Umtanum Creek Falls — Saturday, Jun. 18, 2022

Ethan & I took a walk out the trail known to some mountain bikers as Break on Through to the Other Side which starts at the pullout just west of the Umtanum Falls Trailhead with the two large boulders.  There are no facilities here.  We started on the trail that goes up the canyon known to Cascadians as Eleanor's Canyon, but after a quarter of a mile or so we went left on the obvious 2-track.  This trail climbs moderately to the bench on the south side of Umtanum Canyon and then follows the bench all the way to the Durr Rd and perhaps beyond.  We only walked a couple of miles and found a nice lunch spot with a dramatic view into the canyon just below Umtanum Falls.  We spent our usual hour or so and then headed back the way we had come.  It was cloudy in the morning (beautiful light), but cleared off in the afternoon, though we had a nice cool breeze for the walk back.  The trail was quite overgrown in places (sometimes up to my hips) with grass and a tall mustard.  But someone had walked this way a day or so ago so we didn't have much problem finding our way.  Once we were up on the bench, not only was it lush and green, but the wildflowers were profuse (though the lithosols were a little disappointing after what we saw last week on the other side of the valley).  I expect if I had kept a list it would have rivaled those that AlpsDayTripper has included in his recent reports.  Of course, the nice lush green is due mostly to cheat grass and bulbous bluegrass, two nasty invasives, but it was beautiful nonetheless.  We didn't see any wildlife except for some raptors and at least 4 nighthawks, a bird I haven't seen in years.  We diligently followed my wife's instructions to find no snakes, no ticks, and lots of wildflowers.  We also didn't see any other hikers.