Manastash Ridge - Observatory Road — Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022

Ethan, Brenda, Jonah, & I took a snowshoe up the Manastash Observatory Rd on this cold, almost foggy day.  The Wenas-Ellensburg Rd was plowed, though has some ice/compact snow in places coming up from the Wenas.  There was a nice pullout plowed at the start of the Observatory Rd with room enough for 3 or 4 cars.  We snowshoed as far as the crossing of Umtanum Creek (snow-covered) and climbed up to a Ponderosa Pine with some bare ground underneath for lunch.  We were right at the bottom of the fog.  We ate leisurely, but didn't linger after we were done.  Except for the first 1/4 mile we had to break trail, but we only sunk in an inch or so and in the open places we didn't break through the crust, so it wasn't hard going.  There has been lots of freezing fog up here, so everything was coated with beautiful hoarfrost.  We didn't see any wildlife and had the entire place to ourselves.