See you there!

Rhonda and I have been busier than ever this summer. We spent some time earlier in the year visiting our neighboring states of Colorado and Nevada, however we have recently been camping back in Utah and exploring some of the most remote locations we have ever visited. It’s been a lot of fun! We are anxious to share some of our new photos so look for them soon.

I have added some new photos to my gallery. Check them out here.

Rhonda and I just returned from a nice trip to Cedar Breaks National Monument, in southwestern Utah. Cedar Breaks is a fairly small in comparison to the surrounding National Parks of southern Utah, however it is well worth a visit. The landscape of Cedar Breaks is like a small version of Bryce Canyon National Park, but it offers some very nice advantages….

1. Less Crowds - It is much less visited than the “big 5″ Utah national parks, so the hiking trails are less populated.

2. Cooler Temps - With an average elevation of over 10,000 feet, it can be 20 degrees cooler than some of the other parks. Rhonda and I took an early summer visit (end of June) to Cedar Breaks and hiked in temperatures in the upper 70’s, leaving the 100+ temps in Moab behind.

3. Sunset! The main amphitheater at Bryce Canyon faces to the east so it just slips into dull shade at sunset. The amphitheater at Cedar Breaks faces west, so it glows in the warm light.

4. Summer Wildflowers - As an added bonus, peak wildflower season occurs in July. In contrast, the last wildflowers that we saw in Moab dried out in late May.

5. Bristlecone Pines - Bristlecone pines are among the oldest living organisms on earth, often approaching 5,000 years of age! They usually live long tortured lives in alpine environments above 10,000 feet resulting in a knurled and twisted appearance tree that is quite beautiful. Experiencing these trees is one of the main reasons for visiting Cedar Breaks!

Since this is a small park with a short 5 mile scenic drive, only 4 developed overlooks and 2 hiking trails, it is imperative that you take the time to hike the 2 trails - especially the Ramparts Trail (4 miles roundtrip) that leads to a spectacular Bristlecone pine grove and some great overlooks. (Remember that these trails are over 10,000 feet in elevation, so if you’re coming from down below you will feel the elevation.) If you don’t hike you will whip through this park in 20 minutes, which would be a real shame.

My only complaint: Last year the National Park Service redesigned all of their park websites using a standard, and fairly well thought out design. I rely heavily on NPS websites to plan my trips and generally I have been quite pleased with the information presented. Unfortunately, the website for Cedar Breaks stands out from the rest - it sucks! Apparently it is up to the individual parks to update their information and Cedar Breaks failed miserably. Believe it or not there is not even any useful information on their hiking trails! I think that their Frequently Asked Questions Page sums it all up pretty well… http://www.nps.gov/cebr/faqs.htm …yes, it’s EMPTY! Or maybe their Photo page - EMPTY. Nature & Science page - EMPTY. Outdoor Activities page - EMPTY. The list goes on and on. The NPS complains that park visitation is down so apparently Cedar Breaks is taking a new approach to combating that: Secrecy. “If you want to see what our park has to offer you’ll just have to come and see for yourself. It’s a secret!”

Anyway, in spite of the website I strongly recommend a visit to Cedar Breaks, particularly if you’re willing to hike a few miles to experience the bristlecone pines.

For more photos of Cedar Breaks, check out my gallery.

Therefore, I have started using new Photo Gallery software that makes updating a breeze. You can check it out by clicking on the image below…

You should now start seeing much more frequent updates. I recently purchased a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II Lens and I am LOVING it! Just about all of my new photos were taken with it.

I find it funny because it’s all TRUE!

This massive flooding along with subsequent rains caused the Delicate Arch area to be closed for days. Work crews cleared the road several times, only to have water resurge, depositing more sand on the road. At one point, nearly two feet of sand blocked the road at one of the low water crossings.

The trail beyond Wolfe Ranch is now completely gone and will take at least several months of work to repair. Salt Wash, a major drainage from the Book Cliffs and Yellow Cat area, created a new channel, washing away at least 50 horizontal feet of trail surface. The footbridge is still intact but inaccessible. I took the following photo a few weeks ago, on October 29th…

Click on this photo for a closer look at the damage. It looks like a war zone!

The trail has been rerouted temporarily to avoid the most severely damaged area near Salt Wash and the footbridge. Visitors can access Wolfe Ranch from the parking lot, but must return from there to the detour. To access the arch itself, hikers should use the temporary trail down the Viewpoint road for about 400 feet, and then link back with the main trail.

Detour sign at the beginning of the trail.

It’s kind of a bummer starting the hike along a road, but within minutes you are back on the regular trail.

Once you are past the detour, the remaining 98% of the trail is in great shape. These photos were all taken the day that I also took many of the Delicate Arch photos mentioned in my previous blog entry.

I included the following photo, which I took about half way up the trail to Delicate Arch - looking to the south toward some sandstone fins. It’s a pretty cool photo because if you look closely just to the lower right of center you can see a person standing on one of the fins, which adds a real sense of scale to the scene. I am still amazed at the enormity of the landscape around here!

Finally, I’ve included the following photo as a public service. It shows the very last section of the trail to Delicate Arch. I know that some people have concerns about this section of the trail because it is often described as very narrow along a steep ledge. While that description is more-or-less correct, I think that you can see that the trail is actually rather wide - wider than most city sidewalks. (It’s in the shade but if you look closely you can make out the trail.) Over the years I have hiked this trail with numerous people who are uncomfortable with heights, and they had no problem at all.