Lovely hike with the gorgeous canyon walls, easy creek crossings, birds and other wildlife to see (including some big horn sheep(?) up high on the canyon wall). The only down side was the incredibly large number of ticks on ourselves and the dog. Even after very careful inspections before we headed home, we kept finding more crawling on ourselves and in the car! There was a small fire about 2.5-3 miles up the canyon that looked like it had been started by lightning earlier. We helped Boy Scout troop 498 clear fuel away from the burnt out region around the tree that had been hit by the lightning and get some water on the flames.

Took a morning hike (trail run) around 7AM. Wildflowers are in bloom and the lilac grove at the old homestead were fragrant. But the rattle snakes are out. Seemed early but there they are. I would definitely do this hike again...maybe in April. Have to apologize if someone found our doggy poop bag. We had it in our hands for the whole trail and when we got back to the parking lot it was not there. Hiked back another mile to find it, but didnt. Maybe it fell in the river coming back over the bridge.

Started late- around 3:00 from the TH. Made it up the trail a few miles before finding an excellent camping spot next to the creek right after the second crossing. Flowers are blooming- not yet peak but I couldn't complain! This hike has always been spectacular- every time we go. It was incredibly windy at night on the 5th- tent blew around like crazy before we made it to bed. Today was much more pleasant- temperature was warm and there was a slight breeze. The interesting parts: we had a lovely tick experience to start the day, some poison ivy, and also a nice rattlesnake. No bites and no poison ivy rashes to report though! There was a gopher snake that came towards us at good speed (up until it realized that we were there). The word must have gotten out today about this trail- there were a TON of people walking up there! Overall- a lovely hike- just be sure to protect against ticks (check yourself at the end), stay out of the ivy, and keep your eyes open for snakes.

Foliage is growing in along the trail, blocking visibility somewhat, but the stream crossings were passable over several log "bridges". Look left at the first creek crossing to see a beaver dam. Lilacs and apple blossoms are in full bloom at the settlers cabin: follow the boot path to the right after the first creek crossing to discover the cement foundation, stairs, and sidewalk inscribed "Nov 25, 1933". 4 bighorn sheep were spotted along the ridge bordering the canyon. They appeared to be shedding out their winter coats and otherwise looked healthy. We hiked further up Umtanum Ridge to see balsamroot, lupine, & phlox just coming into bloom. Also saw a pygmy short-horned lizard ("Horned Toad"). Great views of the Stuart range from the ridge.

We started with lunch in Ellensburg, and were concerned because the wind was very strong there. The wind was much more moderate down in the canyon. We started our hike just before 2:00 and hiked 1 1/2 hours up and an hour down. We took the trail up toward the ridge. Many wildflowers were in bloom. Phlox and balsam root were dominant from a distance, but there were many other flowers as well, including larkspur, woodland star (Lithophragma), and a few lupines (they were just starting). The sagebrush was not yet blooming. The birdsongs were quite lovely, especially after we reached grassy uplands. We saw only two butterflies -- they were Sara Orangetips. The most significant entomological note was the ticks -- we treated our dogs with Advantage the night before, but still collected several ticks from each one, and half-a-dozen from our clothes and ourselves. We did close the bottoms of our pantlegs in anticipation of this difficulty.