Get the negatives out of the way, they're minor. First, no sheep. I've seen sheep in this area before, but they can cover a lot of territory in a few hours and disappear. Second, it's a noisy hike if you stay on the river side. The source: semi-truck air brakes as they're coming down the long decline on I-90 across the river. If you're looking for quietude, you might want to take the side canyon traverse that the WTA description mentions, and go to the other side of the hills. Third, I saw lots of balsamroot buds, but only sporadic bursts of color from actual flowers. In my view, there's another week to go before the flower show gets really good. A hiker I met on the trail disagreed, she thought it was already at peak. See what you think.
Positives? It was a blue-sky 75-ish day walking along cliff tops watching the river flow. Shorts and a t-shirt, which I don't get to do much this time of year on the west side of the Cascades. Not much wind today, in a location that can get mighty windy. If you're a geezer like me there's a nice, long, mostly level trail once you do the short but steep climb the first half-mile or so. If you've got young legs, there's a couple of hills to climb to get more expansive upriver/downriver views.
Did the Los Chilangos taco truck on S. Main Street in Ellensburg on the way home. Yum!
Comments