Zion National Park's Obervation Point Trail / East Rim Trail

The Observation Point / East Rim Trail (7 miles round-trip) is one of Zion's most spectacular (and strenuous) hikes. Built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps, this trail is literally carved out of the rock walls of the canyon. It climbs steeply from the canyon floor up through the enchanting Echo Canyon before joining the East Rim Trail up high on the desert rim. The route offers hikers outstanding views back down Zion Canyon from Observation Point, a vista you won't soon forget. Though similar in length, Observation Point is higher than Angel's Landing, and is far less busy.


The trail is easily accessible via the park service shuttle bus service running through the park. If you're camping at South or Watchman Campgrounds near the park entrance, just hop on the bus and ride it up canyon to the Weeping Rock stop. That's where the real work (and fun) begins. Expect to get some serious exercise in the first three miles, as the trail gains about 2,000 vertical feet. The paved track winds through wildly striated sandstone formations carved by the erosive power of water and wind. You'll see sagebrush lizards, Indian Paintbrush wildflowers, and short, dramatic slot canyons on your way to the top. After three miles of climbing the trail joins the East Rim trail for a half mile to Observation Point. This flat rim-edge section offers stellar views down into the Zion Canyon. Enjoy the vistas and rest your knees for the jarring descent back to the canyon floor.


Bring plenty of water and food for this day hike. It can be hot this time of year, and cold if there are thundershowers. You'll also be happy if you take a camera with you, in my opinion there isn't a better spot to capture Zion Canyon in the park. Expect to spend at least five hours on the trail, if not more.

Lone Peak Cirque: A Perfect 10

I was lucky enough to spend the past two days backpacking and rock climbing up high in the Wasatch Mountains at Lone Peak Cirque. The place is spectacular! And getting there will kick your butt. There's no way around it, you pay the price to reach Lone Peak, but once you're there, it's worth it.
My friend Kelley Paasch (above on the approach hiking through the first Hammongog) and I climbed two different routes on the gray alpine granite walls that rise around the cirque. First, we climbed the Lowe Route (5.8) on the Question Mark Wall and then the next day tackled the Middle Route (5.9) on Tom's Thumb, a 500 foot tower that climbs up the very heart of the Lone Peak's South Summit. The climbing was stellar and the views from on top of the walls were almost equally impressive. Can't say I've climbed better routes...anywhere.


The camping was awesome as well. This is one camp spot that earns a perfect 10 for scenery in my eyes. A soft green meadow surrounded by stark, soaring walls rimmed with lingering snowfields. Little yellow wildflowers added a touch of color to the lush meadow floor and pikas squeaked from beneath the car-sized boulders.


This is one of those spots I'd rather not write-up for fear that too many people knowing about it might wreck its solitary, isolated character. But as Kelley and I decided after our second climb, the place is just too hard to get to ever get really crowded. There are three different trails to reach Lone Peak Cirque and they're all brutal. We took the route up from Alpine, which is a climber's trail if I've ever seen one. Straight up for about 5,000 vertical feet. Lone Peak Cirque's elevation is 10,412 feet and the parking area in the town of Alpine is about 4,951 feet. So be ready to get a workout.


There's lots more info about the cirque in Stuart and Bret Ruckman's Rock Climbing the Wasatch Range. You can also find details about Lone Peak, climbing routes, approach info, etc online at Mountain Project.

Utah is going Bear Crazy!

Another bear was killed in Utah on Wednesday when a Garfield County resident perceived the animal as a threat. That's the sixth bear that's been illegally killed without a permit in Utah this year. Here's the complete story in the Salt Lake Tribune. Its understandable that people are nervous around bears after the incident two summers ago in American Fork Canyon. On June 18th, 2007 a boy who was camping with his family was dragged from his tent and then mauled to death by a black bear. It was the first fatal bear attack in Utah's history. While the incident has everyone on edge, people need to understand that it's not okay to kill bears when they encounter them in the wild. Biologists are not certain what Utah's bear population is, but they estimate it's between 3,000 and 4,000 animals. That's a small bear population, especially for a state with so much wild land.

