Day Lifts the Curtain on Utah’s ‘Color Country’

In the final minutes before night gives way to day, my breath is visible, but the breaks are not. Not a pinprick of light invades the depths of Cedar Breaks National Monument. I hike gingerly along Wasatch Ramparts Trail, stopping at the rim of the great black hole that is Cedar Breaks.

At last the sun arches into the sky and lights the altar fires in the ancient rock cathedral below. Purple shadows fade and horizontal miles of pink, red and yellow rock appear.

They call the southwest corner of Utah “Color Country.” The land is named for its colors: Pink Cliffs, Kodachrome Basin, Great White Throne. Add to these colors the black depths of volcanic lakes, green aspen forests and Maxfield Parrish blue sky.

Some of the most colorful hiking in “Color Country” is found at Cedar Breaks National Monument, near Cedar City. On the trail to one of the panoramic vistas of the breaks, you suddenly understand why early Mormon pioneers had visions.

The creative forces that shaped Cedar Breaks and nearby Zion National Park were similar, but the results were not. If Zion’s walls suggest the classic simplicity of the Parthenon, Cedar Breaks--in dawn’s light, anyway--is Chartres on a monstrous scale: all twisting spires and brooding statuary. Shadows creep around the Gothic steeples and gargoyles and you half expect to hear some haunting organ music.

By midmorning, the Gothic clouds and shadows vanish and the colored rock of Cedar Breaks appears more fantastic than funereal. Park rangers light the wood stove in the visitor center, where temperatures, even on summer mornings, can be in the 30s. When seen from the window of the cozy center, Cedar Breaks is every bit as welcoming and user-friendly as you’d expect a national park to be.

The rock layers that compose the breaks originated some 55 million years ago as limey ooze deposited in shallow, steep freshwater lakes. During the last 13 million years, steep escarpments of limestone were slowly uplifted. Wind, water and frost eroded the softer parts in the shapes of towers and spires.

As you hike around the rim of Cedar Breaks, you pass through mountain meadows and stands of pine and fir. Interestingly, there are no cedars at Cedar Breaks. Early settlers misnamed the area for the juniper growing near the base of the cliffs.

Perched at the edge of the rim are stunted bristlecone pine, some of which may be 1,600 years old. These trees, which are among the oldest living things on Earth, have managed to survive the high winds, thin soil and frequent lightning strikes that have doomed most other vegetation in these parts.

Summer wildflowers splash color atop the Cedar Breaks rim. The bloom usually begins in late June, with displays of mountain bluebell and lavender fleabane, and peaks between late July and mid-August with lupine, larkspur, columbine, penstemon and Indian paintbrush.

While the wildflower show is brief, the rock show lasts from May to October. (Snow closes the park roads in winter, but you can snowshoe or ski into the national monument.) The colored rocks will probably bring you hiking back to the Cedar Breaks rim for yet another look over the precipice at the rose, coral and vermilion hues. Below, the forces of wind, water and frost have attacked the Earth’s crust with nothing to hide the scars of battle.

As you tour the national monument, you hike back and forth from the plateau to the panoramic views, alternating between the scenic and the spectacular. Hiking here reminds me of that place in Handel’s “Messiah,” between the overwhelming overture and the more subdued “Every Valley Shall Be Exalted” aria. Handel would have understood this country.

Directions to the trail head: From Interstate 15 in Cedar City, head east 23 miles on Highway 14, then north on Highway 148 into Cedar Breaks National Monument. Park at the visitor center, a log cabin with nature exhibits and an information desk. The signed trail to Spectra Point begins at the parking area.

The hike: The path follows the south edge of the amphitheater. Enjoy views of the spires and pinnacles, which are tinted a rainbow of hues. The best view comes after a mile of hiking at Spectra Point.

From the viewpoint, the trail descends into a forested draw, then drops to an overlook at trail’s end. Enjoy yet another terrific panoramic view before heading uphill back to the visitor center.

Don’t miss hiking Alpine Pond Trail, a two-mile round-trip nature trail that begins a few miles north of the visitor center. The path winds through a forest of spruce and aspen to a small pond.

Southwestern Utah / Wasatch Rampart Trail Where: Cedar Breaks National Monument. Distance: Visitor center to Spectra Point, 2 miles round trip; to trail’s-end overlook, 4 miles round trip. Terrain: Natural rock amphitheater, wide mountain meadows, stands of pine and fir. Highlights: Sunrises and sunsets over what American Indians called the “Circle of Painted Cliffs.” Degree of difficulty: Moderate. Precautions: High altitude (about 10,000 feet) may cause shortness of breath. For more information: Contact Cedar Breaks National Monument, Box 749, Cedar City, Utah 84720, (801) 586-9451.