Brian Head Peak

tagged:

Dixie National Forest




Beating up the AWD on Second Left Hand Canyon was largely successful with only one spot (a tiny creek) that required some reevaluation for how to get across. At the top, as I rolled over a short barrier of dirt purposely placed, I found a little car with occupants who seemed to be evaluating if they could make it. The answer to their question is "no" and even the SUV caused some surprised expressions on a couple mountain bikers coming down the road. They did signal some pretty smooth sailing the rest of the way. Of course, turning to go back to Brian Head means passing by the road up to the Brian Head.

looking out from the cliffs
Not actually at Brian Head yet, but the view from this spot along the smoother dirt road near a trailhead that goes to the peak is a little better.

Briand Head
Looking toward Brian Head Peak, the high point along this cliff side at the edge of a mesa.

Brian Head Peak is just a drive up, but it has some things going for it, like being 11307 feet high. It is topped by a restored stone building that used to be a fire lookout. The views are as one might expect for a location topped with such. The road is dirt, but well maintained. As I hit the very top, the last of the winter snow is still melting. There are three other cars already there and one seems to have a telescope set up for looking at sunspots. I probably should partake. (But did not.)

Brian Head below
Looking out over the ski resort town of Brian Head.

Cedar Breaks
To the south, there is Cedar Breaks National Monument.

stone fire lookout
The stone fire lookout, restored by the Sierra Club in 1995.

After checking out the lookout, I head over to the other side of the mountain. It is wide and flat and difficult to see out to the far side, after all. Then looping around, bump into another building I did not see at first. It looks like it has bath tubs in it, but it probably was not a bath house.

back along the ridge
Looking back along the cliff side toward that top photograph.

another stone structure
A second stone building, but not restored.

A fun little peak. I found the station and an older reference mark. (I found an even older reference the next day.) Certainly worth the effort of the easy drive.

*photo album*




©2015 Valerie Norton
Posted 26 July 2015
location: Brian Head, Dixie National Forest, Utah 84719, USA

Liked this? Interesting? Click the three bars at the top left for the menu to read more or subscribe!


Comments

Post a Comment

popular posts:

California Coastal Trail - Arcata to Crescent City - hiking guide

Image
Little River State Beach, Trinidad State Beach, Sue-meg State Park, Humboldt Lagoons State Park Redwood National Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park Introduction The California Coastal Trail (CCT) is approximately 1200 miles of interconnected public trail following the coast from Mexico to Oregon. Or at least that's the dream. Currently, the trail is about 60% complete. In more populous areas, it often takes the form of boardwalks and multi-use paths marked by the swirl of blue wave crest. In rural areas, it may be pushed to the beach when that is usable, or to the nearest public route when that is not. The crest for the CCT marks a coastal access trail at the Lost Coast Headlands. There are thoughts of a route beside the ocean, but the primary route is substantially inland along Mattole Road for now. The beach becomes impassible in several places south of here and above the high tide mark is private property. The hiking trail rout...
read more »

Bluff Creek Historic Trail

Image
Six Rivers National Forest DAY 1  |  DAY 2 (map link) Bluff Creek Historic Trail gets my attention as I zoom by because it is clearly signed to be visible from the road and the trail is obviously used and in good shape. Also, why is "Historic" stuck in there? (Besides the obvious, the Forest Service simply says, "Gateway to Bigfoot Country" , which doesn't seem particularly unique along the Bigfoot Scenic Byway.) It doesn't get my attention when I'm looking at a map because it just offers about 1.5 miles of connecting the highway to Slate Creek Road, a paved road that leaves the highway a short distance northeast of the trail. However, further along in the same direction and connected by an unimproved road is "Wright Place (site)" which sits next to Bluff Creek. The trail is numbered, the road is not. While it is tempting to think that an old road is bigger and therefore more likely to be passable, it doesn't really work out that wa...
read more »

Jennie Lakes: Belle Canyon and Rowell Meadow

Image
Kings Canyon National Park Sequoia National Forest Giant Sequoia National Monument Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4 It was another mild night, but the mosquitoes very nearly vanished early on into it. The sun comes quickly here and the morning golden hour is really quite something. I enjoy it with breakfast and happily the mosquitoes seem to be slow to wake up. Our northerly view from near camp: the morning sun as it hits Ball Dome. Morning over Ranger Lake. We head out to the trail again and wander gently downward, still high above the valley bottom. The air seems a lot clearer today and the snow on the far mountains is much more defined. The snowy distances.
read more »

Loleta Tunnel

Image
Loleta Community Park ( map link ) I've seen that this hike is detailed in a couple news articles and blog posts and YouTube videos and Hiking Humboldt volume 2 and that it even has a geocache along it. It was seeing that the last barrier to the Great Redwood Trail has fallen and the right-of-way is now property of the Great Redwood Trail Agency (GRTA) that got me thinking more about it. It was seeing trucks marked "CCC" out on the rails clearing vegetation from the Humboldt Bay Trail , which is part of the Great Redwood Trail, that got me to come out and do it. On the drive here, I even spotted a sign claiming that the Humboldt Bay Trail - South was now under construction just south of the industrial park at Bracut. The north part of the trail currently ends at a missing bridge just north of Bracut. It all served to embolden me about this other little piece of the same right-of-way. The start of the trail in Loleta. In the newspaper articles, which are only a c...
read more »