This year winter and spring brought an abundance of snow and rain to the state of Utah . . . it was badly needed after years of drought. We really can't complain, but it has put a kink in our summer hiking plans . . . there is so much snow in the mountains many of the roads are still closed. You know the saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks", well these old dogs are learning a few and it's been good! The past two weekends we have driven up Cedar Canyon and the
Virgin River Rim Trail has piqued our interest. The trail is 32 miles long, but can be broken up into more manageable sections. For this section we did a short four-mile out and back. We plan to hike the trail in its entirety, just not all at once . . . so check back and see where we've been.
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| Heading up Cedar Canyon in June you don't expect to see snow! |
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| The closer we came to Cedar Breaks the higher the snow banks became! |
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| Wow! This is crazy! |
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| We thought maybe we would fish Mammoth Creek . . . wrong! |
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Enough of the snow and high water . . .
We headed down to Webster Flat road and Deer Haven campground . . . no snow here,
just wildflowers, like this Star Lily |
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Chipper waited patiently while we enjoyed a picnic lunch . . .
don't worry . . . he had a snack later! |
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| Spring Beauty, should have bloomed in the spring, not in June! |
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| Deer Haven is such a pretty spot |
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| That's Brian Head Peak (11,306) in the distance |
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We met these 3 ladies from Cedar City who were out on a trail ride
They rode off into the sunset . . . actually they were headed back to Woods Lake |
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| This trail is 32 miles long and can be done in sections |
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Today we are hiking the Deer Haven to Webster Flat road section
Aspen Bluebells were growing along the trail |
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| We had the trail to ourselves |
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| We came across this sign (Lundell Troughs) hidden in the aspens |
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| The troughs were empty even though the spring was running |
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| Chipper enjoyed a nice cold drink from the spring |
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| Remnants from the past |
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July 6, 1942 . . .
Could have been a sheepherder or someone who built the troughs? |
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| There's something about walking through the forest, the air is fresh and it's so quiet |
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| Subalpine Larkspur |
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| Looking to the south we could see Zion National Park |
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Well, we're just about back to where we started . . .
we'll finish other sections on another day . . .
stay tuned! |
