Umtanum Creek Canyon, Umtanum Ridge Crest — Sunday, Apr. 23, 2023

Usually WTA does a great job of providing information on hikes but for the hikes in this Eastern WA area I feel they are missing a lot, as there are significant trails visible on Caltopo unaccounted for.  The hike we took was the map-named "Vista Trail" but is not listed on the WTA website, which is a shame for a hike of its caliber.  All-Trails does have it listed so check there for info. (Edit this trail on WTA is known by a different name so I have added it to the trip title, thanks for the informative comment). Having said that the trail leaves from the same trail head as Umtanum Creek Canyon trail so that's what I picked for reference.  The trail head parking area is formally called the Umtanum Creek Recreation Area.  It's a BLM site so that's federal (state parking passes no good), and is a really nice jumping off point.  Clean and well maintained, two outhouses well stocked, you can even camp here.  And no problem finding a parking spot either even though we did not arrive until close to eleven.

To access all the trails here you need to cross over the Yakima River on the lovely suspension bridge.  Then duck under the lowish rail road trestle to find the pathways heading out to different points.  We took the left at the V-junction on the main trail, and our trail climbed the side of a minor creek canyon quite steeply on sometimes clinker rock tread.  It dropped down to cross the creek at a muddy spot and then took off again away from the creek now heading up to the prow of the rolling hill to the right.  Once up on the slope you realize there is a lot more climbing ahead as the trail takes a direct route up toward Umtanum Ridge packing almost 2200 feet of climbing in a scant two and a half miles.  No switchbacks here to ease the way although the trail is an easy to follow foot wide dirt path with good grip.  A quarter mile shy of the ridge trail-braiding begins as there is an even steeper section to climb.  I almost stalled out here and had to get my poles to make the grade as there are no handy bushes to lend a veggie belay helping hand and I was tired.  Fortunately a hiker coming down was able to confirm that the climbing was almost done.  Once over that it was much easier going to the trail end which is actually a 100 yards beyond the ridge road you cross.  And wow what vistas there are.  Too cloudy today to see distant mountains but it's an almost 360 panorama across the amazing landscape eastern Washington.  The cloud-scapes were intense with a mix of dark gray and white clouds with blue sky and sun breaking through.  We stopped for a quick lunch enjoying all the views but for the first time this year were annoyed by the bugs, time to put the bug spray back in the pack.  Heading back down we took our time admiring the huge views rolling back down to the Yakima River Canyon, all while admiring the smallest and sweetest of spring flowers blooming amongst the tallow shaded grassland.

Not many people headed up or down.  Such a hidden gem.  With temps in the mid-50s on the way up and mid-60s back at the bottom it was perfect weather for tackling a hike that with such extreme sun exposure would be plain nasty in the heat of summer.  We were concerned about ticks and wore long pants and gaiters as the trail passes through tall grass and shrubby growth, but had no issues and other (braver?) people were hiking in shorts.