Bald Mountain (SF Bay Area)

Mount Diablo and Mission Peak rise above San Jose

1.5 miles round trip, 50 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy
Access: Paved road to trailhead, no parking fee

The hike to Bald Mountain is a short and easy way to access open meadows with beautiful views just outside San Jose in California's San Francisco Bay Area. Protected in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, Bald Mountain can be reached via a flat trail from the road to Mount Umunhum and is an excellent place to see wildflowers in spring. The ease of the hike and the beauty of its landscape makes this a popular destination in the Bay Area; expect the trailhead to fill on nice weekends. The trail and the preserve are operated by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, a special district that has acquired tracts of lands throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains and operates a string of open space preserves up and down the peninsula.

I hiked this trail on a sunny spring weekday after driving to the summit of Mount Umunhum. The trailhead has limited parking and it is difficult to find parking if the lot is full, so come with a backup plan. To reach the trailhead from San Jose, follow California 85 south to exit 6 for the Almaden Expressway; follow signs after leaving the ramp to take the Almaden Expressway south, then follow it for 4.5 miles and turn right onto Almaden Road. Follow Almaden Road past the town of New Almaden and the Almaden Reservoir, turning right onto Hicks Road at the far end of the reservoir; follow Hicks Road uphill to a saddle and turn left onto the Mount Umunhum Road. The trailhead parking lot is off to the left just under two miles up the Mount Umunhum Road.

Bald Mountain was visible from the parking lot: its meadow-crowned top was visible to the east, barely rising above the horizon. It was clear that it'd be an easy hike.

Bald Mountain from the trailhead

The hike followed a wide former road along the contours on the south side of the ridge leading out to Bald Mountain. The high point of this ridge is actually above the summit of Bald Mountain, but this forested point on the ridge is unnamed as it presumably doesn't have any views. There were nice views from the trail across the Herbert Creek watershed below to the two tallest peaks in the Santa Cruz Mountains: Loma Prieta and Mount Umunhum.

Mount Umunhum was a particularly notable peak due to the cube-like structure at its summit. The mountain once housed the Almaden Air Force Station and a large radar dish was once mounted atop the concrete cube that remains today. Built during the Cold War, the military used this peak as part of their radar early warning system to detect potential incoming Soviet bombers and provide advance notice in case of a nuclear strike on California. The advent of ICBMs made the radar stations obsolete; after the station's closure in 1980, parts of the Sierra Azul (the southern stretch of the Santa Cruz Mountains) were acquired by the Peninsula Open Space Trust and the summit of Mount Umunhum was restored and opened to the public in 2017. The peak is a sacred site for local Ohlone peoples, who named this peak after the hummingbird.

Mount Umunhum and the Umunhum radar tower

After a short walk, the trail arrived at the meadows of Bald Mountain, making an unnecessary switchback as it curved gently to the summit. The meadows were dotted with spring wildflowers: poppies and lupine were blooming among the grass. I had also spotted morning glory and monkeyflower blooming along the trail before reaching the meadow.

Lupine and poppy wildflower show

Poppies and the Henry Coe peaks

Forested Loma Prieta, the highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains, rose to the south, crowned with a set of communications towers. Located on the San Andreas Fault, Loma Prieta was the epicenter of one of the more recent major earthquakes in the Bay Area, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck in 1989. Notably, the earthquake struck when San Francisco and Oakland were both in the World Series and about to play in Candlestick Park, a lucky coincidence that had led many commuters to avoid roads during rush hour that day. Freeway bridge collapses throughout the Bay Area were responsible for a large portion of the resulting casualties.

Loma Prieta and the poppies of Bald Mountain

The end of the trail made a little loop around the summit proper, with a spur descending to a fenced viewpoint. These meadows provided sweeping views over Santa Clara Valley: San Jose was spread out beneath me, with distant Mission Peak and Mount Diablo rising above the downtown skyline. The Bay itself was just barely visible to the north, although Bay landmarks like Mount Tamalpais and the San Francisco skyline could be made out on the horizon.

