Today was a fantastic adventure! I only captured a fraction of what I saw on camera, but hopefully it's enough to give you a taste of my day. I left Cedar and Luna at home because ticks are an issue on these trails sometimes, and I expected I might see rattlesnakes as well. Easier to not disturb them without the pups.
It was a beautiful day! Mostly sunny, with the occasional clouds passing through. Umtanum Canyon starts by crossing the Yakima River on a suspension bridge. It bounces a little. Rolling rocky hills and bare lichen-painted columns of rock paint the backdrop here. It is a much different environment than my typical hikes.
The canyon has kind of a braided bunch of trails throughout. I tried to stick to the "main" trail, but I ended up coming back a different route than I went, so I must have missed a turn or creek crossing somewhere. Luckily on this trail, you can't really get lost - go up the canyon and come back down the canyon. If you end up having to cut through to find the trail though, be careful. There are venomous snakes about that don't like being trod on. The trail sometimes can be hard to make out at all, but usually you can find orange flagging marking the way.
Flowers were out in abundance. I apparently need a different flower book, as I could not find some of these.
The best of all was the wildlife. I was hoping to get a good photo of a rattlesnake, as I've seen them here before. My first snake of the day though, was a large gopher snake.
Another two feet down the trail and I glimpsed this little rattler slithering back into its hiding place.
Not long after that and I saw a large garter snake, all in the same area. I didn't get a photo of that garter snake, but a bit later I got this gopher snake stretched across the trail. I saw three gopher snakes today.
Where I stopped for lunch, 3 miles in, I also saw this little garter snake slithering around in the rocks.
What I could do without were these disturbingly large spiders that were hunting in the rocks along the creek.
Then, my final snake of the day, this little rattler was draped over a warm rock near the trail. He had his little maraca ready to shake-a-shake if I seemed threatening, and I tried not to. I had a good zoom by the way - I kept a respectful distance, and he never tried to flee or rattle.
Another awesome surprise were the birds. I saw a ton of yellow rumped warblers and another little yellow bird that refused to hold still for a picture - possibly yellow warblers.
There was an osprey that flew through, quite a few vultures circling, and then I saw this hawk land in a tree with a talon full of dead grass. I thought it was odd to land in a tree that didn't contain its nest, with some nesting material. I was wrong! When I got home and zoomed in, I could see that he held a snake along with the grass. He was looking for a good tree to eat his prize in. I can't seem to identify this hawk. I originally thought it was a Coopers, but the white bib is throwing me off.
I also spotted this lone turkey up on the slopes while I was scanning for deer and bighorn (I saw neither of those). I did see a skeleton that was likely a deer or sheep though.
There were quite a few vultures soaring around the bluffs also.
I heard a few critters scuttling around in the brush, but as far as mammals, just saw this large ground squirrel on high alert.
Another thing I love about the hikes in this area are these grand old pine trees. Are they ponderosa? They are huge and look especially striking since there are not so many trees around.
Umtanum Canyon was historically a ranch I believe, and there is something of the foundation left. I have only ever been able to find a concrete block/footing amid the alders and there is too much nature distracting me to pay too much attention to it. One thing that is left behind though are fruit trees. The best is this old apple (I think it's an apple anyway). Usually it's humming with bees, but I didn't hear as many today.
There were also butterflies about. I took this shot of a swallowtail and didn't even see the 2nd one until I got home and looked at my photos.
As I wrapped up Umtanum Canyon, a train came rumbling and screeching down the track along the Yakima River. The trail goes under this little railroad bridge, so I got a cool, albeit noisy, look from underneath as well.
Next stop was Umtanum Creek Falls. This one is a much more popular hike, so although I'd hoped to see larger wildlife like deer here, I saw mostly people and dogs. The only critter I saw was this squirrel, and a few pretty swainson's thrushes along the creek.
The falls are pretty though! I love the way they spill over this basalt. You have to hike up and around to get a good view of them, but don't take the obvious trail, as it is a bit treacherous (although pretty much everyone takes it). If you look, you'll see a trail that goes up above the most direct one, and there is actually enough footing to place your feet, which is helpful and much less scary. I didn't notice it, so took the more tenuous route, and found the safer one on my way back.
