Umtanum Creek Canyon — Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010

Central Washington > Yakima

I was thinking we'd get a fall color show at Umtanum, but that is still a few weeks away. Instead we got a beautiful end of summer palate with soft yellows, gold and sage, all under a deep cerulean sky and warm sun. Only a few people around on a week day. Went with my friend MT who is recovering from knee replacement and he did great on the mostly level, wide trail. There is one obvious fork in the trail about a mile in, go to the right and cross the creek. The left fork turns into a nasty bushwack after a while. Right after you cross the creek there, if you detour to your right and follow a faint trail along the creek, past a fire pit, you'll come to the foundation of an old house. In that general area there are also a number of old apple trees full of apples right now. This is a great late fall hike, 2.5 hours or so from Seattle, easy for most people, and its often nice over by Yakima even when it's cloudy on the west side.