My old friend, Jeff, whom I hadn't seen in probably 10 years, was passing through the area today and we met up at Umtanum Canyon for an afternoon hike. We walked about 2.5 miles up the canyon and back. We had no difficulty crossing the creek. We didn't see a lot of wildflowers, no bighorn sheep, & there were plenty of other hikers in the canyon, but the cottonwoods were that lovely lime green that they have when they are just leafing out. It was a sunny, warm day & they were spectacular. It was a wonderful afternoon with an old friend.

Megann and I took the Umtanum Creek Canyon trail with our two dogs. Right now the trail is either muddy or iced over so be prepared for unsure footing. We didn't notice much wildlife today except for a bluejay heckling us! Nonetheless we had a great walk with good scenery.

My boyfriend and I did the trail yesterday for my birthday. It was quite chilly, I would suggest bringing some gloves! Other than that, parts of the trail were covered in ice. Both of us ended up falling on the ice at some point, but we just laughed it off. We spotted some bighorn sheep to the left of the creek, past the patch of alders! I was so excited!

Ethan & I went back to Umtanum Canyon again today, but instead of going up the canyon we took the trail up the first side canyon to the left (south). When we reached the aspen grove with the spring & stock tank near the head of the canyon we took the left fork of the trail that follows the old service road up around Pt 2017 and then south along the bench above the Yakima River. We walked as far as Pt 2016, where we found a nice overlook for lunch. The point was a little more exposed than the rest of the route and we had a cool breeze as we ate. We were also right on the edge of the clouds and sat mostly in the shade while just across the canyon the slopes were mostly in the sun. We had nice views, but the light was a little flat to make it very dramatic. About the time we were ready to start back a train went by below us. Ethan counted 113 cars. The only wildlife we saw was a couple of bald eagles in the Yakima Canyon, but there was still a little fall color hanging on in places. There were quite a few cars in the parking lot, but there were only two other people on our route.

After setting up camp at Big Pines, we hiked 2 miles into Umtanum Creek Canyon. There was still some fall color, but the leaves from the aspen and cottonwoods were mostly on the ground. Beavers have been working to divert the creek, but the creek crossing was easy. We saw a doe and her 2 fawns at the beaver dam on our way in and again as we returned to the TH.