Our original plan was Sasse Mt. and snowshoes, but we were driven southeast by increasing rain and winds. We chose a loop trip of Rattlesnake Canyon as a good alternative. To get there, go south on Canyon Road at the Ellensburg Exit from I-90 (note the Appleseed Restaurant is closed and up for sale!). Begin looking on your right after passing the 17-mile marker, to find a very nice US BLM parking area with toilet facilities and a swaying suspension bridge that will take you across the river and into Umtanum Canyon. These are not officially maintained trails, so prepare to keep a sharp eye out for the path. Take the first fork left into a draw and follow uphill, gradually traversing northerly and up steep ridges to the old Ellensburg-Selah toll road. Proceed along the rolling, hilly road toward the north trailhead, finding an optional cutoff about a mile or so south of the north trailhead that will head downhill toward the canyon, past an old cabin site (Barnes Cabin on the map), on an old jeep track and later descend game trails until you reach the flat, grassy meadow at the north end of the canyon. Here a well stamped boot path leads into a quiet land between walls of volcanic palisades where the meanderings of Umtanum Ck. create many crossings, changeable year after year. Often crossings are over beaver dams. The beavers are active this year and we counted two quiet, slick-surfaced wide spots where the little engineers were active. Flowers along the way--hedgehog cactus, larkspur, brodaeia, daggerpod, shooting star, bluebells, mission bells--not peaking just yet, but beginning to show. Down in the canyon it's quite warm, sheltered from the chilly, scouring winds of the ridge top. The trail occasionally crosses volcanic talus, winds through aspen groves, past great ponderosa, presenting delightful variety. An occasional campsite log makes a good resting spot. The old settlement foundations are still there toward the end of the canyon and the long-ago planted orchard, lilacs and quince bushes are blooming. We heard some favorite songs, larks and canyon wrens. Just one party met, who had camped the night before and seen Big Horn Sheep up on the canyon banks. One drowsy snake sighted. None of the many crossings was awful, just fun. We had a benign adventure in the sunlight while the west got storm weather. Est. mileage, 12 miles. Est. gain, 2,500. Go east in the spring -- but not after late May, since later there will be active rattlesnakes and poison ivy.

Prompted by trip reports here, we attempted to hike the bottom of the Umtanum canyon. Unfortunately the Canyon Road was closed due to some event, so instead we headed up to find the canyon where it was crossed by the Durr Road. The road is quite passable by a passenger car. On arrival we decided to scramble up to the top of a nearby ridge by way of animal trails, returning by a different set of trails. No large animals were sighted, but there were signs of them along with lots of birds. Very few blooming flowers. Some booming firearms, nothing too close.

I won't go into a lot of detail(well, OK...I will...), since I was just exploring here 2.5 weeks ago and gave everyone a bible to read about that day. But I returned with Dan in tow for another visit, with hopes of locating roaming, awesome beasties in the Bighorn Sheep class again - ya know, he had to play with the new camera lens and all. Heck, we didn't even have to hike...gliding across the icy roads in the Yakima River Canyon, deep in thought about which side canyon slot we would explore off of the Umtanum Creek Canyon should we not find them varmits in the first 2-3 miles in...I decided to start looking for some elk or deer by the river. Not three seconds after my FIRST look across the river, I saw something...before I could really say I saw something, the huge full curl of horns from the large Bighorn Sheep ram became clear, and we stopped as far off the road as possible, both jumped out, ran across ice and snow to the back of his truck to start hauling out photography equiptment that was packed for hiking. Within mer seconds, we were both firing off images of the beautiful animal. Soon, we realized we weren't looking at just the one, but over the next 20 minutes we realized along the train track, on the slope, and mostly in the thick brush along the river, we had on our hands a herd of 21!! At this time, I realized I wasn't even wearing a coat, and I was kneeling down in the snow and ice and was numb as it was in the 20s outside. More film, a coat, and we spent a good 30 minutes here. It was cold out, but the heat from the purring motordrives on our cameras rapidly firing off images kept the hands warm :-) Oh, we did then go hike up Umtanum Canyon for about 4 hours too. No animals there this time, but massively more detailed exploration of the beaver activity, dozens of dams, and we found an active den site with a basketball size opening in the ice on the creek where the wonders of nature go in and out. We hiked in about 6-8"" of snow up in the canyon, and roamed all over the place tracing the lives of numerous animal species...no need to try to follow any trail out here. When we left the area, some Bighorns were still visible in the same area of the Yakima Canyon, but high up the slopes grazing in the high-up sunshine.

