On to Bryce Canyon

On to Bryce Canyon Sue and I had planned on going on to Bryce Canyon National Park to go cross-country skiing after finishing the Coyote Gulch hike. For years, I've wanted to cross-country ski at Bryce (the plateau there is between 8,000 to 9,000 feet). Alas, this year, there had been very little early winter snow, so we adopted Plan B: hike Bryce, instead of ski it. In a word, it was awesome!

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(92K) 800 x 640 After nuking a frozen burrito at the quick stop in Escalante (We were psyched for a big pizza at the Golden Loop cafe, but it and everything else in town was closed on Sunday...remember, this wasn't exactly the high season for visitors), Sue and I drove over to Kodachrome Basin, about 45 min away. This is a state park which is a little like a mini-Bryce. There are lots of "badlands" and phallic spires, arches, bridges, etc. It had stopped snowing and the sun was shining, but it was quite windy. A little cold, actually, now that we had switched from hiker mode to tourist mode.

One of the spectacular rock formations in Kodachrome basin. Hey, is there a Velvia basin someplace?
After leaving Kodachrome Basin, we continued on through the hopefully named town of Tropic to Bryce canyon. We stayed at Ruby's Inn, which is just about the only place open in winter. It's just outside the Bryce National Park boundary. Apparently, Ruby got displaced from his original Tourist Rest when the national park was established. I think he must have negotiated a pretty sweet deal to get the choice site right at the park entrance.
Had there been any snow, Ruby's grooms something like 30 km of trails for cross-country skiing; these link up to additional trails groomed by the Park Service in Bryce itself. But not this year (sigh).

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(141K) 800 x 640 The next day, we hiked the Fairyland Point trail, at the north end of Bryce national park. It's a fairly vigorous 8 mile loop, with considerable up and down. The sky was crystalline blue, but the wind still had a bite to it. A couple of inches of dry, powdery snow really set off the hoodoos nicely.

Sue, near the beginning of the Fairlyand trail. We dropped about 900 feet from here, which got us below the snow level.
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(86K) 800 x 640 More hoodoos along the Fairlyand trail. This is a great time of year to hike Bryce. We had this loop to ourselves, and the contrast between the pink cliffs and the snow is great.

Part of the Tower Bridge formation. From here, we started the climb out of the canyon, which follows a formation called the Chinese Wall. We stopped for a snack below the spur leading to sunrise point, then followed the rim trail back to Fairyland point.
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(98K) 800 x 608 Sunset, looking North. In the distance is the Aquarious Plateau.

On our 2nd day at Bryce, we hiked down the Navaho trail from Sunset Point. This is probably the most popular trail in the park, and justifiably so. It really is spectacular. The first part of the trail drops about 500 feet in a series of switchbacks which turn about every 15 feet. This is the trail that goes through a narrow defile know as Wall Street, which has a douglas fir growing in it. You've seen it on lots of calendars. There were a number of other hikers on this trail, many of whom were European.
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(133K) 800 x 662 We turned off the Navaho trail for the Peekaboo loop. The combination of these two trails makes for an awesome hike, with lots of variety. There is also alot of up and down.
After following a drainage up to this divide, we were rewarded by a large number of intricately formed hoodoos.

This elegant window is along the Peekaboo loop. It is part of a formation know as the Wall of Windows, which features several large windows in the Claron rock that makes up the park's formations. The picture was taken from near a large spring. The outflow of the spring was completely frozen, about 10 feet wide, and we crossed gingerly, as a slip would have sent us down the creek over some frozen water falls.
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(45K) 800 x 513 A nice cluster of hoodoos near the Wall of Windows. On this section of the Peekaboo loop, we climbed up and down across the upper canyons of several forks of Bryce Creek.

Hoodoos, near the Cathedral.
(176K) 800 x 574

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Back to the index	Previous page (Sleepy Hollow)
(92K) 800 x 640	After nuking a frozen burrito at the quick stop in Escalante (We were psyched for a big pizza at the Golden Loop cafe, but it and everything else in town was closed on Sunday...remember, this wasn't exactly the high season for visitors), Sue and I drove over to Kodachrome Basin, about 45 min away. This is a state park which is a little like a mini-Bryce. There are lots of "badlands" and phallic spires, arches, bridges, etc. It had stopped snowing and the sun was shining, but it was quite windy. A little cold, actually, now that we had switched from hiker mode to tourist mode.
One of the spectacular rock formations in Kodachrome basin. Hey, is there a Velvia basin someplace? After leaving Kodachrome Basin, we continued on through the hopefully named town of Tropic to Bryce canyon. We stayed at Ruby's Inn, which is just about the only place open in winter. It's just outside the Bryce National Park boundary. Apparently, Ruby got displaced from his original Tourist Rest when the national park was established. I think he must have negotiated a pretty sweet deal to get the choice site right at the park entrance. Had there been any snow, Ruby's grooms something like 30 km of trails for cross-country skiing; these link up to additional trails groomed by the Park Service in Bryce itself. But not this year (sigh).	(61K) 800 x 624
(141K) 800 x 640	The next day, we hiked the Fairyland Point trail, at the north end of Bryce national park. It's a fairly vigorous 8 mile loop, with considerable up and down. The sky was crystalline blue, but the wind still had a bite to it. A couple of inches of dry, powdery snow really set off the hoodoos nicely.
Sue, near the beginning of the Fairlyand trail. We dropped about 900 feet from here, which got us below the snow level.	(125K) 800 x 640
(86K) 800 x 640	More hoodoos along the Fairlyand trail. This is a great time of year to hike Bryce. We had this loop to ourselves, and the contrast between the pink cliffs and the snow is great.
Part of the Tower Bridge formation. From here, we started the climb out of the canyon, which follows a formation called the Chinese Wall. We stopped for a snack below the spur leading to sunrise point, then followed the rim trail back to Fairyland point.	(90K) 800 x 640
(98K) 800 x 608	Sunset, looking North. In the distance is the Aquarious Plateau.
On our 2nd day at Bryce, we hiked down the Navaho trail from Sunset Point. This is probably the most popular trail in the park, and justifiably so. It really is spectacular. The first part of the trail drops about 500 feet in a series of switchbacks which turn about every 15 feet. This is the trail that goes through a narrow defile know as Wall Street, which has a douglas fir growing in it. You've seen it on lots of calendars. There were a number of other hikers on this trail, many of whom were European.	(204K) 800 x 1000
(133K) 800 x 662	We turned off the Navaho trail for the Peekaboo loop. The combination of these two trails makes for an awesome hike, with lots of variety. There is also alot of up and down. After following a drainage up to this divide, we were rewarded by a large number of intricately formed hoodoos.
This elegant window is along the Peekaboo loop. It is part of a formation know as the Wall of Windows, which features several large windows in the Claron rock that makes up the park's formations. The picture was taken from near a large spring. The outflow of the spring was completely frozen, about 10 feet wide, and we crossed gingerly, as a slip would have sent us down the creek over some frozen water falls.	(111K) 501 x 800
(45K) 800 x 513	A nice cluster of hoodoos near the Wall of Windows. On this section of the Peekaboo loop, we climbed up and down across the upper canyons of several forks of Bryce Creek.
Hoodoos, near the Cathedral.	(176K) 800 x 574
Back to the index	Previous page (Sleepy Hollow)