An opportunity for a springtime visit to Yakima and its surrounding sagebrush steppe habitat came up back in May. Yakima Canyon would be closed to vehicle traffic for an organized bicycle ride. It was a rare opportunity to ride the canyon road and be free of fast moving traffic. Even better, we* would take advantage of the opportunity to explore the shrubsteppe biome on foot the day before the ride.
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ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS.
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DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS
IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
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From our home just north of Seattle, we set off early on a Saturday morning for Yakima, crossing the Cascade crest at Snoqualmie Pass. The changes in natural habitat are gradual, from Pacific temperate rainforest, up into the North Cascades forests, then entering dryer forests characterized by Ponderosa pine, eventually reaching the shrublands that cover the ridges and benches around Yakima. The Cascade Range effectively wrings the moisture out of passing Pacific storms. The result is that east of the crest is effectively (and definitively) a desert, one characterized by Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), the dominant plant here and over much of the Intermountain West. We would also be walking through peak wildflower bloom.
Snow Mountain Ranch — Saturday
We chose Snow Mountain Ranch for our Saturday hike. Snow Mountain Ranch is 2,000 acres of shrubsteppe habitat acquired and protected by the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy. Here the Conservancy has established a network of 13 miles of trail. Snow Mountain Ranch was once a cattle and Arabian horse operation. The backstory: Trust for Public Land — Snow Mountain Ranch Protected
The location of Snow Mountain Ranch (highlighted) west of Yakima, WA
When we arrived at the trailhead parking area, only four other cars were there, and it was a Saturday! It was pleasantly hard to believe that such a beautiful area at peak wildflower season would see such sparse visitation on a Saturday.
Trail map at the trailhead.
Onward we walked, upward on the aptly named Wildflower Trail. Clouds were building up in the distance and we could see that rain was falling out on the horizon. I judged that the clouds and rain would pass us by to the north. But then the clouds to the south joined the party and they all linked together unleashing rain in earnest. It happened so quickly that we barely had time to don our rain jackets (we came prepared). We cut over on the Bench Trail that soon became a slick, slippery slog. We connected with another slick trail that took us back down to the trailhead. The rain let up and the sun began to peak through as we neared the parking area. We laughed as we looked at each other, wet hair and rivulets of water coursing down our faces. It was, after all, the weekend of our 35th wedding anniversary.
Carey's Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza careyana) and clouds building on the horizon.
Looks like rain.
Looks more like rain and it’s headed this way.
It’s raining now. Wet, slippery trail.
The main attraction on this hike was the abundance of wildflowers. We were there at near peak wildflower bloom. Fed by rains that make it over the crest, the desert blooms with an urgency to flower and seed before withering in the summer heat. The process is aided by pollinators like bees and butterflies. They feel the same urgency. Boom, bust.
The foundation of the shrubsteppe ecosystem is Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), a keystone species.
Here’s a very old Big Sagebrush. Note that thick trunk.
Just past the trailhead, one crosses a riparian area wetted by east-flowing South Fork Cowiche Creek and a paralleling irrigation ditch. Here grow willows, black cottonwoods, and ponderosa pine.
I took many wildflower photos, too many to share in a Bucket, but here’s a few of my favorites and some notables. All can be found on my iNaturalist stream: iNaturalist 05/17/25
Bighead Clover (Trifolium macrocephalum). Not your garden variety clover found in your lawn. This one has big flowerheads. The blooms have already faded on this one and others we encountered. Just a little past prime.
My favorites are the bitterroots.
Little bees and small beetles were active among the flowers. In the course of their daily activities, they were getting some nutrition and, whether they knew it or not, they were pollinating.
Only a few birds were sighted. — some ravens, magpies, House Finches, and other LBJs. The highlight was a Western Meadowlark singing away.
Yakima Canyon — Sunday
The Yakima River begins high up in the Cascade Range then spills out into the Columbia Basin. At one time, several million years ago, it meandered across a flat plain underlain by several layers of volcanic rock, mainly solidified lava flows (basalt) that erupted from fissures 16 million years ago and now underlie the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon. Lava, being a liquid, flows and solidifies as a flat surface. Rivers never flow straight across a flat surface; they meander. When the flat surface gets scrunched, lifted, and folded by tectonic forces, the river cuts down at the same rate. The Yakima River maintained its course as the Monastash and Umtanum ridges rose. The Yakima River Canyon is a classic example of an antecedent stream. A better explanation with illustrations and videos is here: Yakima River
Yakima Canyon — Google Earth satellite view
Yakima Canyon — USGS topographic map
Sunday was bicycle ride day through the canyon. The ride was 17 miles up the canyon, turnaround, and ride 17 miles back the way you came. I was riding with my fellow Club riders. The day was mainly sunny with a few clouds. But there was a strong wind blowing down the canyon from the storm that passed through the day before. I pedaled against a strong wind, sometimes being buffeted to the point of it being a little scary. At the far end of the Canyon was the turnaround. The wind was now at our backs. Riding the return leg felt like floating.
Yakima Canyon
Yakima Canyon
Yakima Canyon
Yakima Canyon
Notes
This was a detailed Daily Bucket, more than is needed for a typical Bucket, which ideally is a snippet of time documenting phenology as one sees it. But my curiosity sent me down a rabbit hole the deeper I dove.
All my photos in this Bucket were captured with my Google Pixel 7 Pro smartphone and processed in Lightroom.
Some links:
WTA — Trip Report
WNPS Plant List — Snow Mountain Ranch
eBird List — Snow Mountain Ranch
* “we” means me and my wife
What’s going on in your natural environment? What are you seeing?
