I took a mid-day walk on the Cowiche Canyon Uplands from Summitview on Wed.  We seem to be between blooms and there were not many wildflowers.  The day was sunny and cool.  Then yesterday I went out to Snow Mtn Ranch in the afternoon.  I walked across the bottomlands past the field where they had the controlled burn on Sun.  Already there were green shoots at the bases of the brunt Basin Wildrye.  I was going to go up the Wildflower Trail, but the wind was so strong I took the Cowiche Mtn Trail West up the ravine instead.  The Butterfly Bearing Desert Parsley (formerly known as Gray's Desert Parsley) was profuse in the ravine.  By the time I climbed out of the ravine to the junction with the Wildflower trail the wind had settled down a little so I went down that trail.  There were not a lot of flowers at the top of the Wildflower Trail, but there was some nice balsamroot lower down.  And finally, this afternoon I went out to Rocky Top.  I walked up Walk and Roll and down Green Harvester and Wholly Moses.  Once again there weren't a lot of flowers - mostly Hooker's Balsamroot and Cushion Phlox.  With all the cool weather forecast for the next week, it could be a couple of weeks before the wildflowers are good again over here.

Bottom Line: Balsamroot and lupine are blooming; the flower crescendo in the Yakima high desert grows!

Stats:

• Duration: 5-1/4 hours
• Vertical: 2400 ft
• Distance: 12-3/4 miles; two loops joined by the Cowiche Mt connector
• Weather: Mainly sunny with cloudy periods; ~60F but cool, gusty west wind
• Takeaway: Great high-desert double loop with abundant flowers that will only get better in the coming weeks as the Balsamroot and Lupine continue to bloom; south slopes have more flowers than north

The rain over the Snoqualmie Pass quickly gave way to sunshine around Easton - spring in the Pacific Northwest. Yakima is stunningly beautiful this time of year: rolling green hills (many visibly tinged with purple flowers, especially heading south on Hwy 97), orchards and vineyards beginning to bloom, and flowering trees everywhere. Breathtaking - do we really need to hike? :)

We decided to try something different, starting at the Rocky Top Trailhead, traversing over to Cowiche Mountain, descending for a loop in Snow Mountain Ranch, and then returning for another loop on the descent back to Rocky Top trailhead. 

The trail ascends from the Rocky Top trailhead. We stayed left to start, following the joint-use hike/bike trail over to the William O Douglass "Yakima to Rainier" trail. The beautiful trail follows a ridgeline all the way up to the boundary of Rocky Top, and then along the connector trail to Cowiche Mountain. The ridge vantage point provides views in all directions (including Mt Adams to the southwest, but Rainier was clouded in all day), with ample sunshine and thus flowers. Balsamroot is now blooming pretty much everywhere (with lots more to come) while the lupine is confined to warmer sunny spots on the lower reaches of Snow Mountain and Rocky Top. The flowers are much further along than this close-by recent hike.

The William O Douglas trail ascends steadily without concern for biker rideability. On the return through Rocky Top, to form a loop, we took some mountain bike trails, starting with the TNT trail just after exiting the connector trail. We did not see any bikers but note that these trails are designed as flowy biking trails and meander through the beautiful terrain in a way that might cause some to become impatient at the ~12-mile mark! :)

There is no biking beyond the Rocky Top boundary, which includes the connector over to Cowiche Mountain, and Snow Mountain Ranch descending northward from the peak. The latter are part of the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy, although Cowiche Canyon itself is in the opposite direction from Rocky Top. The connector trail is very beautiful, and you are bounded to the south by a wildlife conservancy. The loop on Snow Mountain Ranch is a familiar favorite for us, with perhaps fewer flowers than you can find over on the south side of Rocky Top right now. Rocky Top is aptly named with a beautiful rocky area at the beginning of the connector trail. Last year, there were still snow remnants on Cowiche in late March, but this year there is no snow, and the trail are dry and in excellent shape throughout. Quirky remnants of bygone days litter the landscape on both Snow Mountain (including a bathtub in the middle of nowhere), and Rocky Top, where some colorful old farming equipment dot the grassy slopes. 

It is difficult to avoid long grass on sections of this trail - long pants and checking for tics is the order of the day. There is a nary a section of this trail without flowers (especially our ascent route), although the grassy south-facing slopes have fewer flowers (at least right now). A planned prescribed burn on the connector will change that landscape a bit. There is an excellent variety of species blooming right now. The most comment flowers were probably desert violets (like everywhere), phlox, balsamroot, suncups, grass widow (these are likely to put on a real show near Cowiche Mountain summit shortly) and desert parsley, although the variety varied by aspect and elevation. Lupine is just starting out, with some dense spots.

Afterwards, we checked out the Cowiche Creek Brewery - a mere nine minutes from the trailhead by car. The brewery is tucked away in an orchard area with grassy outdoor spaces, food (Including veggie patties on any of their burgers for those so inclined) and good craft beer. A great stop to reenergize before hearing back to the West side. Of course, Yakima has lots of great choices for breweries after a good hike.

After several days of rain on the west side I headed east in search of sunshine and dry trails, and found both on this hike.  Beautiful fall colors and views on the drive over - especially along 12 heading east coming down from White Pass.  I never realized how many larches are along that stretch, and lower down the cottonwood and scrub oaks are beautiful right now.  On the trail, we encountered the beauty of views, clouds in the distance, and dried flowers/seed heads.  While sunny and in the 50's it seemed cooler as there was a fairly consistent breeze out of the west.  The area (Rocky Top) is aptly named as there are several stretches of very rocky areas along the trail up to Cowiche Mountain.  We saw a few other hikers and trail runners in addition to a few mountain bikers.  While it was a long drive from Olympia, it was a beautiful drive and hike.  

It was a lovely late summer afternoon to enjoy this wide-open-spaces hike. There are several trails shared with mountain bikers and horseback riders to enjoy. I chose to take the “Walk and Roll” trail which branches off to the left from the main Horse Trail. “Walk and Roll” offers a steady but easy elevation gain as it meanders across the base of Cowiche Mountain over and around natural drainage valleys. It eventually joins again with the Horse Trail and you begin a steeper, more direct ascent up the mountain.  When you come to the stone stile to cross a barbed-wire fence, cross it—you are then on the official William O. Douglass trail. The trail becomes rocky and I prefer to hike it with supportive boots with good tread rather than running shoes. Continue following the trail up the ridge to view both sides of the mountain: Upper Yakima Valley to the south and the Cowiche Valley to the north. Today my dog and I hiked only to the first false summit: a pile of rocks about 30 feet off the trail. Mileage to this point is about 2.4 miles, depending on the trails you choose to follow. We climbed to the top of the pile and ate our snacks and enjoyed the panoramic views of the whole Yakima Valley. Mount Adams can be seen to the southwest on clear days, but today was swathed in a blanket of clouds. If you want to hike to the true summit, continue another mile or so—you’ll pass by one more false summit on the south side of it. The true summit is just east of radio towers. To find the benchmark, leave the trail just before the fencing begins for the radio towers and head about another 30 feet to the top. The first time I went, my dog found the benchmark for me! The trails are almost always empty of hikers. Tonight, on our way down, we encountered one other hiker going to the summit to view the sunset. We hiked down the main Horse Trail as the sun got low and made the distant hills glow gold, then pink, then purple. Maybe someday Rollo and I will meet you on what has become one of our favorite local hikes.