Outhiking the Storm on the Ramparts Trail
Cedar Breaks National Monument [Utah]
11 July 2018
Summary:
The Theme: Perseverance through Doom and Gloom
The Doom and Gloom
July 11, 2018 was a crazy day in Southwest Utah. In the afternoon, we left Zion National Park through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument. While at Cedar Breaks, we knew a storm was coming. What we didn't know was that if we had left just a few hours later, we wouldn't have made it to Cedar Breaks before closing. The storm caused a landslide that closed the tunnel and many of the park's hiking trails. We lucked into great timing.
For more information about the types of flowers, check out Wildflowers at Cedar Breaks NM.
The bristlecone pine tree is almost the definition of perseverance as well as a major staple of a visit to Cedar Breaks. Many photos and more information as you read about my hike.
The Perseverance
The month of July is the Wildflower Festival, which showcases the peak season of wildflower growth at Cedar Breaks National Monument. Even with the impending storm, there was so much color and beauty.For more information about the types of flowers, check out Wildflowers at Cedar Breaks NM.
The bristlecone pine tree is almost the definition of perseverance as well as a major staple of a visit to Cedar Breaks. Many photos and more information as you read about my hike.
The Gear:
- Passport To Your National Parks® Collector’s Edition
- Sony A6300 Mirrorless Camera
- Sony E-Mount 16-50mm Lens
- Sony E 55-210mm (SEL55210) F4.5-6.3 OSS Lens
- REI Co-op Rhyolite Rain Jacket - Women's
- Garmin fēnix® 3 HR GPS Watch
The Story:
We arrived with only a few minutes to spare before the ranger pay station closes. The park wasn't going to close, just the staffed facilities. There is a pay box if you arrive after hours. Upon talking to the ranger, we decided to get an annual National Parks pass between the two of us. We even got to use our still active 7-day Zion pass ($35) to deduct from the $85 annual pass cost. By going to Zion, Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon, and spontaneously Lake Mead - we would pay off our pass on this trip alone. Good deal yo!The two photos below are photos of the large map and information board posted by the park entrance. Feel free to click on them for more information.
The path then forks right after the ranger pay station. If you keep left, you get to the visitor center. The right ventures off onto the paved Sunset Trail which connects the Information Center, Point Supreme Picnic Area, the campground, and Sunset View overlook.
Our next priority was to get our passports stamped prior to the visitor center closing.
It was a very scenic stamping station. Cedar Breaks offers its park specific stamp as well as a Junior Ranger stamp.
We brought our passports back to the car and prepared to hike in the rain.
Ramparts Trail to Spectra Point
The goal was to make it to the Ramparts Overlook. The reality was to safely make it to Spectra Point and back before the threatening sky opened up and unleashed the horror.
We are greeted by a warning sign about exposed cliff edges and nearby lightning as we approach the cliff edge and see storms in the very near distance. Therefore we turned left and began the hike to Spectra Point.
The first views did not disappoint.
I took lots of photos of the wildflowers because they are pretty and it is the Annual Wildflower Festival.
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| Aspen Bluebell | sdf Cedar Breaks National Monument |
The green vs. the red rock slopes!
Doom and gloom. But so beautiful!
I had fun goofing off in Adobe Lightroom.
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| Silvery Lupine | Lupinus argenteus Cedar Breaks National Monument | 11 July 2018 |
Our Trail Guide - Yellow-bellied Marmot | Marmota flaviventris
We were hiking the trail and saw movement in our peripherals. A small creature was running across the slopes very much cutting the corners of the trail taking a shortcut. It stopped when it got to the trail ahead to wait for us. We have essentially had an animal trail guide [or secret undercover park ranger] on every hike of our trip thus far, so Cedar Breaks did not disappoint. He made sure we arrived safely to our destination.
Spectra Point
Our marmot guided us right to Spectra Point, which is characterized by very large and very old bristlecone pines. More on those further down.
Bristlecone Pines | Pinus longaeva
Bristlecone pines, as seen at Spectra Point, are the oldest living organism known in the world. They can endure super harsh conditions at high elevations with extreme temperatures, intense winds, and terrible soil. There are not many plants near these bristlecones because most others could not survive in this limestone soil and the aforementioned conditions. The ones in these pictures are about 2,000 years old.
These trees look ominous. They are a prime example of persevering through all the doom and gloom. The overcast background adds more ominous to the ominous. They look all twisted because the various branches are either [wanted] dead or alive. When something happens to kill off a branch, the tree diverts the water and nutrients from the dead part of the tree to the healthy part of the tree. These trees grow very slowly.
Running From the Rain
After the stunning Spectra views, we hiked back to the trailhead. We moved more hastily since the skies were worsening.
We got a good glimpse of the imminent rain. This landscape is absolutely incredible.
Still had time to stop and take some pictures because: More wildflowers! Pink, orange, yellow, and green!
Colorado Blue Columbine | Aquilegia coerulea
Wikipedia: Aquilegia coerulea
The Colorado Blue Columbine fully blooms in mid-July. Since we are a tiny bit early to the peak wildflower display, we got to see a bunch of these columbines getting close to full bloom.
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| Scarlet Paintbrush | Castilleja miniata Cedar Breaks National Monument | 11 July 2018 |
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| Elkweed | Frasera speciosa Cedar Breaks National Monument | 11 July 2018 |
Rain. Coming out into the canyon right about where the visitor center might be.
Point Supreme | Elevation: 10,350ft
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| Point Supreme | Cedar Breaks National Monument | 11 July 2018 |
Our visit was brief, but beautiful. Fortunately for us, we never had to endure the full force of the storm, between when and where we were driving. On the way out of the park heading towards Panguitch, UT, I fell even more in love with quaking aspen. We had seen it in Hop Valley at Zion National Park, but this time they were "quaking" due to the wind. The quaking consisted of jubilant leaf movements resembling small waves or even 'spirit fingers'. They looked so happy and seemed to be saying 'Thanks for visiting! We hope you enjoyed your time at Cedar Breaks!!'.
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