Umtanum Creek Canyon, Yakima Skyline Trail — Saturday, Jun. 19, 1999

Central Washington > Yakima

The trail is in good shape for the first couple of miles, after which erosion, overgrowth and beaver civil engineering began to hinder our progress. Soon we were bushwhacking through the thick brush of the canyon floor or scrambling over rock slides more than we were following any sort of trail, and decided to climb up out of the canyon about 3/4 of a mile before reaching Durr road, intending to gain the Yakima Ridge trail. The canyon side, though steep and covered with sagebrush and other dry, thorny vegetation, made for easier progress than the jungle-like growth that exists along Umtanum creek, and we were soon rewarded with views of Manastash Ridge, Kittitas Valley, and the Stuart Range. High clouds prevented vistas from being as spectacular as they could have been, though. We passed what's left of Barnes' cabin on the way -- little more than a few sun-bleached planks and rusty nails remain. Following a network of animal paths and old roads, we reached the ridge soon thereafter, near the radio towers. The Yakima Ridge trail is a 4WD road that follows the top of the ridge and offers great views in all directions. After a couple of miles from the point where we connected with it, the ridge and trail turn to the south-east, away from the Umtanum trailhead, so we headed down one of the ravines leading back to the canyon. Steeper than the ascent, this part inflicted the most pain on our knees and feet, and route finding was a bit trickier. We hooked up with the side trail that leads out from the Umtanum trailhead, and were soon gratefully stretching our legs at the car. Remarkable wildlife viewing: bighorn sheep (along the canyon cliffs), deer, rattlesnake (hiding in the rocks on the canyon shoulder), coyote, horned lizards (along the ridge top), a swarm of dragonflies, many butterflies, and all sorts of birds including hawks, grouse, magpie and heron (!). Beavers were not to be seen but their handiwork certainly was; we passed dozens of dams in various stages of construction or decay. Mosquitoes and red ants were in ample supply as well. The wildflowers appeared to be past their peak but there were still many blooming. Good campsites occur every 1/2 mile to mile or so along the trail. We hiked about a mile in on Saturday evening to the first good campsite, left camp around 7:30am Sunday morning, and were back at the trailhead by 4:00pm that afternoon. We saw two other backpackers pass our campsite Sunday morning, and didn't meet another soul until reaching the popular side trail up the canyon side near the trailhead. All in all, a very worthwhile trip.