Cleman Mountain by Rattler Benchmark overlooks Naches River with Waterworks Canyon at the southeast end. Meanwhile, Wenas Wildlife Area spans the northern slopes, while Oak Creek Wildlife Area covers the south.
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Cleman Mountain at a Glance
Access: Waterworks Canyon Trailhead
Round Trip: 15 miles
Elevation Range: 1650′-5115′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Route Options on the Mountain
Things have progressed fast since we visited Tiger Mountain last weekend. Soon, terms like “social isolation” and “self-quarantine” appeared on social media. So this week, we escaped to the east by Naches, WA.
We visited Waterworks Canyon the last time but didn’t stay as long. Several routes include Wenas Valley on the north or south through Sanford Canyon. But we started from the south like before.
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Waterworks Canyon South Route
After entering the gate, we took the steep slope to the west. It eased past Point 2090 but steepened again at 2800′. Then we moved to the southwest crest to avoid the loose rocks before reaching 3500′.
From the windy ridgetop, we followed a faint path through the mild, rocky terrain. We’d sometimes move to the east to dodge the wind. The views mainly of Oak Creek Wildlife Area and Tieton River Valley soon expanded higher up.
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Ridge Walk to Cleman Mountain
Walking the open ridge took longer than expected: four miles, to be exact. Also, the crest wasn’t flat as I thought, but more of a rolling hill. En route were endless views of Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, and Stuart Range.
As we neared the radio tower, the more snow and denser vegetation. Then half a mile before the top were tire tracks in more snow. So we hugged the dry ground over the edge to finish the last bit of the walk.
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Cleman Mountain Summit Views
It’s been windy all morning. So I wore my jacket for the entire trip despite the warm weather. Then we stayed below the crest north of the radio towers with less wind. There were fences to keep out people.
We stayed for an hour before leaving for the 7.5-mile trek back to the car. I read that one can drive to the broad summit in a high-clearance vehicle. Coming by car with the long road walk would be more enjoyable.
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Outro
The wavy but rocky terrain wasn’t feasible to shortcut efficiently. So we retraced our steps to the other side, where it began to lower. Then we dropped onto the south ridge and soon down the mountain.
The few herds of Bighorn Sheep we saw earlier had noticed us this time. Since their color blended into the background, the puppy didn’t see them until they moved. Then more of them hopped from canyon to canyon as we exited.
See more trip photos here.