Just wanted to post some pics of The very beginning of the trail after the very recent damage from the Evans Canyon fire. The Yakima river road apparently just opened today. The fire is pretty much out now.
Looks like the fire burned only on the west side of the Yakima river. Most of the brush on the hills is blackened. Fortunately almost all of the trees and vegetation along the Yakima river is completely unscathed. The beautiful Ponderosa pine look great!
The valley bottom along Umtanum creek is a mixed bag, but it looks like a lot of the trees here will make it. I did not explore further up the creek however. It will be interesting to see how it regenerates in the coming years.
Update 9/11/20:. The trail is closed!. No access to the suspension bridge
Comments
wow... the trail isn't brushy anymore!
Posted by:
wafflesnfalafel on Sep 10, 2020 08:53 PM
Thank you for your report and pictures! This is one of or favorite spring and fall hikes. The aspen in the canyon are beautiful in the fall. It is sad to see the damage of the fire, but it looks like the aspen may have their beautiful fall colors. Maddy must have been very happy for your return home!
Posted by:
Bob and Barb on Sep 10, 2020 10:06 PM
I saw that the canyon was a part of the burn and was curious about the severity, thanks for the report and photos. It's good to hear about the Ponderosa Pines, they are beautiful.
Posted by:
AlpsDayTripper on Sep 11, 2020 04:27 AM
Tks Maddy, also one of my favs. Perhaps with the absence of the scrub vegetation, the trail can be consolidated and organized into a clear path to reduce all the social trails. So glad to hear the Ponderosa and Aspen are a okay.
Posted by:
Jasper & the Girl Scouts on Sep 11, 2020 07:15 AM
Yes, the ponderosa pines look great. I'm not totally sure about the Aspen trees. They are about a half a mile up the valley. My pano picture shows a green patch up the valley and I hope those are the aspen trees.
Posted by:
Maddy on Sep 11, 2020 07:49 AM