View of Mount Tam, the Bay, and Silicon Valley from Bald Mountain

The Diablo Range ran across the valley, peaking at Mount Hamilton, whose summit is dotted with the white domes of the Lick Observatory. Operated by the University of California since its completion in 1887, the Lick Observatory was the world's first permanently occupied summit observatory. In the late nineteenth century, Santa Clara Valley was sparsely populated and dark at night, making Mount Hamilton a prime spot for astronomical observations; multiple moons of Jupiter were discovered here, including Amalthea, the first non-Galilean moon spotted.

The water of the Almaden Reservoir below contrasted with the green slopes of Mine Hill in Almaden Quicksilver Park. The town of New Almaden, nestled at the foot of these hills, was once site of the most productive mercury mine in the United States. The Ohlone and Spanish were both familiar with the cinnabar in the area, leading the Spanish to name the area after the mercury mining city of Almaden in Castile-La Mancha. The mine has been defunct for nearly a century now and the landscape is being reclaimed by nature.

Mount Hamilton and the Almaden Reservoir

Many hikes in the Bay Area may offer similar views, but Bald Mountain is an easy way to see some pretty meadows while exploring and better understanding this South Bay landscape.

Mount Kineo

Moosehead Lake from Kineo

3.5 miles loop, 800 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate (some rock scrambling on the Indian Trail)
Access: Boat shuttle to trailhead ($12/person), Mount Kineo State Park entrance fee required ($5/person)

Vast Moosehead Lake is the largest body of freshwater in lake-dotted Maine and there's no better place to admire this great lake set in the wild Maine Woods than from Mount Kineo, a small but dramatic peak on an island in the heart of the lake. The fire lookout and the cliffs along the mountain's south face both provide jaw-dropping of the lake's blue waters and the forested mountain landscape around the northernmost stretch of the Appalachian Trail. This hike has some additional bells and whistles over your standard hike in the Appalachians, with rock scrambling en route to the summit and a boat ride across Moosehead Lake to reach the island trailhead. This may be the most popular hike at remote Moosehead Lake but it's popular for a reason, so don't miss these views if you're visiting interior Maine.

I hiked Mount Kineo during a late summer trip to Maine, sandwiching a day at Moosehead Lake between my days at Tumbledown Mountain and Katahdin. Arriving after Labor Day, I avoided the summer crowds, but I arrived a couple weeks too early for fall colors. To reach the trailhead, I had to take the Mount Kineo Golf Course Shuttle from Rockwood; the only public access to the island if you don't have a boat is to take the shuttle, which runs on the hour from Rockwood during summer and fall and is open to both golfers and hikers for a fee. Since Rockwood is pretty close to the middle of nowhere, it won't be useful for me to provide detailed directions; you'll need to take Maine 15 to get to Rockwood; whether you're coming from the north or the south, turn into the village on Village Rd (or follow the signs for the Rockwood Town Landing) and drive until you reach the Rockwood Town Landing, a dock right across from the post office. There's a large parking lot here. I caught the 9 AM shuttle- the earliest boat on the day of my visit- to head across the lake to the Mount Kineo Golf Course.

Mount Kineo from the Rockwood ferry

The boat dropped me off at the dock for the golf course. Before starting the hike, I headed over to the club house at the golf course, which had restrooms, hiking info, and sold food to hikers.

Returning to the boat dock, I took the broad Carriage Trail that headed in a clockwise direction along the shoreline. The trail immediately left the manicured greens of the golf course for the quiet, rocky, forested shore. I soon came to a small pay booth at the entrance to the Mount Kineo State Park. Views were initially just okay, but improved dramatically after I reached the base of Kineo's rocky cliffs in a third of a mile of hiking. As the trail followed the base of these massive rhyolite walls, I had pretty views out onto the lake, which stretched to the bases of Baker and Big Moose Mountains on the horizon.

