Short hike up to the top of the hill on the north side of Umtanum Creek and saw maybe 4 or so small blooming balsalmroot and 1 small blooming lupine. So it is not time for wildflowers yet, but in April this hill will be lit up!

Scouted the route of the Yakima Skyline 25K and camped overnight at the rec area on this beautiful spring day. The crest trail is sun exposed from the parking lot and has no water - I nearly ran out. Hiked the canyon trail at dusk on the lookout for bighorn sheep but none sighted (although I think I saw some of their tracks in the mud). Great drive through Yakima Canyon in the morning and took a "recovery" run on the Iron Horse trail in Cle Elum on my way home.

Popular spot today, but didn't feel crowded on the trail. The creek was a little high, making the crossings a tad bit treacherous. (We did some bushwhacking to find more suitable places to get across, and eventually turned back at about 3 miles, rather than get wet.) Saw kestrels and a skunk (!) which I think we surprised at one of our 'unofficial' creek crossings. No bighorn sheep today. Much of the trail is muddy -- not deep, but slippery.

There are two very different options for this hike, you can go left and climb up on top of the canyon and enjoy the warm sun or you can stay in the cool valley and cross the meandering stream every 15 minutes. There is a serious lack of trail markers and signs... and although you never feel in danger, if you have an agenda/viewpoint - make sure to understand which trail will take you where. A few groups were trying to find the falls (which most access from a different trail head). The creek crossings are fairly easy for a seasoned hiker with boots, but may require a few extra minutes for casual hikers who wear tennis shoes. The temperatures varied throughout the 6.5mi RT valley floor, we were warm in the sun and minutes later crossed some frozen ground. Always a good idea to bring layers for winter/desert hikes.

This was our first time hiking this trail. We enjoyed seeing the rock formations and variety of trees in the canyon along with the frequent beaver dams along the creek. The nice thing about the trail was that we were the only ones there on a Friday morning. It was quiet and we could hear the birds and the tumbling creek. We got off the main trail for a portion and got bogged down in the brush along the creek, until we saw that there was another trail along the other side and we headed over there and agreed we were on the main trail. Right now the trail is closed at 3.25 miles to protect wildlife- but it is due to reopen in early summer. Part of the trail was pretty muddy with standing water, and you couldn't walk through it. It was necessary to walk up onto the side of the trail, and it was evident that is what everyone else had been doing. I've added a photo of critter tracks walking down the muddy path. All in all it is a very nice and refreshing hike.