I-15 at 5800 feet you quickly climb to over 10,000 feet over curving, steep mountain roads. When we arrived at the Visitor Center parking lot, we found cool, crisp air- cool enough to grab our fleeces before the short hike through the woods to see the view. As the National Parks brochure says, there is nothing subtle about Cedar Breaks National Monument. Its huge amphitheater, over 2000 feet deep and over 3 miles in diameter, was formed by the same geologic forces that formed many other of the beautiful areas found in Utah and Arizona, including Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon. Below the rim, the slope falls off sharply revealing brightly colored spires, arches, columns and steep walls. The colors range from reds to purples to yellows... just spectacular! The area was named by settlers, who mistook the Junipers at the base of the basin for Cedars, and used breaks to describe the rugged terrain. We walked out to the first viewpoint- no fences, so I did not get to close to the edge- and marveled at the beauty. We walked over to the Visitor Center, a lovely log cabin built by the CCC during the 30's and found another overlook, edged by a heavy log fence. Much more comfortable getting close and getting good photos! The interior of the cabin was cozy, with a fire place in use, and friendly park rangers. In doing some further exploration, we ran into another ranger and asked about the bristlecone pines.
Bristlecone pines are among the oldest living things on earth. In previous travels, we hiked up to see the oldest of these trees in Great Basin National Park in Nevada. Those trees were close to 5000 years old. Back in the old days, they actually cut one down to see how old it was- it was 5000 years old! Now they have an instrument that can take a core sample in order to determine age without killing the tree. The oldest tree at Cedar Breaks is about 1500 years. The ranger directed us to another viewpoint several miles down the road where the Alpine Trail begins. She indicated that most of the trees were near the beginning of that trail. We drove down, walking through more wildflowers to reach the trees. They are a very distinct tree in appearance, not many branches, very tight, short needles and tight cones. In addition, they are found clinging to the edge of the cliff, where conditions are harsh, and where there is little competition from other growth. The pines looked much healthier with more visible needles than those in Nevada. They grow so slowly that their wood becomes very dense and hard. When they die, they do not rot, but wear away from wind and rain. Pretty amazing trees!
We did not see any animals up here except a few birds and chipmunks. However, the area does support large mammals such as Mule Deer and Rocky Mountain Elk. The other animal that is of some significance here is the American Pika. The Pika is a small relative of the rabbit, well-adapted to high-elevation, cool climates. It does not hibernate in the winter, so requires a large amount of grassses and dried plants to survive the winter, and spends its entire summer collecting. The problem is they can not tolerate temperatures over 80 degrees and, with our warming world, their only option is to go higher to stay cool. Obviously, there are limits to how high they can go. Some Pika communities have been trapped on these mountain "islands" and are not able to migrate long distances to cooler areas.
After a final look at the amazing amphitheater, we headed further east, coming down the mountain (actually the Markagunt Plateau), and were surprised to see a section of the slopes of the plateau covered with lava rocks, aspens and other trees growing up amid the black rocks. Wonder how this plateau was formed?
Our next stop would be the Page, Arizona, near Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon area.
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