Bryce Canyon - Day 1

Bryce Canyon – Day 1, May 15 2011

 

Bug Count Since Reno: 75+ and one grasshopper caught in the window trim.

I slept pretty comfortably last night in my tent. The wind finally died down after sunset and the little space heater kept the tent at a moderately comfortable 54F. I woke around 6:40 am to overcast skies and cool temps. I dressed and made my coffee and ate my oatmeal bar. I checked the weather and it had changed, moving up the possibility of rain to tonight and the next two days. I changed my accommodations to move into the one-room cabin for the next two nights and broke down my campsite in about 90 minutes, before the wind started back up. I didn’t want to chance the forecast of AM showers in the morning and trying to break camp in the rain. After all, this is supposed to be a fun adventure and breaking camp in the cold rain just doesn’t seem to fit that picture. I moved my things into the cabin and went and showered.

After I showered and headed off to Bryce Canyon around 10:15 arriving just before 11 am. I went to the Visitor Center, stamped my passport and inquired about activities for the next two days. Originally, I had planned to do some hiking the second day, but with the weather changing, I decided to do that today. I had hoped to give my blisters another day of rest, but pressed on, having wrapped them in moleskin and wore two pair of socks in my hiking boots.

I parked my car in the lot across from the Visitor Center and walked back and caught the shuttle down to Bryce Point about 11:30 am. From there I hiked the rim trail 1.3 miles to Inspiration Point. The weather was still overcast, cold and very windy. As I hiked the trail the sun came out about mid-day and warmed up some, such that I was beginning to perspire a little under my hat, and jacket. I made it to Inspiration Point in a little under and hour. The view was inspiring and with my hike there it was also perspiring.

Bryce Point

Inspiration Point

Sunset Point was another ½ mile down the rim trail so I continued toward it. After Sunset Point, Sunrise Point was another ½ mile, so I continued. At Sunrise Point I adjusted the moleskin on my little toe by adding some more layers as it was beginning to bother me some. I then walked down the rim trail to the Sunrise shuttle location and since it was around 1:30 pm and my coffee and oatmeal had run out of steam, I walked over to the Bryce Canyon Lodge for lunch where I had the Bryce Burger and Lodge Fries to get my energy fuel for the afternoon hikes.

Sunset Point

Sunrise Point

After lunch I returned to Sunset Point and started down the Navajo trail into the Canyon around 2:30 pm. This was a moderate trail that descended over 500 feet in 0.6 miles, meaning a very steep trail with many switch backs. Once at the bottom of Navajo Trail I continued on to the Queens Gardens, another 1.6 miles back up another trail instead of continuing on the Navajo trail return loop. At the Queen Gardens there was a sign done in relief identifying the Queen Victoria, which if there hadn’t been, I don’t know if you could have identified it. At the Queens Garden there were some prairie dogs running to and fro, probably because they know that food might get dropped in that area. From there I continued 0.8 miles back up to Sunrise Point, covering the 3 miles of trails in about 2 hours. I walked down to the Sunrise Shuttle, sat down and took some Ibuprofen, waited for the shuttle and caught it back to the Visitor Center. I walked to my car and headed back to the camp ground, with a detour to Fairyland Point overlooking Fairyland Canyon on the way out of the park. I estimate I walked/hiked over 5 miles for the day in about 6 hours total and changes in elevation of over 1000 feet. My feet and legs are tired.

Wall Street on Navajo Trail

 Queen Victoria on the left with the horizontal ridge and point, no seriously

I always wondered where the end of the trail was and I found it

Two Views of Fairyland Canyon

Along the trail I met folks from Wisconsin, Maryland, Charlotte North Carolina, Seattle, and even two ladies from Austria. All in all Bryce Canyon is amazing with The Hoodoo formations making it an interesting contrast to say the Grand Canyon.

I returned to camp, showered and headed back to Tropic UT about 4 miles away for dinner. I ate at Clarkes Restaurant and against my principles ordered the Grilled Beef Quesadillas for dinner. They were OK, but sort of bland, which is why I typically don’t order Mexican food north of the Red River! After dinner I gassed up the car and returned to my cabin.

Tomorrow I plan to drive to the south end of the canyon and then cruise my way back north, stopping at all the scenic overlooks which is the parks suggested auto tour. I don’t intend to do much, if any hiking so my feet can rest a while. If I finish early and the weather holds out, I may take an excursion to Kodachrome State Park a ways down the road from the camp. Wednesday, I leave for Salt Lake and hope to take a detour to Zion National Park on the way, weather permitting.

See you down the road!