Went for a mini 'thru hike' this weekend between Ellensburg and Yakima starting from the Manastash trailhead and ending at the Yakima Skyline trailhead. We used CalTopo to map out a roughly 31-mile route that included as much trail-time as possible, but also used a few dirt roads to make it work.
Starting from the Boy Scout Trail, the trail here is in great condition and has a decent amount of tree cover to keep the blazing sun off of you. The elevation gain is pretty rapid here, but after you make it the top, you'll have a few miles of fairly mellow trail. We followed something called the 'Gun Smoke' trail from here and connected up with the dirt road to Umtanum Falls.
Umtanum Falls was by far the busiest section of trail we visited. When we hiked down to the parking lot around 11 it was nearly full and bustling. We headed down to the falls to check it out and filter some extra water, then backtracked a bit to connect with the next section of trail. Trail signage from this point on was fairly minimal, so I can't say for sure what the actual name of the this next bit of trail is.
We followed this route up until our campsite at Oasis Springs just over 13 miles in from our starting point. We had hoped to find some water here (given the name), but had no such luck. We did get to enjoy a massive hail storm, though. We set up tents in a nice tree-filled spot and called it a night pretty early.
The next day, we got an early start to beat the heat and followed Umtanum Ridge east for quite a bit until making a ridiculously steep descent down an old gravel road towards Roza Creek. We had hoped to find water in Roza Creek, but unfortunately it had already dried out for the season. With that option out the window, the only water source left was straight from the Yakima River. We stocked up on water down by the train tracks and enjoyed some shade while we ate our lunch.
From here, we headed up something signed as "Horse Trail" which I believe is also the Upper Yakima Skyline Trail? It's a steep and super exposed ascent which was not great in the midday heat. But it was also incredibly windy, which helped to cool us down (and also made me feel like I blow right off the edge of the canyon). This area had the best views of the entire trip -- you're hiking almost directly above the Yakima River with Mount Baldy looming just to your east.
After a bit of ridgeline hiking, the Horse Trail joins up with the classic Yakima Skyline Trail and it's all downhill from there until the trailhead. From our campsite, it was about 17 miles to the trailhead.
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