Valley of Fire & Cedar Breaks - 2020
Day 3 - October 19
Cedar Breaks
The house in one of the TV shows that Kathy watches is in Parowan. So we drove up there to see it
Alpine Pond Trail is a 2.2 mile trail along the rim of Cedar Breaks. We spent most of our morning casually walking this trail
The trail begins
Although the trail runs near and alongside the rim, for the most part the forest blocks the view. Every so often though, the canyon peaks through
The white-barked trees in the background are aspens
We would love to come back at peak Fall color time
A very pleasant stroll through the forest
We took a lot of breaks - what's the hurry?
The pond from which the Alpine Pond Trail gets its name
The pond is fed by a mountain stream - it outflows to the west and down into the canyon that is Cedar Breaks
Someone left a pumpkin
A bark beetle infestation in the 1990s killed many of the spruce trees in the area. Part of nature's cycle, it made room for new growth to appear. However, it is estimated that it will take about 100 years for the forest to return to the state it was in "before bugs."
One of those peaks to the canyon
The tree on the left is a Bristlecone Pine. The Bristlecones in this forest can be as upwards of 1,650 years old. There are Bristlecones in California that are 4,800 years old, the oldest living species on earth.
The southern end of the trail's loop, which opens to this huge meadow. The road on the left is Highway 148, which runs along the eastern edge of Cedar Breaks. The road leading to the right is to Chessman Ridge Overlook, which we will visit after finishing our hike. For now, we make the trail's return trip.
Lots of fallen trees. For the most part, the Forest Service has left the area to self-recover
This large tree was hit by lightning, causing a thick strip of bark to peel off. Lightning may set trees on fire or make them explode by heating the tree sap causing it to turn suddenly into steam.
Some lightning-struck trees survive, but this tree’s wounds did not heal. Insects and disease attacked the damaged wood and the tree eventually died. Some day this tree will fall and one of the surrounding smaller trees will replace it.
This rock is volcanic, and is found in several areas of southwestern Utah. The rock is classified by geologists as a rhyolitic tuff, a rock formed during very explosive volcanic eruptions.
You can see layering in the larger boulders. Each layer represents a separate eruption that covered everything around with hot ash, dust, and small bits of rock and molten lava.
Chessman Ridge Overlook is at the south end of the Alpine Pond Loop Trail (dashed red). We drove to it after our hike
Our Chessman Ridge Overlook lunch friend. We didn't feed him
Our last stop at Cedar Breaks. We took a short walk along part of the rim train (dashed red)
