Umtanum Creek Canyon — Wednesday, May. 27, 2015

Central Washington > Yakima

I'd forgotten how amazing this little desert canyon can be. Driving back from Utah to Seattle we frequently spend a night in the Yakima Canyon. The BLM has done a decent job over the past two decades cleaning up the canyon's camping and providing a clean and safe atmosphere (it wasn't always this way). We camped in one of the 5 reservable spots alongside the Yakima River and were awoken by a cacophony of birds. If you don't know the hike it begins by crossing the Yakima on a cable suspension bridge. Cliff swallows have taken up residence underneath it. Dozens of swallows darted back and forth to muddy spots along the river building their nests under the bridge. By leaning over the edge of the bridge you can easily get a firsthand lesson in mud-nest building. Very cool. Once crossing the bridge the not-quite-formal trail goes under the railroad tracks (which are quite active). Although there are plenty of quite worn and easy to follow trails there really isn't a consistent trail as it is broken up periodically by the whims of the river. A BLM sign states that the "trail" is closed at 3.25 miles from February through July. I suspect this is for Big Horn calving. We walked primarily on the south side of the creek although there are segments on both sides. Being early morning the foliage was very wet and dewy. Numerous birds called out to us and the air was refreshingly crisp. We identified several flowers, grasses, and trees; passed by an old homestead where all that remains are overgrown fruit trees and some fence posts, and scanned the northern ridge line for big horn sheep. Alas no big horn were spotted by us today but from my experience this is unusual. My favorite attraction for the day was a series of beaver dams. No more than a mile or so up the canyon we marveled at their knowledge of the topography and engineering to get what they need out of the landscape. When all was said and done we'd spent two glorious hours wandering through dewy grasses looking, listening, and wishing we were kids again...