Moosehead Lake

At a half mile, the trail rounded the western edge of the mountain's steep south face and came to a junction: while the lakeshore trail continued ahead, the Indian Trail broke off to the right to follow the ridge towards the fire lookout. I took this right fork to begin the Indian Trail, which was the most spectacular stretch of this hike.

The Indian Trail began climbing immediately, crossing a number of areas of angled exposed rock that required some scrambling on all fours. However, the payoff was as immediate as the scramble: with the trail sticking close to the cliffs of the south face, I soon had views out over the azure waters of Moosehead Lake to the forested islands dotting its surface.

Moosehead Lake

The Indian Trail was only a half mile long but encompassed most of the hike's uphill, challenge, and views. The trail oscillated between the edge of the woods and the edge of the cliffs, providing frequent and improving views of the surroundings. Each higher viewpoint provided a deeper realization of Moosehead Lake's immense size: in New England, only Lake Champlain is larger.

Moosehead Lake with Big Moose Mountain

Some viewpoints looked out to Mount Kineo's immense cliffs in addition to overlooking the lake and distant peaks. These massive blocks of rhyolite were once used by Native Americans for arrowheads that were distributed as far away as Penobscot Bay (near modern-day Portland).

In mid-September, the foliage below had just the slightest tinges of yellow, suggesting that the colors of fall were not far off.

Kineo cliffs above Moosehead Lake

Moosehead Lake was dotted with islands: the two largest were Sugar Island and Deer Island, both visible to the south. The higher viewpoints provided an excellent vantage point over the nearby golf course as well. Established in 1893, the Mount Kineo Golf Course is the second oldest in New England; and while golf isn't really my thing, I appreciated that the golf course maintains a shuttle to the island to allow hikers to access Mount Kineo.

Kineo Golf Course and Moosehead Lake

The views finally ended when the Indian Trail joined up with the Bridle Trail, the other main trail ascending Kineo's slopes. I took a right at the junction to continue northeast along the ridge. The hiking was mostly flat as I followed the top of the ridge through the woods for the next half mile until I arrived at the base of the fire lookout.

The summit is entirely forested, but climbing the fire lookout tower brought me above the trees. The tower is quite tall and the metal staircase leading up was a bit rickety, making it a bit of harrowing ascent; once at the top, I enjoyed the wraparound views from the lookout deck. As the lookout is a bit farther removed from the water compared to the cliffs on the Indian Trails, the lake views were not as dramatic, but the breadth of views made up for it. The summit provided the first views to the north of the rest of Moosehead Lake, as well as of the Maine Woods to the east. Big and Little Spencer Mountains were the most prominent peaks to the east and blocked views of more faraway Katahdin, while the ridge of Little Kineo also rose above the surrounding forest. Farm Island was a forested, flat island just to the north. The low mountains to the north lay near the Canadian border; I was close enough to the border that I had picked up Quebec radio stations on my drive to Rockwood that morning.

Little Kineo and the Spencers

Farm Island

The view to the south encompassed much of what I had seen on the Indian Trail: Deer Island, Sugar Island, Big Moose Mountain, and Baker Mountain. Baker Mountain lies just north of the Appalachian Trail, which runs through the Hundred Mile Wilderness- the trail's most remote stretch- between here and Katahdin. Part of this wild area was preserved as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in 2016 after Roxanne Quimby, who helped found Burt's Bees, bought up larget tracts of land here and donated it to the federal government. However, the monument's designation was controversial locally due to the perception that it would severely restrict land use; in fact, local opposition probably helped sink Quimby's initial plan to have a national park established here.

Moosehead Lake

To the west, I spotted an inlet on the lake that marked the hamlet of Rockwood, where I had parked. Brassua Lake lay just beyond Rockwood.

