I led my 2nd Winter Walk of the season for the Cascadians to Umtanum Canyon on the cool, cloudy day.  We walked about 3.25 miles up the canyon before the talus became a bit slippery, so we turned around and walked back a little ways to a lunch spot beneath some towering cliffs with a view down the canyon.  It began to snow lightly about the time we turned around and snowed off & on the rest of the afternoon.  After lunch we headed back the way we'd come.  Most of the party saw some big horn sheep and I spooked a large fish out of the shallows & into deeper water.  We only saw a few other people in the canyon.  It was a somewhat dreary day, but whatever the weather, Umtanum Canyon is a special place to walk.

This is a great hike to get away from the rainy winter weather on the west side of the Cascades. Others have said that this hike is underrated: I completely agree with them! On our drive through the Yakima River Canyon to the trailhead we encountered a herd of about ten bighorn sheep along the side of the road. We got to the trailhead at about 11. There was a hunter shooting his gun in the parking lot to align his sights before going out. This appears to be a popular hunting spot - there's a sighting target right there in the parking lot - so do be aware of this and make sure to wear bright colors during your hike. The trail for the Umtanum Creek Canyon and Umtanum Ridge Crest are actually both located at the trailhead for Umtanum Creek Canyon. Note that the WTA map incorrectly shows the Ridge Crest trail location as being at the other end of the canyon, even though the directions to this trailhead are correct. Both of us were feeling ambitious, so we decided to do both hikes in one day for a total of about 12 miles round trip. 

We started with the Umtanum Creek Canyon trail, following the WTA directions across the amazing little suspension bridge, under the railroad tracks, and to the trailhead. While you can follow WTA's suggested route through the canyon, we actually found that there are many well-trodden trails throughout the canyon, giving you the option to choose your own route to some extent. It's worth noting that the field with "several boulders" mentioned in the hike description is really a field with two fairly small rocks - don't expect really significant boulders to mark your way. The creek was fairly low and easy to cross, as long as you're wearing waterproof shoes. Since the water level was low, we were actually able to keep going on a trail for a while after the WTA description said it should become difficult to proceed, although we turned back to give ourselves enough time to climb up the ridge. Taking our time, the hike took a little over 3.5 hours.

After returning to the trailhead, we immediately started up the Ridge Crest trail. The trail gains over 2000 ft in under 3 miles, so it's a pretty good workout. Trail condition was good in most places, with a few places getting pretty muddy. Toward the end of the climb up, the trail becomes extremely steep for a brief period and there was a small amount of snow on the ground. This might be somewhat difficult later in the season if there's more snow accumulation - I would come prepared with microspikes. We reached the top just as the sun was setting and had a quick bite to eat before getting completely frozen and quickly heading back down with our headlamps now on. On the way down we caught a pair of eyes in our lights off on the ridge to the left: the shadowy outline of a coyote! Or at least probably - we did see a lot of coyote droppings.

Overall a great trip. Great wildlife - bighorn sheep, bald eagles, and possible coyote sighting; great foliage, including a bunch of really fragrant sage; and great geography, particularly in the canyon, where there are a lot of interesting and bizarre igneous formations on the canyon walls. Combining both hikes into one day was a pretty decent workout, but either hike taken alone would be pretty easy if you're looking for something more relaxing, particularly the Creek Canyon trail.

This trail from the parking lot at the Yakima River is an adventure, though essentially without elevation gain.  We hiked in across the bridge, following the instructions on the WTA description as best we could.  Even so there were plenty of side trails and ways to wander off the "main" trail.  All river crossings were easily navigated at this point.  We saw evidence of beaver activity, but very few birds.  We passed several old sites that could have been homesteads, with apple and walnut trees and the last one had a nice picnic table on the creek side of the trail. We probably got 2.5 miles in on this trail and could have gone on, but a storm was brewing and we headed back before getting to an obvious end of the trail.

With stormy weather coming into western Washington today, I decided to head east to find some sun and enjoy the tail end of the fall color. The fall color was definitely past prime but there were still a few trees with nice color.  The Aspen have almost all lost their leaves.  This would have been perfect about 1-2 weeks ago.  The canyon was amazingly abandoned today.  I didn't cross paths with any people today.  

I've been to Umtanum several times in the past but this was the furthest that I have ventured up the canyon.  Beyond about 1.5 mi the trail becomes more difficult to follow at times. Other times it is obvious. Whenever the trail seems to end in impenetrable brush I would always find the continuation on the other side of the creek.  I definitely recommend long pants and long sleeves because the trail is very brushy with some thorny plants along the way.  Expect to get face whipped a few times.

At about 3.5 miles there is a cool Basalt tower formation that's just north of the creek.  This is a cool place to explore and scramble to get some views.  I think that this would make for a perfect turn around point for a day hike.  I continued on for about another 1/2 mile.  It was increasingly brushy and rocky and probably not worth the extra effort.

On the drive back home it was cool driving into the dark and spooky storm that was coming through Cle Elum.  It was snowing lightly at Snoqualmie pass.  

8 mi RT to my turnaround (7 mi RT to the Basalt tower). 500 ft elevation gain total.

Gorgeous fall hike under a mostly cloudless sky, while the western part of the state was cloudy and occasionally raining. Most trees are just starting to turn. My report will just focus on the one non-straightforward part of the hike, which is the trail. The trail is not signposted and cell phone signal is limited to non-existent in the canyon, so first-time hikers should be sure to save a copy of the WTA hiking description. We set off to hike the full three miles out and back but never found the creek crossing (we also forgot that there was a crossing) and ended up following another trail (an animal track?) in and out of a few thickets and then up onto a scree slope on the south side of the creek that led to a side canyon before petering out. Saw a few other groups thrashing around off trail during our hike. Given how mellow the terrain is, and how (relatively) developed the parking lot area is, it's a shame that the trail is un-signed - and that there isn't really a formal trail in the first place. For those wanting to hike back into the canyon for more than a mile, be sure to make an offline copy of the description and ask others on the trail for information. And be prepared for some basic route-finding. Even with the frustration of losing the trail, though, we had a wonderful time.