steep, and there's no easy way down. We ventured east towards the edge of the ridge looking down onto the canyon trail. This spot is directly west of the saddle on the main trail to the summit. We always trust the game, so followed their trail down a very steep and rocky path on dry, sunbaked soil to the canyon trail. From there we continued out to the gate. What a big, big show! Big skies, big flowers, Bighorn sheep and a big day!

On a lovely November day, I parked just off the Chinook Pass Highway, just west of the junction with Hwy 12, put out my State recreation pass, and headed up the relatively steep trail into Waterworks Canyon. The trail is in good shape for the first 3 miles, following the now dry creek bed up through wide open hills and patches of rock outcroppings. After a mile or so, the trail starts to pass through some cottonwoods, now golden, and then into the aspen groves, amazingly golden. A bit farther up the canyon I came upon one of the mountain sheep herds that can usually be seen here. They watched me pass without moving at all, and they were still there when I came back down the trail. After about 3 miles the trail mostly disappears and becomes sheep and deer tracks across some rather nasty rock hillside. I turned around here. The view is great, with Mt. Adams showing it's top in the distance, and layers of hills with the aspen to set it all off. A lovely hike, especially this time of year.

We did not actually hike the rim as I am a wimp when it comes to walking on scree. We walked the canyon trail to where it became very brushy. We didn't have our GPS with us, but it seemed like we hiked at least 3 miles. There were many varieties of beautiful wildflowers from the beginning to our turn around area. Balsamroot, lupine, puccoon, Thompson's paint brush, wallflowers, penstemon, and phacelia were some of the flowers seen. The day was extremely windy in the canyon which is not good for wildflower pictures, but it kept us from getting too hot! The many rock formations add to the beauty of the canyon. We met only one other hiker who was a fish and wildlife man who was returning to the TH after searching for a collared deer who had apparently died. He found the transmitter but no collar or deer. "Very mysterious" were his words to us! We saw 6 sheep on the West side of the canyon on our way in.