Rockwood and Brassua Lake

On my descent, I chose to take the Bridle Trail; this route was substantially less scenic than the Indian Trail but was fairly direct. The steep trail dropped me back to the lakeside in about a half mile, where I met up with the Carriage Trail again; here, I turned left and followed the Carriage Trail back to the docks, passing the junction with the Indian Trail along the way.

As I waited to board the next shuttle back to Rockwood, I ran into a couple from Portland whom I had chatted with atop the fire lookout and they invited me aboard their boat to tour the lake for a bit. I took them up on their kind offer and they took me on a quick ride around the island to see the eastern side of Mount Kineo. Unseen by most visitors, this is perhaps the mountain's most dramatic facade: the sheer seven hundred plunge from the summit to the lake seemed more like a scene from the Norweigan fjords.

Kineo's East Face

The Portland couple had a summer house in Rockwood; they commented on how the lake, once a more remote getaway, had been steadily gaining popularity in recent years as hikes like Kineo had made their way into Instagram posts. Nevertheless, the interior of Maine was still quiet compared to its tourist-overrun coast and remained the most remarkable and intact wilderness on the East Coast.

After spending some time boating around the bay on the backside of Kineo, my newfound friends returned me to Rockwood; I continued on to Big Moose Mountain for more Moosehead Lake explorations before driving onward to Millinocket that evening to prepare for my Katahdin hike the next day.

This is a beautiful and fun hike- the rock scramble and boat ride spice up an already scenic hike with stunning lake views. This is the hike to do at Moosehead Lake and anyone who lives nearby or who plans to visit Maine should not miss this watery gem in the Maine Woods.

High Dune and Star Dune

Dunefield from High Dune

7 miles loop, 1800 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate-strenuous
Access: Paved road to trailhead, Great Sand Dunes National Park entrance fee required

The Great Sand Dunes rise out of the flat San Luis Valley at the foot of Colorado's snowy Sangre de Cristo Range, a wondrous sea of silica that stand as the tallest dunes in North America. The massive dunefield is best appreciated while one is fully immersed within, making Star Dune and High Dune- two of the tallest dunes in the field- extraordinary vantage points to study this landscape. This is not a standard hike with a defined trail to follow; rather, it's a saunter, a voyage through an ocean of sand in which you more or less choose your own path and your own adventure. I'll give a general outline of the hike that I did, but know that there's many ways to reach Star Dune.

I hiked this trail on a blustery, cold February day after a major snowstorm the night before. Howling overnight winds had cleared most of the roads, but the northeast-facing aspects of hills had deep deposits of snow. From Alamosa, I followed US 160 east to its junction with Highway 150, which led along the base of the Sangre de Cristo Range to Great Sand Dunes National Park. I followed the road past the park entrance and the visitor center to a left turnoff for the dunes and a picnic area; I followed this spur road to its end at a parking lot along the wash of Medano Creek. While driving in, I had stupendous views of the dunes: Star Dune, the final destination of the day, was a particularly photogenic mountain of sand when set against the backdrop of the Crestone Needle, Kit Carson Peak, Cleveland Peak, and Mt. Herard.

Crestone Needle and Star Dune

I left the parking lot and crossed the sandy Medano Creek wash. In the morning, the wash was dry, with all nearby water locked up in ice by the below-freezing temperatures. By the time of my return that evening, snowmelt trickled through the wash. During the spring and summer during peak snowmelt, Medano Creek is filled with water and can exhibit a "surge flow" that resembles waves, making the area a popular inland beach destination.

Mount Herard and the dunes rise above Medano Creek

As I crossed the creekbed, I kept my eyes peeled on High Dune, the highest elevation dune in the dunefield and the sand pile directly across Medano Creek from the trailhead. Once across the creekbed, I wandered through a few of the shifting foothill dunes to reach the base of High Dune. I followed sand ridges uphill to ascend towards the summit of High Dune.

Sand

Ascending sand was less straightforward than I initially anticipated: for every step, my foot sank deep into the sand and my boots quickly filled with sand (gaiters are probably helpful!). Steep sand slopes were especially difficult to ascend: I simply slid down when trying to tackle dunes that were close to the angle of repose.

