Loads of ticks! They started about half a mile after the second stream crossing. Brushed at least a dozen off of my legs while hiking, and found a couple on me in the car.

Saw several snakes, but I don't know enough to say if they were gopher or rattle snakes.

Streams were easily crossed. Vegetation got dense surrounding the trail about 2.5 miles in. I pushed through for a while, then turned around when a big snake was sun bathing on the trail in a clearing.

Did not notice any ticks, but did see wonderful wildflowers and two snakes (one a rattlesnake). The parking lot is in excellent shape with two pit toilets. Don't forget that this is BLM land, so you need an appropriate parking pass. We were able to cross the stream at both locations using fallen logs placed over the stream. The basalt was beautiful in contrast to the still-green landscape. The trail was clear until after the second creek crossing. At that point the trail conditions varied between easy to follow to bushwhacking to many side trails that were confusing. We walked until we got frustrated and then turned back. 

TICKS TICKS TICKS UGH.

Beautiful trail....but tick a palooza.

Quick trail run with my dog mid day as a break from driving from WA to ID. Beautiful canyon, creek, and spring growth. Plenty of spots for the dog to drink but watch for snakes. We went about halfway to the end before it got fairly brushy/overgrown and we spooked a rattlesnake in the very overgrown area so we called it there and turned around.

Dog got 4 ticks and I got 1 so make sure you tuck in those layers and tick check when you get back to the car!

It’s been a great week for flower hikes. This trail is in good shape. The creek crossing was no problem. Wildlife mostly consisted of vultures that seemed to be with us from beginning to end. We also saw one baby snake that slithered away before I could take a pic.
The Yakima River Canyon road is beautiful in the spring. We saw a small herd of big horn sheep on the drive out.
Our little old dog hiked a lot of miles this week. He didn’t protest when we out him in the backpack for the last few miles.