What should be done then if you encounter a bear? First off, consider yourself lucky! It's rare to see a bear in Utah, and you should be excited to see one in it's natural environment. Second, give the bear plenty of room. Bears are wild animals and their actions are difficult to predict. Black bears are not typically aggressive, so your first reaction shouldn't necessarily be fear. If the bear feels threatened, or feels it needs to protect its cubs, it may react aggressively, but usually black bears are very mellow, calm animals. Bears should be naturally afraid of humans. When they lose this natural fear is when problems occur. Finally report the bear to the local authority, especially if its hanging around an area close to humans. Leave it to the experts. It's not your place to take care of the problem.

If you're camping, be aware that your actions as a camper can have both a positive or negative effect on bears. Camping in bear country carries with it a responsibility. Leaving food and garbage out in camp can attract bears. Bears have a keen sense of smell and can smell food from miles away. Use bear boxes if they're provided and don't leave any food out around camp. Never eat or store food in your tent. Absolutely never feed bears. When bears gain access to human food, it hurts the bears and creates a potentially dangerous situation. Human food is far more nutritious than bear's natural diet. Once bears start eating human food, they'll go to great lengths to continue. Because relocation efforts are largely unsuccessful, bears that start eating human food usually end up being killed. As the old adage goes, "A fed bear is a dead bear." In developed campgrounds use provided bearproof lockers and in the backcountry carry bear canisters or effectively hang your food.

Ferruginous Hawks struggling in Eastern Utah

Any of you who are birders might find this story in the Salt Lake Tribune interesting. Sounds like the Ferruginous hawk population living in the Uinta Basin near Vernal is struggling. There's been extensive development of the natural gas resources there and the long term disturbance has had a detrimental effect on the nesting activities of these raptors. Here's the link to the story. What's encouraging about the story is someone (the group Utah Wildlife in Need) is actually doing something positive for the birds.

Zion National Park's Horse Fire Update

In the previous post we talked about the lodgepole pines trees and how wildfire plays a role in their life cycle. Lodgepoles are a "pioneer" species, meaning they are the first tree to re-establish after a forest fire. We also discussed how the government's policy of forest suppression over the past 50-100 years has resulted in a forest make-up that is possibly more suseptible to pest infestation. Fire management has changed radically in recent years, and the Horse Fire in Zion National Park is a perfect example. I started following the progression of the Horse Fire two weeks ago on July 9th. Rather than aggressively put out the fire, the fire fighters on the Horse Fire have been letting the fire burn, in a controled fashion. Here's the goal, according to the National Park Service Website update:

"The fire is burning in a fire-adapted ecosystem and is achieving the resource benefits it is being managed for. Most of the area has shown a light understory burn, with little torching of larger trees. This will reduce the amount of dead and down fuel and provide an opportunity to regenaration of native plants. The reduction of fuels will also lower the risk of wildfire to adjacent private lands from future wildfires."

Although the fire has closed a section of the West Rim Trail for a couple weeks, its in the remote, northern portion of the park. Aside from some smoke settling Zion Canyon at night, there little adverse effects from the fire. Its cool to see a new approach being implemented! If you'd like to learn more about what's going on with the fire here a link to the NPS page.

Utah Field Guide - Lodgepole Pines and how the tiny pine bark beetle is transforming the forests of the American West

Why are the forests dying? I get this question almost every day on my raft when I'm working as a river guide. I guide on the Salmon River near Stanley, Idaho, in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, one of the prettiest natural settings in the United States. The surroundings are gorgeous, but there's no denying it, the forests around the river are dying. Everywhere you look, you see stands of red (starting to die) and brown (dead) trees clustered together in sad, lifeless clumps.


The die-off isn't limited to Idaho. You'll see it anywhere in the American West where lodgepole pines grow. The entire Rocky Mountain Region is suffering from the blight. Including Utah. The problem is particularly apparent in the Uinta Mountains along the Mirror Lake Highway, where the trees are withering by the hundreds in almost every campground. Who's the killer? And why isn't anyone doing anything about it?

