Bristlecone Pine Trees at Cedar Breaks (Utah)

I thought that I was a seasoned hiker (I am not), and that I could easily do a strenuous hike uphill to 10,000 feet (I was unqualified!). 

This is a beautiful hike at Cedar Breaks National Monument.  The trail is a mile up and a mile back.  That seems easy enough, but it is all uphill and with the altitude I am not used to, I pretty-much gasped for air the entire time (I quickly learned how out of shape I was).

But, it was very much worth it (I can't believe I made it).  The Bristlecones in Cedar Breaks are MAGNIFICENT!  There were so many of them, and one was estimated to be over 1,600 years old.  These trees are the oldest living organisms on Earth.  It is rare to find them because they only grow off cliffs at above 10,000 feet, and are only found in a few states (I only know of California, Nevada, and Utah).

I made it to the top, and enjoyed the view from there.  The trees are beautiful!

Up, up, uphill!

There are no railings.  It's pretty scary!

Gorgeous views along the way.

More climbing.

Ok, so when I got near this little house, I was thinking - Oh, yeah!  A snack shop!  I thought I could go in for a cup of hot chocolate and a little snack.  WRONG!   When I got to it, it was a water tank.  Bummer!

Pretty new growth of flowers

There was still some snow on the ground

There it is.  A BEAUTIFUL Bristlecone!

These were so pretty

This tree is over 1,600 years old!

A little pinecone

This is the hike I took.  I was headed to the very end

You can see the hiking trail

I kept getting closer and closer!

Finally, I reached it

My hiking stick - the best $12 I ever spent.  You couldn't do this without a hiking stick.

A sign for the visitor center never looked so good!