Red Hollow, Dixie National Forest, UT

Because my wife accompanied me on this trip, and because the trip involved late nights of astronomy, I was pretty limited in what I could do during the day. This was the only hike I managed. Because I botched the image upload, the photos are in the center, with no text on the sides. Don't want to re-upload, so I'm stuck with that.

Red Hollow is one of several potential trailheads I've driven by innumerable times as I drove between Cedar City and Cedar Breaks, but never hiked. A day when I only had a few hours free made this the perfect choice, however. The trailhead is about 1.5 miles up (east) UT-14 (Center Street) from Cedar City's Main Street, on the left (north) side of the highway. There is a sign on the highway pointing to the parking area. There's also room to park on the other side of the highway. Coal Creek is on the right (south) side, and a paved multi-use trail runs along the creek, north, another 1/2, or south, into Canyon Park. From Canyon Park, there are links that take you into the town trail system.

Hiking up the trail, it's a steep, short (less than a mile) walk up to a crest. Several trail branch off from there. There was also a sign, with one trail labled, "Thor's Overlook," and another labeled, "Thor's Hidewaway." I took the trail to the overlook, or tried to. There are lots of use trails in the area, but I tried to stayed on the "main" trail.

Even before reaching the crest, I saw a prominent rock outcropping (two photos up), which I assume is Thor's Hammer. Thor's Overlook was a bit below that. Nice views all around the area, looking both north and south.

Small window (arch), also near the crest.

I don't know if the name or the thing someone built (below) came first, but I assume this is "Thor's Overlook."

Cropped photo of Thor's chair, below. By the way, as with all photos on this blog, a click on the photo brings you a larger version of the photo.

And a closer view of Thor's Hammer.

After a lot of zigzagging, then heading back down, I figure I was at about 2.4 miles of walking for this trail. Needing more distance to call it a hike, I walked across the highway, crossed a metal bridge, and started along that paved trail. Came across a sign that said a waterfall was .5 miles upstream (left). So I went that way.

When I heard, "waterfall," I envisioned a nice cascade, coming in from the side. Turned out it's a step in a water control structure. I suppose to better control the river, there are at least two of these "step" structures along the 1/2 mile of river, here. So the "waterfall" is water, flowing over giant concrete steps.

One was visible from the bridge crossing, while the second one, you had to walk that 1/2 mile up the trail to be able to see it.

After the waterfall, the pavement ends, but it looks like a trail continues for some distance. But I tured around here, and walked back to my car.

There were drinking fountains and a restroom structure along the river trail. Did not check to see if the fountains worked. The restroom had one door padlocked shut, and one with a keypad lock. Not sure if they are regularly open, but I suspect not.

I wasn't on the paved trail long. Saw maybe four joggers, and two bikers on that. Saw maybe three hikers while on the Red Hollow trail. This was on a Saturday afternoon.

I'd estimate about 3.3 miles for the day, and about 630 feet of verticle gain, most of which was on the Red Hollow Trail. I had already started driving before I realized my Alltrails recording was still running, so I don't have an exact number. Because this is neither wilderness nor NPS land, I assume dogs on a leash are fine, for either trail. If you do bring a dog, pick up. And I do mean, "pick up." Don't bag and then leave your (dog's) poop on the trail. No one else wants to carry your (dog's) poop!

Around Cedar Breaks, 9/13/2026

I was in southwestern Utah, again, for the Southwest Astronomy Festival. My wife and I came up to volunteer with a telescope, again. We were last here over the Fourth of July weekend, which was capped by a nice aurora display. No such luck, this time, around!

This summer, Cedar Breaks has been having an astronomy program every Friday and Saturday, which I think is great. You're above 10,000 feet, and, despite Cedar City being in sight, the skies are still pretty dark, much darker than my usual stomping grounds of Joshua Tree. Sky's the Limit is about 4.4 on the Bortle scale, while Point Supreme in Cedar Breaks is about 3.5. By contrast, the parks around Moab (not in Moab, itself, but from some of the observing points within Arches, Canyonlands, and Deadhorse Point are between 2.5 and 3.1 on the Bortle scale (a lower number means darker skies).

You can get from the LA area to Cedar City in about seven driving hours (less, if you stop less frequently), so it's doable to leave LA in the morning and get to Cedar Breaks with enough time to set up for dark sky observing. Obviously, it's also possible to get back in a day, as well. But it does wear me out.

The Southwest Astronomy Festival runs three days and nights, with a variety of talks, a day or so of solar viewing, and three nights of dark sky viewing. So I left Friday morning, volunteered Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, then drove back Monday. No solar set up for me, which is fine. My 14" dob takes a lot more car space that my previous setups. I'd probably need to use the roof rack if I wanted to bring another set up.

