I had a hard time deciding where to hike and whether to hike today. Weather at home was threatening rain. I didn’t get up until about 8:30 and diddle-daddled about for awhile. Was thinking about going to the Museum of Flight to see the Super Guppy fly in, but decided the weather probably wasn’t going to be that great, AND the crowds would be heavy, and I needed the excercise worse. So I finally packed up and headed out about 10:30.
This hike was a new one I had not previously done before. Dad had given me an article cut out from a Sunday Times issue several months ago. I’ve done plenty of hiking on Rattlesnake Ledge and mountain, so I figured this Rattlesnake trail had to be good. It starts approximately two miles into the Yakima River Canyon road south of Ellensburg. Easy to find, lots of parking area along the highway. I’ve never hiked in this area and always wanted to. Driven through it many times. I had stopped at Subway in Ellensburg to grab a sandwich for my pack, and I had 3 liters of water to drink on my back.
This trail is only 1 mile long, maybe a tad more, but very steep. I started at 11:30 am and S L O W L Y made it to the top about 1pm. I guess I’m out of shape. But it was just as hard to come down, because of the steepness and lots of loose rock. There were only two other cars in the parking area, so I knew it wouldn’t be crowded. Ran into total of 5 other people. Weather was low 80’s and breezy. Some broken clouds so not too sunny. It wasn’t very far up the trail before I got pretty winded, and with the warm temps I immediately slowed down. The best part happened about 30 minutes up, a long grain train came down the tracks from Ellensburg. Two engines on the front and one on the rear. I would have preferred to see one come up from Yakima, it would have been louder as they pulled up the grade, but a train is a train for me, no complaints.
Once I got to the top I found a good rock to sit on and relaxed in a strong warm breeze. Cooled me down nicely. Ate my sandwich, drank more water. Was watching some heavy clouds towards the west, some with obvious rainshowers. Since they seemed to be heading my way, I figured after about 30 minutes rest I better head back down. Fortunately there were only a few drops in the air when I got back to the trailhead. What a great day and a great short hike.