It has been cold and snowing all week; however, the weather forecast is sunny, with wind chills in the negative nine range this morning as I peek outside to verify the prediction. Light blue skies roll along the horizon as the sun rises from behind the mountain. I plug my ski boot warmers into the outlet and have oatmeal for breakfast.

Brian Head ski resort is a 40-minute door-to-lift from my home in Cedar City, and I already have a full gas tank. The lifts open at 10:00 am, and I leave the house at about 9:45. I'm hoping that the cold and the recent Martin Luther King holiday will nudge people to stay at home today; however, I'm joined on UT-143 by several vehicles, which is never a good sign as cars back up behind a shuttle bus on the twisting turning roadway.

It is barely 10:30 when I round the final turn and see the crowded ticket line, overflowing lift, and packed parking lot. Cars are already spilling out onto the roadway, with every nook and cranny occupied. I made a loop through the overflow lot, and unfortunately, the early birds didn't park very well, causing an entire row in the center of the lot to be missing.

I circle back, checking out the few other overflow lots before heading back down the canyon. I'm not too fond of crowds, and unfortunately, out-of-state skiers discovered our sleepy mountain resort during COVID and California's intense lockdowns. More than one fellow skier has told me the story on a shared lift ride that the travel time is about the same, and the cost is about half.

I quickly pass another hundred cars streaming up the canyon to my lone descent. Mentally, given my ski pants and the worn-out hiking shoes from last year I'm wearing, I run through my options. Not many; however, my skis convert to backcountry skis, and I have the skins in my bag; a faint idea of skinning to the top of a remote mountain peak begins to form, and I decided to cut through the Parowan Gap and pick up UT-130 heading toward Minersville.

When I stop to use the facilities, a single car is leaving the vacant parking lot at the Parowan Gap. Having grown up in Southern Utah, the Parowan Gap is one of those places I visited a dozen times on school trips and scouting adventures; however, it has been years since I looked at the petroglyphs close up, and I wander along the trail from the restroom to the first placard resting along the iron railing.

The Gap resides east and west along a north-south ridgeline. Cairns (replaced by metal poles) mark the viewing spot where the sun aligns with the gap at the summer solstice, and I marvel at the history recorded on the Navajo sandstone. The Bureau of Land Management has done an excellent job of installing the parking lot and restroom facilities. I follow the interpretive signs along the sidewalk, viewing each placard and disappearing into the shadows of the mountainside.

“Parowan Gap Petroglyphs” photo by author

There is an abundant number of panels covered in petroglyphs (1), and I take more than a few pictures trying to capture the majesty of the moment. It is quiet and surreal as I walk among the historical landmarks. I'm warm, thanks to my ski bibs and coat, as I circle back to the south side of the roadway and get a closer look at the graphs that are not behind iron rails.

A final placard marks several early settlers' inscriptions and asks, "When is a rock inscription a historic relic and when is it vandalism?" I was happy to read the answer as I am often discouraged by the amount of vandalism I find scattered among petroglyphs in my travels.

"Inscriptions made by early settlers have become, in a sense, part of this site's historic record. But now that people understand just how remarkable and irreplaceable the petroglyphs are, this site protects that heritage. Any writing on the rocks today is vandalism, punishable by law."

“Parowan Gap Pictographs” Photo by author

I finish my detour and the viewing of this beautiful site. Reaching UT-130, I turn left instead of right, heading back into Cedar City for lunch, feeling refreshed, energized, and grateful to live in such a fantastic place full of history and natural wonder.

“Snowy Trail in The Gap” photo by author

Written January 23, 2023

Footnotes:

https://www.visitutah.com/articles/parowan-gap