Wind Cave Way

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Wind Cave Way, 8 May 2021

On Saturday, May 8th, we met at the Wind Caves trailhead at approximately 8:30 a.m. Hikers included: Robert, Michelle & David, Dave P., Dave & Jane, Brent, Laurel, Ralph, and Ophelia. Trip leaders were Michelle & David. It was a chilly start due to a cold front that came through the day before. At the Wind Caves and Wind Caves Way junction, about 1 mile up, we forked off to the right onto Wind Caves Way and hiked up to Beirdneau Ridge. While we were ascending, we encountered very blustery conditions, but the ridge was mostly sunny and calm. We ate lunch at 10:50 a.m. on the ridge and the temperature was 47 degrees and sunny. The total hike took 4 hours 37 minutes, we hiked 6.3 miles round trip, and gained 2283 feet in elevation. We saw numerous wildflowers, including bluebells, arrowleaf balsamroot, yellow bells, water leaf, yellow violets, Oregon grape, and some spent steers head. Other plants we encountered included cut leaf balsamroot, larkspur, licorice root, and two different types of Lomatium. We arrived back at the trailhead at 1pm at the temperature was 60 degrees. It was a fun and rewarding hike.

Note: We were pleased to see that someone has put a lot of work into maintaining this trail. It is in MUCH better condition that our May 2017 trip.

Trip Summary:

Participants: Hike leaders Michelle and David, with hikers Robert, Dave P., Dave W., Jane, Brent, Laurel, Ralph, and Ophelia
Drove 8 miles to the Wind Cave Trailhead in Logan Canyon
Started hiking by 8:30, lunch at the ridge 10:50 - 11:15, back at the trailhead about 1:00
Sunny, with cool temperatures and blustery winds
6 miles with 2330 feet of ascent and descent (per Dave W's GPS)

Thanks to Michelle for the narrative and photos, Ralph, Ophelia, David and Jane for photos, and Dave W. for photos and GPS data.


Cache Hikers on the Wind Cave Way Trail

Logan Canyon as seen from the Wind Cave Way trail, with the China Wall cliffs (and Crimson Trail) on the right

Hiking the Wind Cave Way trail	Lunch with a view of Logan Peak and Mill Hollow

A glimpse of Cache Valley from the ridge	Steers-head bleeding heart, Dicentra uniflora (past-bloom)

Yellow bells, Fritillaria pudica	Nine-leaf desert-parsley, Lomatium trinertatum

Arrow-leaf balsamroot, Balsamorhiza sagittata	Big-leaf balsamroot, Balsamorhiza macrophylla

Goose-foot yellow violet, Viola purpurea	Waterleaf, Hydrophyllum capitatum

Nuttall's larkspur, Delphinium nuttallianum	Long-stalk spring-parsley, Cymopterus longipes

Mountain desert-parsley, Lomatium grayi	Utah milk-vetch, Astragalus utahensis

Red-stem stork's-bill, Erodium cicutarium	Creeping Oregon-grape, Mahonia repens

Our GPS track shows 6 miles (round trip) with 2330 feet of ascent and descent. You can look at our route using Google Earth or download our GPS file.