With the success of our Shakespearean trip in 2021, my family decided to give the Utah Shakespeare Festival another whirl in 2022. Jason and I opted to go a little early and get out of the summer heat at nearly 10,000 feet in Brian Head, which is only about half an hour from Cedar City. We sure did get out of the heat and then some. Here’s how our vacation turned into a deluge of water, culture, and conduits.
Per our typical M.O., we arrived in Brian Head just in time. On this occasion, just in time to hike 2.5 miles on the Manzanita Trail… or, more specifically, just in time to hike half that distance before dark and the other half not before dark. The Manzanita Trail is a mild path that runs along Parowan Canyon’s hillsides above State Route 143. While the highway can be heard and seen in sections, the trail feels removed from the road for the most part. If you want a quick introduction to Brian Head, this is a good track to take. You can access it from the Town Trail just where SR-143 intersects Aspen Drive.
The next day, we were uncertain if the weather would allow us to do another hike, but as the threat of rain and thunderstorms decreased and shifted to later in the afternoon, we felt reasonably comfortable attempting the trek to Sidney Peaks. Sidney Peaks are a trio of small mountains that range in elevation from just under 11,000 feet to just over 11,000 feet. The Sidney Peaks Trail, which is a section of the Bunker Creek Trail, crosses a saddle between the South and Middle Peaks. While there are no official paths that lead to the tops of any of the peaks, Middle’s apex is easy to reach. You can carefully avoid stepping on delicate mountain foliage by sticking to rocks and gravel as you climb a final incline to its 11,060-foot summit.
From its zenith, we could survey all our surroundings. We observed a sky stuffed with unsettled clouds and rain off in the distance. Although the storm seemed a considerable space away, we still set about the task of heading down with a little urgency. The first claps of thunder ripped through the alpine serenity before we had even returned to the main trail. That’s when the sprinkles started too. Soon after, as the cliché saying goes, all hell broke loose.
The storm kept worsening at a rapid pace as it struggled to chug up the ridgeline the Sidney Peaks Trail runs along. We were concerned about the hunk of metal Jason had on his back in the form of a tripod becoming a lightning beacon, so we ran the sections where tree cover was nonexistent, or the thunder seemed particularly wrathful. Out of the 2.3 miles of main trail we had to traverse to get back to the trailhead, we sprinted at least half with backpacks jostling and sopping pants clinging to tired legs.
The downpour escalated until we could barely see, and our shoes were so wet we didn’t even bother trying to avoid the large puddles and streams covering the path. Fortunately, the lightning wasn’t as plentiful as the thunder, and it never struck anything near us. The last part of the route, a downhill portion, looked more like a stream than a path as we sped through it. I felt certain floods were flashing in some of the surrounding hillsides. Sidney Peaks’ 5.25 miles would have been a mild and satisfying trek if it hadn’t been for all the effort required to avoid becoming lightning kabobs.
After the rain ceased later in the afternoon, we rallied enough energy to drive to the top of Brian Head Peak, which tops out at 11,307 feet, and enjoy its 360-degree scenery while dodging yellow-bellied marmot droppings. We also drove a few extra minutes to the North View Overlook at Cedar Breaks. We did not feel inclined to do any more hikes since we were suffering from post-traumatic storm disorder.
As we were heading out of town the next day, we discovered SR-143 had been closed since the previous afternoon due to a blockage of water, mud, and trees caused by a flash flood, an occurrence I had predicted. Fortunately, the debris had been cleared enough to allow one lane of traffic through the canyon, and we were able to continue with minimal delay.
I wish I could say we were done dealing with cloudbursts at this point in our outing, but that would be an inaccuracy. Next time, I will cover the rest of the trip and the rest of the deluge.