| ROI on Brian Head Trip Report |
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| ROI on Brian Head   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Utah, United States, North America Date Climbed/Hiked: Sep 23, 2008 | Page By: patssox09 Created/Edited: Oct 12, 2008 / Oct 12, 2008 Object ID: 452219 Hits: 105 Loading... Page Score: 86.85% - 3 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Nothing too exciting about Brian Head. We had a nice and easy climb a few miles up the road in the Tushars earlier this day, bagging Delano Peak. As I expected, we finished earlier enough in the day to do a quick drive up Brian Head Peak, even after eating a nice lunch at the Timberline Restaurant in Beaver UT (my omelet and home fries were amazing, Sean’s NY Sirloin left much to be desired).
The drive up the Markagunt Plateau was surprisingly steep, and my Camry found itself struggling. The ski area was abandoned for the most part. A few miles afterwards you find yourself on a flat treeless area of the plateau, and there is a good sign pointing you onto the gravel road leading to the top of Brian Head. The road is neither steep nor exposed, but the Camry took a beating on some of the more rutted sections. We parked at the signed parking lot about a hundred feet below the summit.
Both Sean and myself somehow managed spotty reception on this mountain, as both of us got work-related calls. My manager called me about an audit they were working through in my absence, and Sean had to walk some of his clients through the process of getting their printers to work. We could afford to be cavalier about this “ascent”, as it was an easy and straightforward road walk for about a half mile to the flat plateau summit of the peak (for me, a far cry from Pyramid Peak a half week ago).
Cedar Breaks |
Fall colors |
The summit was windy and more than a little chilly, but the views were amazing, especially with the sun starting to set in the west. Sean remarked that he was much more impressed with the view here, as opposed to Delano, as you could see more of the canyon country, Bryce and Cedar Breaks in particular. Brian Head is definitely one of those peaks that gives you a great return on investment. Not only is it a quick and easy road walk (or drive if you’re so inclined), for those of you who are list obsessed it is a range high point and a fairly prominent peak, the second such summit of the day for us.
Tushars and Delano |
A hawk killing a rodent |
Cedar Breaks National Monument is only about three miles away from the junction of the Brian Head gravel road, and if you are heading south, it’s practically on your way as sort of a loop route back to I-15. There is no sign give you notice of the park entrance, so as a result I drove by a couple of overlooks that probably were pretty nice. There’s only four or five overlooks in the park overall, and if you’re heading north to south, the visitor center is located at the last overlook. The drive back to I-15 and Cedar City held in store a pleasant surprise; Cedar Breaks is located above 10K ft on a high plateau, and as you are descending you get a great view of Zion Canyon from above, to the south.
Cedar Breaks |
Cedar Breaks |
Another summit recorded, and it was down to Vegas for two nights at the Wynn. Our stay there would not bode well for Sean. There were omens too. A black cat crossed the highway in front of us not even a mile into Nevada. About 50 miles outside of Vegas a bat sideswiped my windshield. And the moment I pulled off the highway in Vegas I spied a burning bush on the side of the road. A freakin’ burning bush. Literally, someone set a bush on fire. Oh, there were signs.
Summit shots:
Images
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Utah's Alpine Ranges
