Bryce Canyon - by Nicole

Day 8 and 9 Bryce Canyon

I was really excited to get to Bryce Canyon. You see, I had no idea what to expect because I did zero research on the place. Stephanie was the experienced hiker and I counted on her to get me ready for my first real hike. I just bought the equipment I needed and let her do the rest. She really prepped me so that when it came down to the actual hike I had tons of fun because I was prepared for anything, all I needed to do was enjoy myself and take lots of photos! I have to also thank Alan too for sending all of his incredible hiking PowerPoint presentations to me: ) I had a great pair of shoes and all of the right clothing so I didn’t overheat…I loved my new hat and walking sticks are the best for stabilization when going up or down a hill. I was so excited to be there hiking for real!

We arrived Monday afternoon at Ruby’s Inn just outside of Bryce Canyon Park. It was a relatively easy drive for us so when we checked into the hotel we decided to get to the park and at least do a short hike to scope out the trails. The clouds were blowing in as we hiked down the canyon…it was around 5:30pm when we started our decent…we knew we would start losing light around 7 or 8 so we kept the hike short. The canyon was gorgeous! The rocks have eroded over time and created what they call “Hoodoos”. Check out our photos to see what I am talking about. The park rangers refer to the tops of each eroded column as “Hoodoos”. They encourage you use your imagination when looking at these beautiful yet oddly shaped rocks…I thought one of them looked a little like snoopy : )

On Tuesday we went on our official hike early in the morning so as to avoid heat and thunderstorms. I was so excited! Our hike took us all the way to the bottom of the canyon where the pine trees grow and where the birds chirp loudly. If I didn’t have to watch where I was stepping the entire way I may have been able to identify more birds. Our hike lasted about 3hrs. It was awesome as you can tell by the gorgeous photos. We did have to make a choice to come back up either using the Navajo Loop Wall Street side or the Navajo Loop Two Bridges trail. We took the Wall Street trail and I think we lucked out and had the better trail for the journey back up. At one point you find yourself lodged between two towering cliffs that provide much awaited shade and a lovely tree that some how reaches to the sun above the crack between these cliffs. It was at this point the hike really began to feel like we were in an Indiana Jones movie as we traversed between beautiful red towering rocks. The last leg of the trail was a series of switchbacks straight on up. I would highly recommend this hike to beginners wanting to get into hiking. It wasn’t very difficult and offered plenty of sightseeing along the way with no fear of bears and few bugs. It was long enough to feel some sense of accomplishment and the trails were well marked. I hope to one day be able to come back and do the full day hike!

Written By One Excited Hiker!-

Nicole