I was the informal leader today of a loop hike up the SE Ridge of Waterworks Canyon & down the canyon itself. This hike was instigated by Kim Brown of WTA staff who contacted myself & Cascadian Kim a couple of months ago about coming over and doing a hike with us. This was the day we decided upon & I chose this destination as being a hike that wasn't well known outside the local area (as it turned out, Ethan & I were the only ones who had been on it before). The party included Kim Brown, Anna Roth of WTA staff, & Kim's friend, Hiker Jim, from the westside, and Cascadian Kim, her husband Phil, Bill Dezellem, my hiking partner Ethan Schrank, & myself from Yakima. We started up the ridge about 10:00, taking photos and getting acquainted. At the step in the ridge between 2400' & 2500' we traversed out into the hillside of basalt buttresses, pillars, cliffs, & spires farther than I had gone before, then traversed back to the crest of the ridge and made our way to the top of Pt 3582 where we sat down for lunch. The views out to the Yakima Valley and back to the body of Mt Cleman were as magnificent as ever, but the mountains were mostly socked in, though after a while a snow-clad Mt Aix showed itself. After 45 min or so, Bill, Cascadian Kim, Phil, Anna, & Hiker Jim headed for the summit of Mt Cleman while Kim Brown, Ethan, & I sat around for a while longer, then made our way slowly down the trail to the floor of the canyon and down the canyon back to the cars. We were slow enough (& the others were fast enough), that they caught up to us about 1/4 mile below the big fork in the canyon. We were back to the cars about 5:30. The day partly sunny & mild with lots of clouds and a stiff breeze at times. The hillsides were green, we saw a small herd of bighorn sheep, and the was a very wide variety of wildflowers in bloom from top to bottom. The only other people we saw was a party on the ridge across of the canyon. Everybody had a great time and enjoyed being introduced to new friends & a new hike. And I enjoyed showcasing one of my favorite close-to-home shrub-steppe hikes to people who probably would never have found it on their own. What a great day!

Kim Brown, HikerJim and I headed over the mountains to Yakima for a hike with the intrepid Cascadians. Led by mytho-man and joined by Cascadian Kim, Bill, Phil, and Ethan, we ventured up fantastically scenic Cleman Mountain via a series of faint boothpaths. We knew it was going to be an adventure when, towards the beginning of the day, mytho-man said, "There's a trail over there, but let's go this way." Our ascent up one of the stairstep ridgelines on 14-mile long Cleman Mountain was on steep, loose gravel. It's entirely possible I wouldn't have made it without Cascadian Kim, who lent me one of her walking sticks, which I used for the whole trip. If you go, you'll want to bring your own set. We enjoyed the wildflowers (which are at their peak right now) on the way to a false summit where we had lunch and happily watched several bighorn sheep frolicking on the slopes around us. After lunch and a bit of a rest, a group of us set off for "the top", which isn't the actual summit of the mountain, but was the highest point we made it to that day. Another group rested at the top for a little while longer before heading down into Waterworks Canyon via a trail with a much more forgiving grade than the one we'd come up. The light was constantly changing, and views only improved as the summit-bound group got higher. At the "the top" we had views of Mount Aix, Nelson Ridge, and a peak we concluded was Old Scab Mountain. Clouds obscured some of the mountains in that area -- I'm sure on a clear day that the views are even more incredible. Our descent was quick, but we all took time to photograph the flowers, as well as the two rattlers we saw on the way in. The lupine and balsamroot are ridiculous right now; every few feet someone pulled out a camera for photos. The bitterroot are ready to pop, too. Visit in a couple weeks and you should see them looking lovely. edit 5.5.2014 - I wasn't effusive enough about how wonderful the company on this hike was. As my first hike in Central Washington, it was wonderful to explore this area with such avid and entertaining hikers as the Cascadians. I had more fun on Saturday than I've had in a long time on a hike. Can't wait to visit again.

Originally we planned to start our trip at the Cleman Mountain trailhead. The road to the trail was closed, so we parked and started our trip at the previous trailhead. This was a great hike in the high desert. A clear day gave us views of snow capped peaks. The wildflowers were fantastic, and we saw toads, a snake, and a few colorful butterflies. I would suggest hiking poles. There's not always a defined trail and poles made it much more enjoyable to go up and down the steep grade. Also, if you are planning to backpack, bring plenty of water. We did not find any water sources. We had a map of springs in the area, but there was nothing in the one closest to where we camped. We saw tons deer and elk scat, but no deer and elk. However, we had an uncomfortably, very close encounter (6 feet at most) with a mountain lion. Luckily, it was scared and ran away. Keep dogs on leash.

