[TR] Ellensburg - Umtanum Canyon Loop 2/13/2007

[catbirdseat]

Trip: Ellensburg - Umtanum Canyon Loop

 

Date: 2/13/2007

 

Trip Report:

Roboboy and I were going to do a scramble in the North Bend area, but it was raining and foggy, so we opted to do a hike on the drier east side of the mountains.

 

I'd done this hike once before in November about three years ago with dryad during hunting season. This time there was 6 inches of snow on the ground, so it made for slower going. Went up the side canyon on the left to the SW just on other side of bridge, ran along Umtanum ridge and descended the Old Durr Road. Followed Umtanum creek back to starting point.

 

We saw about 6-8 bighorn sheep up on the walls of the upper canyon. That was really cool. It was the first time I'd seen them in the wild. Unfortunately they were too distant to photograph. These animals are very reclusive. They do not like being seen, and will quickly move out of sight if they can.

 

Left car at 11 am and returned at 6 pm with the very last of the evening light. About 12 miles.

 

 

Gear Notes:

Boots and poles

[Weekend_Climberz]

Dude, I guarantee you we'll see some this weekend. Almost hit one the last time while driving back. Anti-lock brakes are a must between Sandpoint and Radium :tup:

 

[kurthicks]

I saw some ice from the freeway immediately north of Thorp the other day. It was south facing on cliffs that are on the north side of the river. anyone know about this stuff?

[kevino]

By the thorp fruit stand exit?

[suckbm]

theres also ice south of the freeway on the sand cliffs above the river. neither area is worth climbing, not even for messing around on

[kurthicks]

By the thorp fruit stand exit?

 

yes.

[telemarker]

Gawd, Umptanum Canyon. I try to speed through there as quick as possible, it's so freaking barren. Way to get after it, I guess.

[roboboy]

Barren terrain is neat to visit when you live in the westside rainforest though.

[catbirdseat]

I second that. It's a nice change of scenery for us.

[andyf]

Having grown up in Yakima, I have many memories of winter hiking up Umptanum Canyon and Umptanum Ridge with my late dad. A typical father-son bonding conversation:

 

(Me) "Look at that deer track."

 

(My dad) "[Pause]...Yep."

 

It's a cool place. Only barren if you don't know what you're looking for. In a couple of weeks, the three-nerved violets and yellow bells will be out.

[drater]

Looks like sick snowkiting terrain.

 

Any windheads seen out there?

[sobo]

Yes. Windheads can be seen quite often in the late winter and early spring launching off the top of Mt. Baldy about 5 or 6 miles downstream of the Umptanum trailhead. There is a rough "trail" that takes off the canyon road at about MP 12 or so, but I understand (although I don't know how to get to it) there is a telecommunications access road that goes all the way to the tower on top of the mountain that comes up from the east. Get a quad map and check it out.

[sobo]

theres also ice south of the freeway on the sand cliffs above the river. neither area is worth climbing, not even for messing around on

 

Have you checked out the ice in the Yakima Canyon at about MP 11 or so? Park at the pullout by the DOE's river gauge cable crossing, walk downstream about 50 meters, and look up towards the top of Mt. Baldy. It falls down in at least three large tiers at about the half-way mark on the peak. There is also some shitty ice lower down that you could probably use to access the better stuff higher up. When I saw it last week, I was on travel to a meeting in E-burg, so I couldn't get on it. It still looked pretty fat, but the stuff near the road had a lot of air in it. It faces west, and it's been dreary in Yakivegas for a while now, so someone go get it before it's gone. There was also several other sections in the stretch between MP 11 to MP 17 (the Umptanum TH), and years ago I climbed some ice up the Umptanum where CBS just visited. I think I went in a little further (a few more draws - mebbe a half-mile?) than CBS did last week. It's a pretty obvious-looking draw to find ice in, and it was a banner year back then.