First and only warning: my hiking buddy did find a tick in her hair after this hike. Ticks are out people so be cognizant of that and be careful.
Other than that... we once again headed East from Seattle to escape the rain. The I 90 pass in April is definitely touch and go but we got to the trailhead in two hours. Once there, we paid the $5.00 cash only parking fee because we realized my "America the Beautiful" pass that is also accepted there had expired. So we paid and crossed the bridge and went under the train tracks so follow a path that criss-crossed of a babbling creek almost like a wide double helix. There are many offshoots from the trail (uncertain as to whether its from human activity or game trails) but the real path was never terribly difficult to find.
Being in the canyon, we heard the calls of many hawks that seemed to echo off of the beautiful basalt walls on either side. It was incredible. We saw goats at the tops of the ridges as well. The fluffy white, rolling clouds in Central Washington were a welcome sight after the dark rain clouds that have frequented Seattle skies in the Spring time.
We never got too wet from the creek crossings and we never got too dirty. Just another warning to watch out for ticks. It was a pleasant hike that inspired us to look into geology classes. After the hike, we wandered into Ellensburg for a burger. Check out the sweet town on your way in or on your way out.
It was a wonderful day.
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