The climb up to High Dune

There was no trail: I simply followed what appeared to be the the clearest ridge towards High Dune and after a struggling over a mile I found myself atop the ridge of the dune. A short walk brought me to the summit of High Dune, where I had a sweeping view of the entire dunefield and of the Sangre de Cristo Range as well. To the north I could see all the way to the snow-covered Sawatch Range and to the west lay Star Dune, the San Luis Valley, and the San Juan Mountains.

Sangre de Cristo and the Great Sand Dunes, from High Dune

The Great Sand Dunes are born from the sandsheet in the San Luis Valley. Sandwiched between the Sangre de Cristo and the San Juan Mountains, the San Luis Valley is home to both the Great Sand Dunes and the headwaters of the Rio Grande. In fact, the dunes are made largely of sediments eroded from the San Juans by the nascent Rio Grande, which once deposited those sands into Lake Alamosa, a large lake filling the current valley. A drier climate caused the lake to disappear, leaving behind the sabkha, sandy wetlands that today still occupy parts of the San Luis Valley. Once fully dried, a sand sheet was left in the valley; southwestern winds built small parabolic dunes, which migrated northeast across the valley until they reached the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Range. Here, winds pouring out of Mosca and Medano Passes held the sand back, building the small parabolic dunes into great sand hills hundreds of feet high. The dunefield filled a small indentation in the Sangre de Cristos and became bound by Sand Creek and Medano Creek to the north and south.

The most straightforward route from High Dune to Star Dune- as I learned on my return- is to follow the outer dune crest, staying along the ridge of high dunes directly above Medano Creek and then ascending along Star Dune's south ridge. I was initially more adventurous, though, and chose to take an interior route, following the north ridge of High Dune out a little deeper into the dunes before turning west and making a cross-dunefield trek to Star Dune. While I generally tried to stick to ridges, I still had to drop into a few basins and climb back out; at times, this was extremely challenging due to the sinking sand.

Star Dune from afar

I noticed an interesting phenomenon as I hiked: the snow from the night before had been incorported into the sand dunes, with layers of snow deposited between layers of sand.

Snow and sand mixed

Another interesting feature: long dune features that resembled walls. These dunes had especially steep sides; I encountered a number of them on my dunefield traverse.

Wall-like dune

After trekking about 2 miles through the sand from High Dune, I arrived at the saddle marking the start of the east ridge of Star Dune. The ascent up this ridge was the toughest part of the hike: as I approached the top, the angle became ever steeper, so with each step the sliding sand carried my foot back to its starting point (quick note: while approaching via the south ridge is probably easier, you'll have to find some approach of ascending the steep east face of the dunes regardless of your path choice). A desparate push finally put me atop Star Dune, the tallest dune in North America.

Approaching Star Dune

On the slopes of Star Dune

A vast sweep of dunes filled the landscape between where I stood and the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Range. A little farther removed from that range, I could now see more of its peaks than I could at High Dune: Mount Kit Carson and the Crestone Needle were now visible. I could also see farther north to the head of the San Luis Valley and the snowy Sawatch Range that rose beyond that. The Sawatch is the highest range in the Rocky Mountains, holding Mounts Elbert, Massive, and Harvard, the three tallest peaks in all of the Rockies. The fourth tallest, Blanca Peak, is in the Sangre de Cristo Range and rises just to the south of the dunes; the tip of part of the mountain is visible from atop Star Dune, sandwiched between Mount California and Twin Peaks. To the west, the dunes died down until flattening out into the sabhka and San Luis Valley.

The Sangre de Cristo rise over the dunes, as seen from Star Dune

I returned by following the outer dune crest, keeping Medano Creek in sight for the most part on my return to High Dune. After catching the dunefield in dramatic evening light, I made a quick descent to the trailhead to catch a beautiful sunset from near the entrance station.

