Umtanum Journal
April 1999


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Day 1
  We headed out early, the same group as on our other hikes plus one, 
Anne's sister Amber.  This would be both Amber and Kira's first 
backpacking trip, which sucks for them.  As is usually true for the 
first trip of the year, we were all out of shape.  I had been sick 
with bronchitis for a couple months, and the others had been busy
with work and school.  On the way out, we looked up towards Umtanum 
Ridge, south of Manastash.  There was snow on top of the ridge.  
But the sun was out and we thought "oh well, we'll survive..."
And we did survive the snow.  In fact, it was more of a blessing than
a curse.  The car rose up onto the plateau and we turned onto the old 
Jacob Durr Road.  After not too long we could see the entire Stuart 
Range.  A few moments later, Mt. Rainier could be seen on our right.  
  
  We had to stop after a ways because the road was only open to trucks 
and 4 X 4's - we were in my Grandma's Buick.  This, sadly, wasn't even 
close to the trailhead.  In fact, it was 3-4 miles from it.  We got 
out of the car, strapped our backpacks on, and after a quick prayer 
we started out.  It was about 8:30.  The road was easy, heading 
downhill 95% of the time.  Our spirits were high and we sang songs to 
pass the time.  We were descending into Umtanum Canyon and the scenery
was beautiful (if you could ignore the empty beer cans and glass 
scattered along the side of the road). 
 
  We rounded a bend and heard the sound of water - Umtanum Creek.  
There was a small shed-like thing on the other side.  This we later
found out to be a covering for barrels of bird seed.  There is no
bridge across the creek, so we had to ford it.  I went across first.  
The water was freezing.  When I got to the other side, my feet were in 
pain.  I set my 30 lb. pack on the side and looked into the water.  There 
was a branch sticking out and it was fully covered in ice...not cool.  
Attempting to hide my findings, I headed back over to grab Amber's pack.  
Once everyone was across, I showed them the ice.  We took off our shoes 
and socks and let our feet warm in the sun.  After a snack of granola 
bars, we continued on, reluctantly, up the opposite side of the canyon.  
  I don't think the new-comers were used to climbing mountains (and 
neither were we, really) so they were a little worse off than Anne and 
I.  After a while, we stopped for a lunch of Macaroni and Cheese.  It 
was windy, so we used our backpacks as wind breakers.  We could see the 
far-off radio tower, just above the trailhead.  Continuing around a 
corner, someone yelled out "Car!"  Amber and I were in the lead 
and both of us ran into the brush.  Amber and I both screamed.  
It was a truck with some teenage guys.  They were looking for a white 
blazer.  When we continued on, Anne suggested counting our steps to 
keep us going.  It helped a lot.  Looking down, someone spotted a 
pond which we quickly named "Triple A, K Lake".  We noticed a 
helicopter going into the canyon and wondered what it was doing there.  
Anne looked beyond the canyon and to the right and spotted little "ants" 
which formed the cars on the freeway between Ellensburg and Yakima.  
  
  At the top of the ridge, we spotted the trailhead...finally.  While 
taking a break, 2 girls drove up in an SUV.  They explained that they
were going to hike along the ridge and descend into Roza Creek - where 
we were going.  We decided to go the other way, "4 miles" to the 
Cottonwoods.  Just when we thought we were getting close, we saw the 
burrow pits in the middle of the desert.  We were only 1/3 of the way 
there.  Water was running low.  We had picked up some snow on the side 
of the road on top of the ridge, but it went un-used.  An AT&T truck 
passed us on it's way to the tower, not even bothering to wave.  Spirits 
were growing dim as we descended into a dry creek bed and back up again.  
Finally, we found a valley...with green in it!  It was the Cottonwoods 
at last!  Amber had been the first to see it.  She turned around and 
flailed her arms wildly.  Below us was an open barn which we decided were 
the "corrals" on the map.  When we read the map later, Anne and I realized
that the road from the trailhead was actually 8 miles (NOT 4).  And that
the "corrals" and "Cottonwoods" were actually a bit further up the road. 
  Once in the valley, we split up to find water.  It was Amber and I who 
found it first and we set up camp near it.  Kira was getting cold, so 
her and Anne wrapped up in a blanket while Amber and I put up the tent.  
There was garbage everywhere - even a refrigerator - and it was hard 
to find a good spot.  After a dinner of Chili, Anne heated up the water 
for hot chocolate.  But it was too cold for the water to boil.  Just as 
Anne was about to drink hers, 2 40-year-old men drove up and stopped right
next to the tent.  They hung around too long, uncomfortably long.  Anne 
poked her head out and talked to them.  They claimed to be looking for elk.  
Then they drove up right in front of the tent.  I grabbed the knife, ready 
to run out if need be.  Kira was shaking and crying.  Amber was doing her 
best to stay calm.  Anne got out to talk to them and told them we were on 
our way to Roza Creek the next day.  Then they left and we weren't 
going to Roza Creek.  Although it was almost dark, we decided that if 
another car drove by we would pack up and find another spot.  Sure 
enough, one did (a white blazer, note when we talked to the boys in 
the truck and the helicopter sighting) and we were on our way again.  I 
was getting weak and I felt sick.  When we found the road thought to 
lead to the open barn, Anne took a flashlight and went to make sure we 
were right.  We were and when we found it headed across the cold ground 
towards our new campsite.  Suddenly we saw eyes through the darkness.  
Anne thought it was a small coyote or something, but we concluded that 
it was a groundhog-like creature when it popped back into it's hole.  
I was about to collapse from fatigue, it was 10:30.  The moon came up 
just as we snuggled into bed.  In the distance, we could hear coyotes 
howling.  The wind came up a bit and Anne pointed out that while we 
were moving our stuff, the wind had stopped.  Our prayers had worked.


