As summer gives way to fall, I look east of the Cascades for hiking trails. With everything west of the mountains soaked in rain, my mind wanders toward drier stretches of trail. Given the season, this often means hiking in colder than usual temperatures, navigating mountain passes, and trail conditions.  

For this outing, I turned my attention to the Tieton River Nature Trail outside of Yakima, Washington. Eastern Washington is rolling hills and treeless stretches. Western Washington is lush green forests. For me, I always find this change of scenery inspiring. It also serves as an opportunity to test my trail knowledge in new and exciting ways.  

Given that the trail sits next to a river in a canyon, the Tieton River Nature Trail feels like an oasis with trees lining both sides of the bank. On the weekend I visited in late November, the trail spent much of the day covered in shadows. Thanks to an early season of snow and rain, ice covered much of the trail. At first, I did not give this much thought. Astounded by the beauty of the setting, I was blind to the scale of the challenge before me.

A mile and a half into the trail, the elevation picks up. On the last weekend in November, this meant the slightest change in the slope turned the trail into a slide. Taking the smallest of steps, I did my best to navigate the tricky terrain. Before long, this became an impossible feat. Rubber soled hiking shoes without the use of micro-spikes meant I slipped and slid more times than I count. At the two-mile mark, I threw in the towel and began making my way back to the trailhead. My body could not take any more abuse. 

I always feel defeated when I cannot finish a hike and this time was no different. Despite the beauty of the drive from Seattle to Yakima via Snoqualmie Pass, driving two and half hours to not accomplish something is frustrating. It is especially frustrating knowing that I had the proper tools to hike this trail in any condition. I just was not prepared. There is a powerful lesson to be learned from this.  

I may feel defeated, but I am not giving up. I will return to this trail and finish what I started. Next time, I am hoping to reach higher elevations, hoping to find some much-needed solitude while basking in the glory of the Yakima valley laid out before me.  

Be good to each other,  

Nathan