Although this hike doesn't follow a standard trail, it's a wonderful routefinding adventure and a chance to explore one of the continent's most unique landscapes. Don't miss it.

Pete Lake

Pete Lake

9 miles round trip, 500 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Easy-moderate, due to length
Access: Good gravel road to trailhead, Northwest Forest Pass required

Pete Lake is a gorgeous subalpine lake at the foot of Lemah Mountain in Washington State's Alpine Lakes Wilderness and unlike most of the other lake gems in Washington State, this one takes minimal effort to reach: although the hike is 9 miles long, there's barely any elevation gain on the way there. The catch? In early summer, the trail is swarming with mosquitoes.

I hiked this trail on the July 4th holiday, when snow had long since melted from the trail but remained to decorate the high Cascade peaks. From Seattle, I took I-90 east to cross Snoqualmie Pass and took Bullfrog Road at exit 80 north towards Suncadia and Roslyn. Bullfrog Road ended at Highway 903; at the traffic circle, I took the far exit to head north towards Roslyn and Salmon La Sac. Highway 903 took me through downtown Roslyn, once the heart of coal mining in the eastern Cascades; 903 continued north through a few other small communities and then traced the east shore of Cle Elum Lake. I made a left turn at Forest Road 46, which took me across the Salmon La Sac River on a bridge with pretty mountain views. I continued another four miles until I got to Cooper Lake, where I took the right fork for the road to the Owhi Campground, which led across the Cooper River and then dead-ended at the Pete Lake Trailhead.

Cle Elum River

From the trailhead, I headed north on the Pete Lake Trail, which skirted the banks of the Cooper River and climbed over a small hill before coming to a trail junction with the Tired Creek Trail at 1.2 miles, where I followed the bottom of the valley and continued straight towards Pete Lake.

Cooper River

I passed a second junction after another mile of hiking; I continued straight on here as well. The trail crossed multiple streams along the way; in summer and fall, these will probably be easily manageable but I could see the crossings being more difficult with higher water in spring.

Dogwood bloomed in the underbrush around the trail during my July hike.

Dogwood

About three miles into the hike, the trail started to gain a bit of elevation, the only real bit of ascent on the trail. Two miles after passing the second trail junction, I arrived at a third. Here, the trail continuing straight led to Spectacle Lake and the PCT, so I took the spur to the left that led to Pete Lake. I followed this short spur through a camping area and past a toilet to the lakeshore, where I enjoyed views of the lake with Lemah Mountain and Chikamin Peak towering behind. Unfortunately, the swarms of mosquitoes here forced me to beat a retreat shortly afterwards and return to the trailhead. This is an easy hike to a lovely destination, but be sure to bring your bug spray if you want to have an enjoyable time here in the summer.

Pete Lake

Umtanum Ridge Crest

View of Manastash Ridge from Umtanum Ridge

6 miles round trip, 2200 feet elevation gain
Difficulty: Moderate-strenuous; some very steep sections
Access: Paved road to trailhead, BLM day use fee or America the Beautiful Pass required

Umtanum Ridge is one of many parallel ridges that separate Ellensburg from Yakima in Central Washington State. The ridge's open, sagebrush-covered slopes bloom with a profusion of wildflowers each spring, making it a good hike when the higher elevations of the Cascades are still snow-covered. The views from atop the ridge are some of the best of any hike in the Yakima Canyon area and some of the nearby trails offer opportunities for exploration; however, parts of this trail, including the final ascent up the ridge, are very steep.

I hiked this trail in late April, making a day drive out from Seattle to Yakima Canyon. From Seattle, I took I-90 west to Ellensburg, exiting onto Canyon Road at exit 109 and then following that road south into Yakima Canyon until coming to the Umtanum Creek Trailhead on the west side of the road. I parked at the lot at the end of the short gravel road, which required either a one-day $5 BLM day use fee that could be paid in cash onsite (Northwest Forest Pass is not valid here) or an America the Beautiful Pass.