I'm still sleep-deprived, but wanted to get this posted reasoanbly, quickly, if only to get the leaf photos posted.

These were all taken on the morning of Sunday, September 13, 2026. The leaves were just starting to chage in spots, which means, by now (Sepember 16), some of those areas will be at or near peak, but most will still be a week or two away from that. These photographed areas, in particular, were east of Cedar Breaks, off of UT-143. It's the same area I visited on September 22, 2024, so that about tracks.

A couple of obligatory shots from Point Supreme, here. Point Supreme is where they do the astronomy programs. It's a nice, relatively open overlook, with a fair amount of parking. The only time they didn't use Point Supreme as their observing spot was when they were working on building the new visitor center, when we set up at Northview Point. Also good visibility, but a smaller parking lot. Still, it was the best they had available, and its near the "Breaks," so it's a dramatic backdrop.

That's actual Brianhead Peak, the prominent point at the top left. The structure in the first two shots of this post is there. The same point is visible as a silhouette in the aurora shots in the previously-linked post, above, from July, 2026.

The structure also appears in some Milky Way shots I took in 2021.

In November, 2022, the structure's roof was destroyed in a windstorm. Replacement happened just this year, wrapping up just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, although the formal ribbon cutting was not until the next weekend.

Got another sticker to add to my water bottle. Funny story, by the way: There was a thin metal pin that held the lid on, so you could unscrew just the top part, flip the top back, and drink from the growler. The pin fell out during our July 4 visit. I'm pretty sure we found that same pin on this trip, when I thought I lost a small rubber cap forthe end of my finderscope, and about a half dozen people with flashlights looked for that, at the end of the night. Didn't find the cap, but someone did fine that tiny pin, so my growler lid stays put, again.

Took only one short hike, on September 12, 2026. I'll try to get that one posted relatively quickly, too.

West Side Loop, JOTR National Park, CA

Hiked August 17, 2026. I came out this weekend mainly for a night at Sky's the Limit, but booked two nights instead of my usual one, because I was off on Monday, as well. So the plan was to do astronomy on Saturday night, hike Sunday morning, head back out Sunday night for either landscape photography or more telescope viewing, then head home Monday morning. However, after my Sunday morning hike, I lacked motivation to head back out on Sunday night.

However, having paid for two nights, if I didn't do at least one more thing late Sunday, I could have just driven back home after the hike and saved the $65 or what ever the second night cost me. So, after that lazy Sunday afternoon and night, I *had* to do something on Monday morning. But not too long, since I'd have to drive back. Also, figured I'd want to take a shower before that, so I needed to get back relatively early, to have time to eat and shower and still be able to check out by 11am.

I settled on the West Side Loop, because it, like the Panorama Loop from the previous day, was the closest, quickest JOTR National Park access point from the Super 8 in Yucca Valley. Drove on up Joshua Lane, parked in the same spot in front of the nature center as the night before, and walked off to the West Side Loop trailhead, that I had passed on the way in, the day before.

Hiked the loop in a counterclockwise direction, so that meant heading mostly west, then south, then east, then south, again. The photos are in reverse order, by the way, so the top shot is nearing the return to the trailhead, the last good vista before you're making the dip back to the trailhead.

I guess the second shot was to illustrate that there's not a lot blooming around here in mid-August, not like my spring visit to Warren Peak, which I have not yet managed to blog.

This hike's scenery was obviously very similar to what I saw the previous day. It was adjacent, just a little north and south of what I saw on the Panorama Loop. And that hike had some similarity to the Warren Peak loop, which I haven't blogged, yet. BTW, some of the trail markers in this area will simply have a two letter marking: WP for Warren Peak, PL for Panorama Loop. I can't remember if it was WS for the West Side Loop or not, but there, you have it.

The trail is well marked, except near the campground, where it's crisscrossed by use trails, and could be a little confusing, without spotting the signs. Also, there's a short segment, just about halfway through, that was severely eroded by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hillary, a few years back.

That's what the big red signs were about, one on either end of the washout. That probably took out any steps or switchbacks, and makes the short segment have some very steep and unprotected climbs. I mean, it's not like you're exposed to a drop, but if you don't have grippy shoes, and, especially, if you're heading down, I think the chance of a slip and slide is pretty good.

So, if given a choice, I would take the trail in a counterclockwise direction. Mind you, I didn't know this when I started; just a fortuitous turn of events.

I got an earlier start on Monday then I got on Sunday, maybe an hour earlier. Also, I think the temperatures were a little cooler. You can definitely see the difference in color, with the lower, softer, orangish or yellowish light in the first few shots I took (the last few shots in the post.

Still, between the two hikes (and the late night of astronomy on Saturday), I apparently built up a hydration debt. I was tired and thirsty for several days after I got back home from this weekend.