Day 2
  I woke up once to let Sheba out.  It was dark and I put my head 
back in my sleeping bag.  When I took it out again, I was nearly 
blinded.  The sun had come up and it was 6:30.  I quickly started 
breakfast.  Anne got up and went to the creek for water.  Breakfast 
was oatmeal and rice.  At 10:30, we were off.  Our muscles were stiff 
and sore, but even so, the trip seemed a lot shorter.  At the burrows, 
we finished off the chips in our pack.  Even though I was still hungry, 
we continued on.  Every time we stopped, our feet would only hurt 
worse when we started again.  I slowed down, but not just because of 
my feet.  I have low blood sugar and have to have more than rice and 
chips to keep me going.  Amber was walking next to me and I told her 
what to do if I collapsed*.  There was some chocolate in my stuff sack 
which was easy to get to through my side zipper.  After a few more 
minutes, my knees were starting to give way.  Kira was next to me and 
she called up to Anne and Amber to stop.  We caught up, slowly, and 
stopped for a rest.  After letting my knees give way, then getting 
some chocolate in me, it was only a few minutes before I was ready to 
go on.  Anne took some of the weight from me and we continued.  
Towards the top of the ridge, we stopped and looked back at where we'd 
been.  The road twisted and wound through the valley.  There was a 
line where a pipeline had been put in that just happened to go 
straight towards the cottonwoods, without that extra mileage.  Ugh.  
  A Cellular 1 truck drove up and he waved!  He even stopped to talk to 
us!  He said that he had met up with the SUV girls who were about 3 
miles behind us.  We thanked him and we continued up.  (No, Cellular 1 
is not paying for this ad.)  
  At the trailhead, we cooked lunch.  It was windy and cold and looked 
like rain.  Cup-O-Soup (our favorite!) was our lunch, but by the time we 
finished it, it was cold.  As we continued back down into Umtanum Canyon, 
our feet hurt with every step.  We didn't stop all that often though, 
because when we did, it would just hurt more when we started again.  I got 
behind again and it became harder to catch up.  Anne had sores on her 
shoulders from where the skin had rubbed off.  The water at Umtanum Creek 
was warmer this time and everyone carried their own packs across.  The 
cool water felt sooo good.  I went back to fill our water bottles and 
just let my feet soak.  Anne joined me, but Kira and Amber just looked 
at us like we were crazy.  When we went back to have a snack, the SUV 
girls met up with us.  They asked us how our trip went and if we needed 
anything.  "Yeah, how 'bout a ride to our car!" I thought.  Anne told 
them our trip was "great" and that we "didn't need anything".  Oh well, 
it wasn't too much farther.  
  It started to sprinkle and we put on our ponchos.  By the time the 
road flattened out, the wind had picked up and it was raining hard.  
Kira and Amber went up front and Anne and I stayed behind to talk.  When 
they saw the car, they hollered and waved.  That got us hurrying and we 
crammed into the car.  It was over!  It was finished!  We were finally 
heading for McDonald's (a post-trail tradition)!  We were darn sore!  And 
we looked like the deer poop I had taken a picture of earlier!  But it 
was all good.  
  At McDonald's, I hopped out to use a real toilet and was met by a few 
stares.  I came back to the car as they were heading through the drive 
thru and we ate up.  At Grandma's house, we took turns taking baths and 
showers.  Every time we stood up, we could only hobble like old ladies.  
I think Grandma got a big kick out of it.  We looked through guidebooks 
for a while, then went to bed, thus ending this very interesting and very 
painful backpacking trip. 
*Ok, I'm not just a wimp, really!!!  Low blood sugar, low blood 
pressure, and still getting over a few months of bronchitis (mixed with 
a little dehydration?) is not a good combination.  In fact, I probably 
shouldn't have been out there for another few weeks - until I had a 
chance to do some getting-in-shape.


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