Umtanum Creek Canyon — Friday, May. 2, 2003

Central Washington > Yakima

LarBear and I tried the Waptus Lake trail but there was still snow patches in the parking lot. From previous experience we know there would be ""rotton snow"" on the trail so we changed plans to sunny Umtanum Canyon. For the first time ever the parking lot was full of cars and more people hiking the canyon than we had ever seen. Normally it is easy for us to find a campsite but all normal camping areas were taken. No bugs yet on a day that was mild, windy with sun until evening when a light rain fell. Saw a dead rattlesnake on the side of the trail that unfortunately somebody had slaughtered. If you don't like snakes hike in town. Please don't harm these useful creatures. We also had a bull snake in our meadow camp so we just shooed it out of our way. We almost always see Bighorn sheep on the hillsides of this canyon but we saw none in Umtanum this time. We did see several small bands of sheep on the hillsides of Yakima Canyon. There is a lot of beaver damage in Umtanum Creek and one small area of the trail is nearly washed out but still easy to hike through.