The lodgepole pine forest is being killed by the Rocky Mountain pine bark beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). That's right, tiny (1/2 centimeter long) beetles who burrow into the bark of the tree and kill the host from the inside out. In the Western United States and Canada bark beetles have killed 36,000 square miles of forest. Depending on the area, beetles have infested as much as 40% of the lodgepole trees in the forests, and may kill up to 80-90% of the mature trees before they're done. With 90% of the trees dead, the forests will look almost entire devoid of green, living trees.

Isn't there something we can do to stop the beetles? We'll dive into that later. But first lets get a little more familiar with lodgepole pines, how to recognize them, where to find them and why they're such an important part of Utah's mountain ecosystems.

Characteristics: Lodgepole pine trees (pinus contorta) are distinctly recognizable by their rail straight trunks and high thin crowns. Their trunks are popular for traditional fences on western
ranches and are often used to build cabins because they are so consistently straight. Historically in Utah, lodgepoles were used to support mine shafts and for railroad ties. The needles of a lodgepole pines are short (relative to ponderosa pines), about 2 inches long and grow coupled together with other needles. The needles are twisted or contorted, giving the tree its scientific name pinus contorta. The bark is thin and scaly, and ranges in color from orange-brown to gray.





Where to find lodgepole pines: Lodgepole pines usually grow above 6,000 feet in elevation in mountainous terrain. In Utah lodgepoles pines can be found in the mountains in the northern half of the state. The Uinta Mountains have the largest and most widespread distribution of lodgepole. Stands of these trees will often be associated with a natural disturbance such as fire, or in areas where the forest has been cleared by people. Their cones need extreme heat to release their seeds. In nature this heat is only generated by wildfire, so fire is necessary part of the lifecycle of lodgepole pines. Their niche as the first species to establish after forest fires makes a "pioneer species" playing an important role in forest succession.

Now that we have a feel for what lodgepole pines look like and where they live, lets explore what's happening with the forest and the pine bark beetle.

Pine bark beetle infestation: Pine bark beetles have always been present in the Rocky Mountain environment. The populations ocilate on a boom and bust cycle, much like other insects. The most recent major infestation occurred in 1983. Beetles attack the tree by tunneling into the bark where they lay their eggs. Young larvae mature inside the tree before leaving it to find a new host for the next generation.

What makes this infestation different from previous ones is how large and widespread it is. Biologists believe there are several factors contributing to the scale of this infestation. One factor is the current make-up of the forest. Pine bark beetles only infest mature lodgepole pines. We've already mentioned that lodgepole forests tend to develop in places where there's been some disturbance, whether that be a wildfire, or a man-made, such as logging. The suppression of forest fires may be playing a role in this current cycle. Because there have been less frequent fire events overall in the American West in the last 50-100 years, there are more mature trees in the forest for the bark beetles to attack. This is a result of larger trees not being burned in fires, but also a lack of fires releasing seeds from cones. So, there is effectively more food and habitat for these beetles than during previous cycles. Another contributing factor may be a prolonged and widespread drought. The trees natural defense against the beetle is sap. Trees bleed thick, viscus sap in an effort to flush the beetles out of the their bark and prevent them tunneling into the tree. Drought conditions prevent the trees from producing as much sap, thereby reducing their natural defense system against the beetles. Warmer weather has also aided the beetles in their expansion. Week-long periods of extreme cold weather can kill entire generations of pine beetles, but a long run of warmer winters has allowed the pest to survive.

What can be done about this outbreak? Unfortunately, not much. Typically outbreaks last for one to three decades. A long period of bitter cold temperatures could cause the outbreak to collapse. But much more likely, it'll be matter a the beetles running out of food - meaning most of the trees will be dead.

Mountain Bike Race at Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon

The Chris Allaire Memorial Mountain Bike Race is being held tomorrow, Saturday, July 18 at Solitude Mountain Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The race is the Utah Open State Championship. The racing starts at 8:15AM and continues through the final starting time at 11:00AM.

Fore more information call Ed Chauner (801) 942-3498 or online at www.intermountaincup.com.