9.2.2010 Originally our plan was to take a day off work to drive down south to hike Kanarra Creek but after a bit of research on other hikes in the area we decided to try and squeeze in an out and back hike of the bottom end of Ashdown Gorge. A few days later we found someone who agreed to shuttle us up to Cedar Breaks so we could hike the entire length of the canyon and we jumped at the opportunity. Spencer and I left Orem early and met with our shuttle driver in Cedar City around 9:30am. We parked Spencer’s car near the Ashdown and Coal creek confluence then drove up to the trailhead just outside of Cedar Breaks and were on the trail by 10:30am. Within the first half mile of the hike there was a small spur trail leading to a view point of Cedar Breaks. One of the handful of meadows we hiked through as we descended to Rattlesnake Creek. We made it down to Rattlesnake creek in 1.5 hours and followed the trail along the east side of the creek. Once we reached the trail junction we took a short break to shoot some photos then got back on the trail and headed over the ridge to Ashdown Gorge. Once we were in the gorge we set up our cameras on our tripods and slowly worked our way down canyon shooting. Spencer in Ashdown Spencer getting his shot Selfie Soon we reached Toms Head, this is the point where Rattlesnake creek feeds into Ashdown and we hiked up Rattlesnake to check out the slot and waterfalls. This was definitely the narrowest and one of the most interesting areas of our hike. The shady canyon, small stream, and light leaking in from above provided for some excellent photos. “Toms Head” marks this confluence About .5 further up the creek there was another split, Lake Creek is on the left and Rattlesnake is on the right. Lake Creek waterfall. The Rattlesnake creek side… Waterfall at the end of the slot in Rattlesnake. This end of the Rattlesnake really was the highlight of the hike, we took our time getting our shots in the shady slot. We stopped to eat a quick bit and filter some water before hiking back into and down Ashdown Gorge. We spaced out a few hundred yards in order to stay out of each other photos and slowly worked our way down the gorge towards the car over the next few hours. It took use 7.5 hours to complete this 11+ mile route with lots of time spent taking photos. Its no exaggeration when I say this is hands down one of the best hikes in all of Utah and I cant wait to do it again.
wow, that place looks amazing. The funny thing is, I just read about that hike a few days ago and added it to my bucket list. Especially the waterfalls caught my eye and I want to see them in the future. When is the best time to do the hike? I guess July to September, due to the elevation?
I think we need to do this hike sometime in the fall of 2012. I have a plan, lets talk about it next time we see each other.