From the trailhead, I crossed the suspension bridge over the Yakima River. Cliffs of columnar basalt rose directly above the Yakima River.

Yakima River

The trail led through tall brushy vegetation and under the railroad tracks before coming to a signboard indicating the trailhead for Umtanum Canyon. Here, the Umtanum Canyon Trail led to the right while the Umtanum Ridge Trail led left; I took the trail to the left, which led quickly across the canyon and then began ascending up a narrow side canyon. As the ascent began, there were good views of the cottonwoods and the aspens at the floor of the canyon; the canyon walls were green with the arrival of spring.

View over Umtanum Canyon

The rocky trail ascended along the side canyon, passing a number of small waterfalls along the way.

Waterfall in the canyon

About three-quarters of a mile up the Umtanum Ridge Trail, the canyon walls died down and I came to a grove of aspens near the confluence of two streams. During a previous autumn visit, the aspens were brilliantly golden; while the hike up to the crest of Umtanum Ridge is a good spring hike, hiking the length of Umtanum Canyon is nice during the autumn for the canyon's brilliant fall colors.

Aspen grove and Umtanum Ridge

Fall in the aspen grove

Part way through the aspen grove, an unmarked path broke off to the left, heading downhill and crossing the stream. I took a short detour here to check out a viewpoint over the Yakima River, following this path across the stream and then taking it north as it followed the contours of the mountain. The trail wrapped around the mountain for the next half mile, with fairly flat hiking and nice views over Umtanum Canyon. As the trail turned from Umtanum Canyon into the Yakima Canyon, huge views opened up of the Yakima River flowing through a bend below.

Yakima River Canyon

After enjoying this view, I backtracked to the aspen grove and returned to the main trail. Continuing my ascent, I passed another unmarked path heading off to the right, which I ignored, staying along the main trail that followed the creek.

As I continued on the ascent, I admired the widespread wildflowers in the grasslands surrounding the trail, which included spring blooms of showy balsamroot and phlox.

Spring wildflowers blooming

Balsamroot bloom

Phlox blooming

The trail followed the creek for another half mile after the aspen grove before heading up the slopes on the right bank of the creek to ascend to the ridge. The next three-quarters of a mile were brutally steep as the trail tackled the ridge, ascending with no switchbacks as it made a beeline for the Crest. The steep ascent was ameliorated somewhat by the wildflowers coating the hillsides and the improving views to the north, which soon encompassed Manastash Ridge and the snowcapped Wenatchee Mountains. I could clearly see I-82 cutting a gash across the landscape of desert ridges starting from its high pass over Manastash Ridge.

Trail up Umtanum Ridge

The climb finally ended as I gained the broad, flat ridge crest where the trail met up with a dirt service road running the length of Umtanum Ridge. I crossed the road and followed the last stretch of trail another hundred meters to a protruberance in the ridge that marked the high point of the hike. From here, there were sweeping views of the grassy ridges and canyons making up the Yakima Fold Belt. The green farms down below in Kittitas Valley contribute to Washington State's notable wheat harvest but most notably produce hay for export. Although the sun was shining east of the Cascades and I could see Wenatchee Mountains to the north of Ellensburg, clouds still engulfed the crest of the Cascades and hid the mighty Stuart Range, which can usually be seen from this vantage point.

Kittitas Valley and the Wenatchee Mountains

The deserted series of ridges and high valleys to the east constitute the Yakima Training Center, an Army installation affiliated with Joint Base Lewis McChord. This large tract of desert, principally used for military exercises, also once housed an NSA facility. The Seattle Times and other national publications have reported that the satellite facilities here may once have been involved in the NSA's secretive global surveillance programs, but the agency has since shuttered its program here in 2013.

Umtanum and Yakima Ridges

I enjoyed the views before backtracking to the trailhead. While not superlative, this is a nice hike for spring wildflowers or fall aspen colors and is a good rainy day alternative when it's pouring in the Cascades but sunny on the east side.