Tieton River Nature Trail — Sunday, Mar. 21, 2021

I hiked this trail as far as the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation Canal, a seemingly out-of-place, open-topped concrete tube carrying water high on the mountainside above the river valley below. My navigation app measured the round-trip distance at 11.00 miles/17.70 km from and to the visitor center at the trailhead — quite a bit longer than the distance given in the description. I am not sure where the trail description’s large, flat peninsula with views up and down the river is, but the trail seemed to end near the canal on a small, rocky point with a similar view overlooking the riverbend. There did not seem to be another view like it anywhere else along the trail. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant enough hike. I encountered only four or five groups of hikers, although the solitude was tempered by the whir of cars across the river on Highway 12. Up to the third footbridge, the trail is in good repair and relatively flat. Beyond the third footbridge, the trail climbs moderately and crosses a steep mountainside, where the trail narrows to the width of a single footstep for a couple short distances. The soil here is loose and muddy (and, in one short section, still icy). A fall would not likely be deadly, but would result in an unpleasant tumble down the mountainside for a considerable distance.

Spring has not quite penetrated the mountain folds. With the chill breeze and crunch of yesteryear’s oak leaves underfoot, it could have been an autumn day, were it not for the few wildflowers popping up here and there. Don’t expect many just yet: yellow bells dotting the flats at the beginning of the trail and patches of sagebrush buttercups scattered on the forest floor farther on. The intense color of the red osier dogwoods along the river below the trail brightens the otherwise drab color palette still awaiting the greening of spring. Throughout, austere rock formations visible on both sides of the trail add year-round interest.