This was also our first hiking trip in Eastern Washington and Tim Tim's first potential camping trip. The canyon was great, it was so nice to get out of the rain and cold of Western Washington. I thought I would go crazy if I didn't get some sun soon.
We got to the campground (Big Pines, just south of Umtanum) at about 11:30, set up the tent and hoped that it wouldn't have blown away by the time we came back.
We then headed back to the Umtanum Creek Recreation Area (there is also a campground here but it is small and very exposed, fine if you are an RV'er.) We hit the trail at about 12:30. There were several cars in the lot, and we left just ahead of a large group of backpackers.
To get on the trail you cross a foot bridge over the river, the bridge sways a lot and is a little nerve wracking. You then cross the railroad tracks and the trail splits, one heading up a side canyon, one (to the right) heads along the creek. There used to be a homestead here, but all you can really see now are some old, scraggly apple trees and some fence posts.
We stopped here along the creek for some lunch-Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad from trailcooking.com. Yum, a perfect, easy lunch, but then everything tastes better in the fresh air.
Tim Tim did great on his first real hike, I attached his leash to my waistbelt (which is pretty useless as far as waistbelts go) and he was able to walk ahead of me the whole way. He was a little reluctant on the bridge, but it does sway back and forth quite a bit.
We didn't see much for wildlife and there were very few wild flowers blooming (too late??) but the scenery was still gorgeous, it's amazing how different it is from Western Washington.
All in all, I think we hiked 4-5 miles up the canyon, not really sure how far the trail goes. We saw several groups of people, but in no way was it crowded. This is definitely a do-able day trip from Seattle, and well worth the drive, at least for a couple more weeks, until it gets too hot.
No comments:
Post a Comment