Umtanum Creek Canyon — Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020

Ethan, Brenda, Jonah, Karen, & I took a walk up Umtanum Canyon on this sunny, cool day.  We walked about 1/2 mile beyond the second stream crossing, then backtracked to the creek and climbed up to our favorite lunch spot on a buttress overlooking the canyon.  It was pleasant in the sun except when there was a cool breeze and we stayed about an hour before heading back.  Most of the leaves were brown from the fire, but many trees appear to have survived and many of the shrubs are already starting to regenerate.  There were quite a few branches over the trail, but they were all easily walked around.  It will be very interesting to see what the canyon looks like next year.  There were a number of other hikers enjoying the canyon today, but we didn't see any wildlife.  The Yakima Canyon is starting to color up, but there is still lots of green in there.  NOTE:  The Umtanum Recreation Area (parking lot & footbridge to the canyon) will be closed for renovations starting tomorrow (10/26) until the end of May 2021.