Kim arranged a hike with mytho-man (David Hagen) from WTA trip reports. He and a group of other Cascadian club members hike out of the Yakima area. Kim, Anna, and I met in Bellevue at 7:05 am and headed east. It was damp and cloudy on the drive until past Easton when the sky began to clear. We made a couple stops along the way and arrived at the Yakima Ranger Station at 9:45 am. We met the Cascadians and were soon on our way to the trailhead. a few miles later, just after the junction of Highways 12 and 410 we left 410 into the dirt parking lot at the base of Waterworks Canyon. At 10:05 we were packed up and went through the fence gate onto our route. There is an obvious trail heading up the canyon. David planned a loop trip coming out the canyon. Right beyond the gate we crossed the creek bed and headed up onto the base of the ridge. It's easy walking as there is little brush. A short way up we found the boot path. While not a trail, the boot path is fairly obvious as it climbs high above the creek. There are also a number of animal tracks and a few trails that contour below the ridge top. I believe that one can stay mostly on the ridge. We took a detour part way up. There were a few clouds moving in but the sky was mostly blue. The forecast for wind was upgraded in the morning. It was steady but never became too strong. The trailhead is at about 1640'. The ridge climbs rapidly and moves through a number of plant zones. The balsamroot is near its end down low. It gets better higher up. I was expecting the ridge to be a moderately steep walk up grassy slopes. In fact there are some neat rock formations along the way. After each steep section we waited and reformed the group on short flatter spots. The views of the west side of the canyon were excellent. Green grasses with sun and shadows. The greener creek bed in the canyon was very green. To the west we could see snowy peaks of the Nelson Ridge area. I was there last year on a scramble up Mt. Aix. Right below us was the junction of the Tieton River and the Naches. The Tieton comes from a dammed reservoir and is very clear. The Naches is much browner with silt. Off to the east we could see Yakima down the Naches Valley. The view became even better as we climbed higher. Someone noticed small white dots far ahead of us. My maximum zoom brought in three big horned sheep. I have seldom seen them in Washington. We took a detour David suggested. it took us below the ridge through some neat rock formations. The tread was pretty minimal as we side hilled on steep terrain. After heading far to the right we swichbacked to the ridge and picked up the main track once again. Someone noticed a lizard and it just froze while everyone stopped to take a photo. That was not the last wildlife sighting of the day. The overall wildflower display was very good. Not acres of yellow and blue but a wide variety of flowers and colors. White and pink phlox was seen in many places. Also penstemon and larkspur on the middle ridge. There were a number of small pink and lavender flowers whose name I can't recall. As the ridge flattened the rock garden exploded with ground hugging color. I was more than ready for lunch when we reached the false summit. Our pace was slowed by all the views and wildflowers. Much time was taken up with photography. We had hiked about 2+ miles gaining 1700' in 2:45. It was almost 1:00 pm and I was more than read for lunch. There was some wind but less than we had felt down lower. Now came decision time. Some of the Cascadians wanted to drop to the saddle then continue higher up to the main east-west ridge of Cleman Mountain. The real summit was several miles to the west but from the upper point on the main ridge views would open up to the north as well. Mts. Rainier and Adams along with the Cascade Crest were lost in cloud. We would have better views but not those seen on a totally clear day. We had about the same distance and elevation gain to go as the trip up to this point. David, our Kim, and Ethan chose to enjoy the false summit and then head down to Waterworks Canyon on the way out. Anna, Cascadian Kim, Bill, Phil, and I chose to continue higher. We dropped down to the saddle and removed some clothing. It would be warmer heading uphill at a faster pace. We set a good steady pace as we headed up. After a steeper start the upper ridge flattened and again we found some great color from low growing wildflowers. Near the top we even saw some yellowbells just beginning to bloom. There are old roads on top. We ended at a very nice viewpoint. The Stuart Range was largely in clouds. Speaking of clouds they had thickened overhead. Still no rain but we went from sunshine to dark and cloudy over and over again. Going down was not much faster. They cameras were stowed for much of the ascent. The scenery was too spectacular to repeat that on the way down. They are not quite ready to bloom but we did see bitterroot flowers about to pop. In one spot I even noticed blooming wallflower. As had been the case most of the day, not profusion but great wildflower variety. On the way back down we had a rattlesnake sighting. In all my years of hiking east of the crest I have only had half a dozen hikes where I saw rattlesnakes Half of them have been the last two years. Back at the saddle we followed the very sketchy trail that drops down to the canyon bottom. Sketchy but far better than trying to drop down the steep and loose rock slope. Down at the creek bed I discovered the creek was dry. In places it was running but for the most part it is finished. There is a lot of greenery and wildflowers. I saw several flowers there that I did not see on the ridge. Among them were woodland stars, ballhead waterleaf, service berry, death camas, and more. The most interesting sighting was on a slope of balsamroot and lupine. We caught up with Kim, David, and Ethan here. One bunch of lupine was blue at the bottom and white on top. A most unusual flower. We also saw another rattlesnake in the canyon. It was after 5:00 pm when we reached the trailhead. For the day we hiked a little over 8 miles with about 3400' of elevation gain. Until we reached the canyon there was precious little shade. I was thankful for the afternoon clouds and the wind. If it had been 85 degrees and sunny I would not have fared well. This will be a spring or fall hike for me. We joined the locals for dinner in Yakima then headed home. From Cabin Creek on it rained the whole way, hard at times. It was nice to have had a mostly sunny day when the west side was gray and wet. Special thanks to the Cascadians for their great hospitality. Kim, Ana, and I had a great time. I have posted 56 photos and one short video to my website at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips - 2014" on the left margin.

Access:The trail starts at a small undeveloped parking area just west of the intersection of HWY 410 and 12. Look for a small bridge crossing the creek flowing in Waterworks Canyon. Things to consider:Discover Pass required. This is a relatively steep "hiker/game" trail. Depending on pace, allow up to 3 hours to the summit. Trip description: My preferred route- about 5 minutes into the hike, climb the west ridge as rapidly as you can. This gets you up so you have views for the entire climb. Once on top of the first ridge, climb a broad basin, then follow game trails along multiple "false summits, to the summit. On the summit, look north to the Enchantments. Flora and fauna: Lower down- balsam root, pink phlox, lupine, a few death camas, multiple small flowers; mid mountain-lomatium, daisy, and multiple small flowers; upper mountain-violets, white phlox, yellow bells, prairie starflower, bitterroot greening up, and multiple small flowers. Deer, sheep(followed me at a distance for about 20 minutes), bull snakes(didn't follow me), lizards, grouse.