All told, from car door to car door, 4.85 miles, and 830 feet of gain. Not particularly long, but about what I wanted for a "hike before checkout" thing. Quite a bit easier than the day before.

General info: No drones, no dogs on the trail. Not a lot of shade, so keep that in mind. Pleasant walk, though. I had gotten so few hikes in, recently, that I partially made the second night's reservation to make me take a couple of hikes, that weekend.

Panorama Loop, JTNP, CA

Well, after an extended hiking drought, this should be my Hike #28 for the year. Hike #27 was another short jaunt up to Mount Hollywood, which I won't separately blog since I've done it so many times.

There was a trail registry on top of Panorama Peak, so I went ahead and wrote in it, then placed it back where I found it. That's why we have two shots of a can on a rock. Apparently, I didn't face the can the same way as I found it, and I shot it from slightly different directions, but, close enough!

This trailhead is out of Black Rock Canyon campground, which you'd reach by taking Joshua Lane south, out of Yucca Valley. Joshua Lane is part of a signaled intersection in Yucca Valley. CA-62 goes east-west through town. Heading in from the north at this light, it's CA-247, also signed as "Old Woman Springs Road." Heading down to the south is Joshua Lane.

There is currently (as of August 24, 2026) substantial construction along Joshua Lane and some of the other roads south of CA-62, which slows the drive. Still, it's only about fifteen minutes from the Super 8 in Yucca Valley, to the Black Rock Canyon campsite.

I hiked Warren Peak in the spring (April 18, 2026), but never managed either a blog post or even a facebook post on my personal account. However, I did make mention of having made this hike, here, and I did find the photos I took. So there's a hike I need to go back and blog.

This trip, like most of mine here, wa in connection with a night of astronomy at Sky's the Limit. That part of my trip proved a little complicated, as my Skywatcher 350P had a major malfunction. Still, it's functional even without all the electronics as a perfectly usable 14" Dobsonian telescope. It just lacks goto and tracking, so it wasn't a total loss. People still got to see some pretty cool stuff. And after it was over, I used my Telrad and some patience to track down Comet Tempel 2, the 10th comet for which a periodic orbit was calculated. It was pretty faint and tiny, and probably would not have photographed well, which is good, because I forgot to bring my counterweight for my tracking equatorial mount. So the astronomy side of the trip was far from perfect, but still somewhat enjoyable, if not necessarily what I had planned.

The next morning, I got up, ate my breakfast, drank my coffee, and left the motel some time around 8:30am, later than intended. Parked near the nature center. Got started on my hike a little before 9am.

In the summer, a lot of the campsites are closed off, and the nature center up there is only open on the weekends, and closed for an hour for lunch in the middle of the day. Although it is part of Joshua Tree National Park, you are not required to pay an entry fee or display a permit to park in the day use areas.

There are several potential starting points for hikes here. I just headed south from the nature center, and started my hike at the south end of the campground. The trailhead was signed, with mileage indicators, and other signage along the way.

There's quite a bit of Joshua tree, juniper, and pinyon pine along the area, as well as lots of creosote. The area burned significantly not too long ago, so there are also areas of stading dead trees and what not. It's a slight incline, and somewhat sandy in places, but a quick walk, and, again, well-signed.

After about 1.8 miles, the trail splits. The next three miles or so is a large "lollypop" loop. If you go right (counterclockwise), you' shortly hit another right, which would take you to Warren Peak (WP, on the trail signs). To make it different, I headed left.

About halfway through that loop, the trail approaches, but does not ascend, Panorama Peak. But its location is obvious when you're there, and several use trails leave the main loop to head up to the summit. There are plenty of nice views along most of the loop.

Shortly before you finish the loop section, you've pass the Warren Peak trail, coming in from your left. If you have the time and inclination, you can add that as part of your day. As for me, because I still planned additional hiking or photography that evening, I just continued through the intersection, and walked back to my car.

When I got back to the nature center, it was closed for its 11am - noon lunch break. So I took a seat on one of the plastic Adirondack chairs on the porch of the nature center and ordered Subway. I had a perfectly usable cell signal from here. There's a Subway right at the 247-62 intersection, in a gas station, about as "on the way back" as it could be," so I could easily pick that up on the way back to the motel. Ordered two footlongs, on account of a coupon. Ate one for lunch, and saved the other half for either a later dinner, or to eat, the next day.

Just about seven miles for the day, including an extra 1/5 of a mile or so to walk down to the restroom near the nature center and back. 1,211 feet of verticle. Turned out this wiped me out pretty good, and I lacked the motivation for either astrophotography or a sunset hike. I did manage a short wander around the Desert Christ thing. Not sure if I'll blog that. We'll see.