Cedar Breaks NM Alpine Pond Trail

Need a road trip for the summer?  That includes a little hiking in the coolness of mountains above 10,000 feet?  That is very easy to drive to?   Cedar Breaks National Monument will definitely fit the bill for such a road trip.  Cedar Breaks became a national monument in 1933 thanks to FDR.  You have to love forward thinking presidents!  At over 10,000 feet above sea level this giant amphitheater covers about 3 miles and is more than 2000 feet deep!  And in July the wildflowers abound!  The entrance fee is $4 for adults and children 15 and under are FREE.  Cedar Breaks also hosts many activities for the entire family to enjoy from wildflower festival to star parties in summer to guided snowshoe walks in winter.   There are only a couple of hiking trails to choose from at Cedar Breaks NM and the only one I have tried is the Alpine Pond Trail.

Brian Head is the peak in the background.

The Alpine Pond nature trail is a two mile double-loop trail through forest and beautiful meadows filled with wildflowers.  I like hiking it as a figure 8 loop.  Half way through the loop hike is a natural, spring fed alpine pond. (Take bug repellant!) The park provides a nice trail guide to take along which points out interesting features of the trail - well worth the $1 donation.  It is sad to see so many dead trees surrounding the pond destroyed by a beetle infestation beginning in 1992.

There must have been something interesting at the pond.

One of my all time favorite wildflowers at Cedar Breaks is the lavender columbines.  The larkspur, lupines and mountain bluebells were some of the healthiest plants I have ever seen!

Tall Larkspur!

Very healthy Lupine

Lush Mountain Bluebell

Here is a list of many of the other wildflowers you will find in the park. http://www.nps.gov/cebr/planyourvisit/upload/Wildflowers.pdf

Don't forget to look for bristle cone pines on the trail.  They are some of the oldest trees in America.

My favorite way to Cedar Breaks NM is to exit I-15 at Parowan, Utah and travel on highway 143 to Brian Head Ski Resort then take highway 148 to Cedar Breaks.  It's a beautiful drive!  Drive on to Cedar City on highway 14 - more beautiful!  Add an evening at Cedar City's famed Shakespeare Festival and you have the makings of an awesome summer weekend road trip!

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 Wildflower of the Week

This beautiful magenta colored wildflower is called Parry's Primrose.  It typically blooms high in the mountains and loves to have wet roots so you will find it on waterfall ledges and streamsides.  You will find this gorgeous plant near the sink hole on the Alpine Pond trail at Cedar Breaks NM.  But don't touch the plant because just lightly touching will bring out a very unpleasant odor.

For myself I hold no preferences among flowers

so long as they are wild, free, spontaneous!"

Ed Abbey

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******Miles hiked tally

beginning March 22, 2013
Beginning of this Blog
310.8