Hiking in the desert in snow – what a great day it was! I was looking for unique desert photo images, solitude, and a chance at seeing signs of the abundant winter wildlife in the L.T.Murray Wildlife Refuge, and I was right on track for all accounts. After stopping a few times along the Yakima River in the Yakima River Canyon for some exploring, I arrived at the parking area by the suspension bridge crossing over the river. It was 29 degrees and very overcast, and I hiked off without wearing my normal hiking hat for the first time since about March! No, a wool stocking cap was in order. The canyon was filled with rich unique views that quickly filled four rolls of slides. The various species of sage were dramatic close objects in a desert of snow, with the canyon walls and slopes rising behind every view. There was hardly an area in the snow that wasn’t tracked over by deer, elk, coyote, and game birds in only the three days since the snow fell. The creek is the only water source for miles around, and it’s easy to see the freeway paths of animals that come down from the canyon rim to get water. Amazing stories that must unfold daily here during the hard days of winter! Massive beaver activity is a real treat a mile up the canyon, where eager workers have created a ladder effect of pools in the creek with an amazing network of 4-6 dams in the creek. Signs of their tree falling are virtually everywhere in the alder, cottonwood, and willows along the creek! Some had been clearly worked on in the past 1-2 days! The paths they left in the snow were fun to follow. After another ½ mile or so, the path leads to needing to cross the creek, and after I found a way across my prints in the snow were the first by humans since the snow from this point on. It was shortly thereafter that I was aroused from my dreamy state of nature exploration by thundering crash sounds in the willows ahead of me. Suddenly, to my disbelief, a lifetime treat of a spectacular nature show unfolded for the next 50 minutes: nine stunningly beautiful Bighorn Sheep came quickly out, and then slowly worked their way up the slopes and rocky areas out of the canyon away from me! Four huge rams, five ewes, and once I was kneeling down behind a large sage plant, they weren’t as threatened by my presence. The one large ram took 20 minutes to work his way to just 200’ up from my vantagepoint. Initially they were only about 80’ away from me! Rather than hike much further up the canyon, I took the time to enjoy this lifetime event, and then did head up the canyon another ½ mile following the fresh tracks in the now 4” of snow of the lone ram that left the group and went up the canyon. Once I saw that ½ mile up he had headed down to the creek below I headed back. I then spotted him backtracking on the other side of the canyon to regroup with the rest of the herd! The trip back out was spent wandering to my hearts content off the normal “trail”, discovering rich diversity in plant life to photograph in such a setting. Wild roses were thick in places, with their rose hips making a striking red contrast to the white/brown/yellow setting around them. I even found a lone little 3’ tall Ponderosa Pine tree a good 3 miles up from the Yakima River trailhead! It is hard to imaging hiking this canyon in any other type of condition than with the snow, as it was such a great day. I’m sure the wildflowers are grand as well, but for now roaming free without any concerns over ticks and rattlesnakes was a pleasure! This will be an annual late fall/early winter trek for me for certain.

The drier east side provided a weather-window for visiting Umtanum Canyon. Located just out of Ellensburg, this hike offers a unique desert experience. There are no crowds and plenty of opportunities for camping and exploring. Beginning on the uphill side of the drainage, the trail is well-defined for about a mile and a half. It then becomes somewhat chaotic immediately after passing a photogenic waterfall. Thorny brush, rocky areas, and multiple stream crossings and re-crossings punctuate the trip from here. However, so do quiet ponderosa pine groves, relaxing meadows, and colorful aspens and maples. We observed a buck with a full-on rack on one side of the canyon. Industrius beavers have provided several mini-detours along the way. My friend pointed out a hiding frog. I located a vigilant orange-clad hunter. This time of year seems an ideal time to visit. Just be sure to wear some bright orange. Carhartts (or the like) and leather gloves make for an easier time dealing with the desert brush.