I took a walk in Umtanum Canyon this afternoon. I left my truck about noon under sunny skies and walked a mile or so up the canyon to where major side canyons come in from both sides. Most of the canyon was in shade, but here it was sunny until, of course, I sat down for lunch, when the clouds moved in. It stayed mostly cloudy for the rest of the day, though there was a fairly nice sunset as I drove home through the Yakima Canyon. The trail was compacted enough that it was easy walking without snowshoes or traction devices. The most difficult part was the suspension bridge, which was very icy. I didn't see much wildlife today: only one bald eagle across the river as I drove up the canyon, a big horn sheep way up on the ridge behind me as I ate lunch, a porcupine in the top of a ponderosa pine near the mouth of the canyon that some folks from Seattle were trying to photograph, and a female downy woodpecker going after seeds on the dried mullein stalks, but the canyon itself was beautiful.
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