Day 7 - Bryce Canyon

Page and Roman requested a light final hiking day so we planned a 2.5 mile hike into the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. We arrived midday, had a light lunch, checked in to the lodge and then went out on our light hike.

At Zion you stay at the valley and hike up the canyon but on Bryce you stay the the top of the canyon and hike down into the valley. We hiked down winding switchbacks into Bryce about 500 feet in elevation down and then at the bottom decided to add on "about 30 minutes" to the original hike to the Peekaboo trail. Peekaboo is so named because it weaves in and out of the hoodoos to reveal sweeping views in every direction-- making for a sensational trail. See video example:

http://youtu.be/gRbU8cKe-vg

Halfway through Peekaboo we decided to take a one mile trail up out of the canyon. This trail ended up climbing 500 feet through a snowy narrow trail but we all made it out and decided to celebrate at the top. Pic 2 and 3. The trail back from our ending location was closed so we ended up walking three miles along the road. Twenty cars passed us before a nice couple from Chicago stopped and let us hitchhike back.

We went to a local hotel to watch the ncaa basketball tournament and then arose for a sunrise at inspiration point this morning. Pic 4. With the four hour drive to Las Vegas behind us now, we have completed four days of 12, 8, 10 and 7 mile hikes and are relaxing at the luxurious Delano hotel before our sushi dinner and Cirque de Soleil O show at 10. Life is good.

Comments

Day 43 - Capitol Reef

Capitol Reef, a national park centered around a 90 mile ancient seabed reef was next on my list. A sensationally scenic three hour drive from Bryce, back through Escalante, and then through a national forest led me to the park. A stop by the visitor center to get the lay of the land and insider info on local free BLM campsites complete, I set out on Chimney Rock trail up the the top of the first reef to get a view. Yes sir!! The weather was ideal for hiking and the views completely blissful, but I was frankly tired today. I set out along the scenic road down the west side of the reef and remember wanting to take a nap-- but still having a sense of urgency to complete the desert portion of my trip-- I pushed on and set out to hike down the Capitol Gorge and Grand Wash canyons. The Capitol Gorge had a "Pioneer Wall" with inscriptions from the early 1900s and the Grand Wash had a nice narrow section with towering canyon cliffs all around. I took a photo of the surrounding reef...

Day 35 - Escalante River

Our group of eight intrepid but novice backpackers and two incredibly experienced guides gathered for breakfast at 8am to meet, greet and bulk up for 5 days in the Escalante River area. We laid out all our gear to ensure we had the needed hiking, camping and survival supplies and drove to our trailhead for departure. We hiked along a trail following the course of the Escalante River for a mile or so before getting to our first of many river crossings. Wet feet were not something we could avoid so we simply hiked across and sometimes down the river. When the river ran close to the canyon walls we knew we would have to find a shallow entry to the river, then cross the river to the bench on the other side. Guides Andrew Skurka and Alan Dixon offered instruction along the way on map reading and route finding and information on local vegetation and geology and how the knowledge of both helped make your off trail travel more efficient. For example in geology their were two main ro...

Day 54 - Great Sand Dunes

I awoke to clear skies, a dry mattress and pillows, a second hot shower and a waffle-filled motel breakfast. I decided to head east to Great Sand Dunes National Park in order to climb 700 foot sand dunes surrounded by snow-covered alpine mountains--a rare site. Just about every road in Colorado goes over a pretty high mountain pass eventually, and this three and a half hour journey didn't disappoint. And Great Sand Dunes didn't disappoint either. After securing a dune-side campsite and waiting out a rainstorm, I set out to climb the dunes for a sunset view. Great Sand Dunes is also famous for its Medano Creek wave-like flow and ankle-deep water, making it popular with young kids. I hiked through it and started climbing the dunes, first to a high dune on the east side and over to the next highest dune and then the next highest et until I got to the highest one-/ properly called High Dune. I sat down, setup my phone to capture a time-lapse of the beautiful sunset my eyes were ...

Road Trip Daily

Search This Blog