Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Hello there, and thanks so much for joining us here! You are probably wondering what this podcast is all about? In this podcast, we will talk about all sorts of outdoor adventures, but primarily, for now, we will focus on hiking and backpacking. No other outdoor adventure is so accessible to so many people! So please join us as we talk about how to hike/backpack and learn how to hike any length trail from your local neighborhood parks to those long trails such as the Appalachian and others worldwide! Remember... "in every walk with nature; one receives far more than he seeks... - John Muir " See you on the trail!
Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Exploring Cedar Breaks: A Snowshoeing Adventure Through Utah's Hidden Winter Gem
Note: Audio only, please see YouTube for video version
Snowshoeing through Cedar Breaks National Monument reveals a transformed winter landscape with deep snow and beautiful vistas of the amphitheater from the North overlook. Though faced with a canceled ranger-led hike, this solo adventure showcases the accessibility and beauty of winter exploration in this southern Utah gem.
• Snowshoeing requires minimal investment compared to other winter sports (approximately $50 for quality snowshoes)
• Proper winter gear includes ski bibs, soft-shell jackets, thermal layers, and windproof headwear
• Even with snowshoes, expect to sink slightly in fresh powder that's at least a foot deep
• The boundary between Dixie National Forest and Cedar Breaks offers diverse terrain for exploration
• Modern snowshoes feature claws for traction and special kicks for uphill climbing
• Winter adventurers should bring water and snacks to maintain energy while snowshoeing
If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up so we can reach more people on YouTube. Do you have questions about snowshoeing or Cedar Breaks? Send us an email, and I'll see you on the trail!
Hello there. This is Craig the Natural Medic, and I am in Cedar Breaks National Monument in the middle of winter, february 15, 2025. There's supposed to be a ranger-led hike today. Unfortunately, it was cancelled. We're going to go explore the Cedar Breaks National Monument by snowshoe. The amphitheater at the North overlook is behind me. Beautiful day, even though it's cold and snowy and windy. I'm gonna make the best of it and enjoy how people with me all right, you can see how deep the snow is here, just walking along the roadside towards the entrance sign. There's another parking area, or overlook over here on top of the hill. Look how snowy it is, though it's crazy. Hey, are you enjoying this video? If you are, make sure to give it a thumbs up so we can get out to more people on YouTube. Thanks, give it a thumbs up so we can get out to more people on youtube. Thanks, almost to the entrance sign. I feel like it's a good point to turn around and come back. I'm pretty warm, except for my face, this convertible hat thing that I have. It's not very windproof. The wind is pretty biting today. It's not very windproof. The wind is pretty biting today. Other than that, I feel great. Made it up here to the boundary sign, the Dixie National Forest, and on the other side that says Cedar Breaks. Let's take a look. So there's Dixie National Forest sign From the north overlook, I'm not really sure how far that is, but on the other side it says Cedar Bricks. Isn't that cool. I'm going to walk over here to the little information panel and see what it says. This is the boundary of the National Forest and the park National Monument. This side is the National Forest and down this way, down Gorge over this is the National Forest.
Speaker 1:You don't need a whole lot to go snowshoeing and it's pretty low cost. You don't have to pay a lift ticket or anything like that, and it's just. I don't have them either. I bought mine off of amazon the last year. At the time of last year they were around 50 for the large size for me, because I'm six foot and about 200 something pounds and 28 inch laying those prints for me. A 28-inch length was printed for me.
Speaker 1:The way I wear here is similar to what I wear skiing, proskutty or downhill. I've got a ski bib Underneath that. I've got a soft-shell jacket, jeans, lightweights, underwear, fleece socks, city gloves. I have fleece socks, city gloves. I have a fleece hat on, which is not very wind-resistant but it's still pretty warm.
Speaker 1:A lot of places in the wintertime if you're used to hiking, sometimes if they're snowy, like Cedar Bricks is snowing like half of the year I'm going to love our agenda. For you to see Other places, eric, wintertime yeah. For you to see other places here in Kwaratan yeah, you can definitely see these tracks here. Somebody was koshkunchy skiing in here. You can see their pole marks and the ski marks. It's like they skied in here and turned around and went back. But the forest is really beautiful. Look at all the spruce and fir. I'm assuming that's just covered in snow and the snow is pretty deep. It's probably where I put my pole down. It's probably at least a foot deep. I don't know what the base layer is All right. So even though cross-country skis will go over some of this stuff, it's difficult for snowshoes because we have fresh powder. I've got about a foot of powder. You're just sinking, even in snowshoes. At one point my snowshoe came off I didn't have it quite tight enough and my left one came off. I couldn't really film that part, but I was struggling to get that on.
Speaker 1:Here we are going out. See you on the other side, coming back over the ridge out of Ashdown Wilderness and back towards the entrance sign for the Forest Service. You can see over here is the park, national Park, cedar Bricks. There's a row of posts, this boundary marking sign, and way down there Just hike back towards the parking area. Make sure you stay tuned for some tips and tricks about selecting and using your snowshoes. You can almost see the vehicle where it's parked. It's actually straight ahead, so almost back and off of the trail.
Speaker 1:You're definitely going to sweat when you're doing this. You're going to want to have some snacks and water available, just like you would on any other outdoor expedition. Keep yourself hydrated and plenty of energy. Even though you do have these large things on your feet that help you, it does require a little more effort, in my opinion, to get through the snow. You can definitely see, even though I have these on, I'm still sinking into the snow a little bit, but I'm not sinking as much as I would if I didn't have them on. It's possible to go out here and hike. However, you'd be doing a lot of post-hulling and going deep in that snow, so snowshoes can give you that edge. You can have some congestion in the back, but you may need to put it on. He has to make merry in the back here for the next.
Speaker 1:This is such a good cannon To support myself. I want to have a sense of activism. You have claws underneath. You want to be careful about walking on hard surfaces like asphalt or like we are on this gravel surface, because they can bend. You can see the ice. There's ice in the tread of where you're walking. Mine have the same thing, also has a kick right here, but they're used in Pills. You're tough when you're in them. You can't go up the hills. Okay, back in the vehicle and I call it a successful trip. What did you think about this? If you liked it, give it a thumbs up. Think about subscribing to the channel. Any questions about this area or snowshoeing? Make sure to leave those comments below. I hope you enjoyed this adventure and until next time I'll see you on the trail.
