To avoid the weekend crowds, I went instead to the Cedar Breaks National Monument just north of Zion. The monument is officially closed at this time of the year (i.e. no facilities and no entry fees), but the road goes straight through it, and provided there is no snow (there was not), there is no challenge in stopping at the various viewpoints to enjoy the views, and do some hiking. I took the freeway to Cedar City, then 14 and 148 off to the mountains to the east to Brian Head. I went to the ski resort to see what it looked like, and to drop off some DNA. It seems to be a nice ski area with a fairly high base elevation 9,600 ft, but not much of a village center. It's pretty wide open which tells me it probably tends to be windy. I'll have to come back to ski at some time.
I turned back and took the dirt road to the summit of Brian Head Peak which is over 11,000 ft overlooking the resort to the north and Cedar Breaks NM elsewhere. It was cold with the wind blowing hard, and wished I had not left my hat and gloves at home. I was shaking when taking photos because of my cold hands. The structure wasn't much of a wind shield because of all the openings. There was frost all over the ground but only at the very top.
From the top, I retraced my original path down, stopping at the various overlooks, and doing short hikes. The first started at the Chessmen overlook. I took the trail north which forms a loop along the crest of the amphitheater. I started on the upper trail, then back on the lower trail which passes by an alpine lake (I'll have to check to understand what makes a lake an alpine one).
Both upper and lower sections go through wooded sections with occasional views of the amphitheater. The latter is reminiscent of Bryce: you're at the top of a plateau overlooking a carved edge of red and orange spires although most of the times, there are trees in the way.
In one small section, the path was covered in hard snow which most likely existed because it had been compacted by many footprints.
The Chessmen overlook was impressive, but the wind was something else again being both cold and strong, and in your face. I didn't spend much time there because of that. I snapped a bunch of photos in quick succession before turning around.
The next stop was at the closed visitors center with an easy wide path to an overlook. But starting on the west side is the Ramparts trail which offers even better views. I only did a tiny stretch once again because of the wind.
