In mild, spring-like conditions, hiked about a mile up the canyon on a guided nature hike sponsored by KEEN(Kittitas Environmental Educational Network). We saw bighorn sheep on the hillsides above us, a new beaver dam and lodge in the creek and all sorts of native and introduced plant species. KEEN is gearing up for their annual Get Intimate with the Shrub-steppe field day on May 11. Information booths will be set up at the trailhead parking lot and guided walks will address the area's geology, climate, flora, fauna(including, of course, the snakes) and human history. Check out KEEN's website at www.eeaw.org/keen/ for more info.

We accessed this trail from the Umtanum Creek footbridge on Yakima River Canyon Road. Shortly after you cross the bridge and the railroad tracks, you turn left; the right turn takes you along Umtanum Creek. The left very quickly goes up a steep climb along a rocky trail. (This is described as an ""old bulldozer track"" in the ""55 Hikes in Central Washington"" book, but looked like it had not seen a bulldozer for at least 30 years.) At about a half mile, you encounter a trail junction. We first took the trail to the right. This takes you away from the river view but rewards you with a fabulous 270 degree view eastward towards I-82. You can also see a peekaboo view of Ellensburg through an opening in Manastash Ridge, and a drop-dead view of the entire Stuart Range. We went up for approximately another mile from the trail junction. After we sidehilled along a burnt portion (burnt some years ago), we got up to a plateau. The trail gets faint and then disappears altogether. We scrambled up a small hill to see the fabulous view. We were still not at the very top of the ridge. We saw another hiker going up further, but we don't think he was following a trail. By that point, it is mostly grass (as opposed to sagebrush), so it is not bad bushwhacking. We returned down to the trail junction and took the left fork. After only about 10 minutes up a not-very-steep grade, we reached the views of the river. (This trail is described in ""55 Hikes"" as a 4-WD track. Again, it's been many, many years since this was driveable--and there's no way you can reach it by vehicle anyway--although it is more road-like when you get up on top.) The trail continues around the ridge for more river viewpoints, but we turned around at this point. Still wildflowers on both trails, surprisingly more than along Umtanum Creek.

Went again to Umtanum Canyon, this time on a backpack. It's a great early season hike, good place to try out your gear without expending a huge amount of energy. We hiked in about 3 miles, set up camp, had lunch and went on a dayhike. The ""trail"" in the canyon is actually more ""trails"", beaten by boots, winding back and forth across the creek, from one side of the canyon to the other. The trail has a few washouts and the casual trail has been rerouted around brush. It could stand a major overhaul, but the difficulty keeps the people down. As we hiked further up the canyon, it became difficult to follow the main route in some places, but we always seemed to get back on track. We actually made it almost to the powerline before time ran out and we had to turn back. We saw numerous snakes and lizards, including racers, bull snakes and RATTLERS, big and small. The baby rattlers are out and being immature, they don't get out of your way. We stared down one cute little guy who was so small we couldn't hear his rattles. Warning! The flowers have advanced a bit. The serviceberry is beginning to set fruit, as are the apple orchards. I saw a tree with beautiful clusters of white blooms which might be a wild hawthorne. Will have to do some research when I have time. We did spot a couple of sheep (goats') lots of various sized hawks and raptors, and lots of smaller birds. Some naturalist groups from Kittitas were conducting nature walks on Saturday, so the parking lot was full. This is a nice area and it was great to escape the gloom of the Puget Sound. It was hot on Saturday and more moderate on Sunday. Pretty soon it will be too hot in the canyon for anybody but rattlers and heatlovers.

The sage-steppe regions around Ellensburg and Yakima make for excellent early season excursions, although there is a price to pay in a long drive. However, we hit paydirt with great weather, leaving behind Puget Sound wrapped in clouds and snow at Snoqualmie Pass. The trailhead is located off the old Yakima Canyon highway, a scenic drive by itself. The river was running well, although lower than I've seen it this time of the year. Gravel bars were evident. Fly fishermen and drift boats were busy plying the reaches of the river. Umtanum Canyon is a typical oasis for the area, filled with cottonwood, alder, aspen, willow, roses, snowbush, bunchgrass, bitterbush, rabbitbush and sagebrush. Not a place to go if you have allergies. The creek is REALLY low. Already some of the beaver ponds are getting stagnant. There is a lot of wildlife in the area, but little was evident due to the large population of hiking bipeds. Now for the flower report: The spring flowers are about two weeks late this year. Balsam arrowroot is just coming into bloom on the hillsides. We did see phlox, stickweed, death camas, brodiaea, Oregon grape, lupine, larkspur, Puccoon, gold star, flowering golden currant, Squaw currant, serviceberry, Desert paintbrush, desert parsleys, Sticky geranium, Franklin's sandwort, Prairie starflower, Hooker's balsamroot, Red Osier Dogwood and evidence of many other species about to come into bloom in the next couple of weeks. Since there is an old homestead in the canyon, there were also some gorgeous old apple trees, naturalized lilacs and some Japanese Quince. I thought I heard some hawks calling from the cliffs. I do know that there is a huge population of raptors in the Columbia River Basin region. It would be interesting to spend more time birding and studying flowers on a quiet weekday.

I wanted to escape the spring storm that was coming in to Western Washington so I convinced Chicago Bill and The Rayman that I could find us some sunshine. We headed out I-90 thru the pass with heavy rain and snow coming down; the guys were skeptical. Between Cle Elum and Ellensburg it stopped raining but was still overcast. We drove thru the Yakima Canyon to the trailhead, still overcast, but breaking up. We packed up and headed for the supension bridge, the sun was coming out, am I good or what' The boards on the suppension bridge are looking a little worn (one actual was broken thru)- be careful. The guys got a kick out of the Railroad signs on the trail, but five minutes after crossing the tracks a train came thru. The first couple of miles are in excellent condition, one stream crossing just below a beaver dam. The flowers are just starting to bloom and the trees have their new leaves. When the canyon narrows it gets a little brushy and you cross the stream a few more times. We went about four miles up the canyon and stopped for lunch, laughs and stories by the side of the creek in the sunshine. Couldn't get any better. We hiked back down the canyon and then took the trail to the Umtanum Rim for incredible views. Rounded out the day with barbecue in Cle Elum and driving back into the rain and storm.