Once we awoke from a good slumber we packed up and headed out of Zion. We considered doing a hike up a stream, which looked pretty amazing, but after looking at the crowd of people doing it we chose not to. We got breakfast at a cafe in town and then picked up a slice of Bumbleberry pie because it sounded great and because I won a bet. Then we left.
On our way out we hoped to stop and find some slot canyons. The descriptions I had were vague and we had no cell service so we stopped at a cafe for lunch to use the WiFi and get a cheesy quesadilla. This cartoon was on the menu and I loved it. We found what we were looking for and decided to go to Bryce for the day.
We had to hunt down a campsite when we arrived and almost got beat out for it. But we were too quick. I had my slice of pie (always good pre-hike food.) It tasted like winning. And berries.
The Fairlyland hike looked like a nice trail so that was our choice for the day. This is what much of the trail looked like: a narrow path stomped out among red dirt.
We got to climb around some of the hoodoos (the big columns of rock that shoot up all over the place) early in the hike and found out how loose the rock on the trail can be. There was a nice view of what we'd be hiking down to from the top.
After the initial rim trail we arrived at where things got serious apparently. It did get a bit more difficult after this point but not so much because of steep grades as the length and exposure.
There was rarely a shady spot to stand on the rest of the trail, though we did have plenty of great sights to see along the way. It was hot. It was hot. Twice. Because it really felt like walking through the desert. Sometimes water doesn't make it better.
We took a break to eat an apple and drink some water in a shady spot for a while and then continued on. One part of the trail took us into a low area that had some tree cover, but we soon had to climb up out of it on a steep hill. We went up and down a few times before starting a final ascent up a long, long trail back toward the rim where we began. The scenes were nice, but the heat and the length just got to me so I was ready for it to be done.
When we finally arrived back at the car we went out to the market to get some more food and came back to eat it and relax at the site for a while. Joanna took a nap while I read and enjoyed sitting.
The night sky is supposedly best viewed at Bryce, allowing a view of three times as many stars as most places in the country. The stars were plentiful and amazing as we went out to an overlook with my tripod to try to shoot them. It didn't work as well as I'd hoped, but the view was still worth the short walk.
After stargazing for an hour or so we came back to camp and I spent a little more time reading before getting to bed. It's easy to fall asleep after being out in the desert all day.
Once we awoke from a good slumber we packed up and headed out of Zion. We considered doing a hike up a stream, which looked pretty amazing, but after looking at the crowd of people doing it we chose not to. We got breakfast at a cafe in town and then picked up a slice of Bumbleberry pie because it sounded great and because I won a bet. Then we left.
On our way out we hoped to stop and find some slot canyons. The descriptions I had were vague and we had no cell service so we stopped at a cafe for lunch to use the WiFi and get a cheesy quesadilla. This cartoon was on the menu and I loved it. We found what we were looking for and decided to go to Bryce for the day.
We had to hunt down a campsite when we arrived and almost got beat out for it. But we were too quick. I had my slice of pie (always good pre-hike food.) It tasted like winning. And berries.
The Fairlyland hike looked like a nice trail so that was our choice for the day. This is what much of the trail looked like: a narrow path stomped out among red dirt.
We got to climb around some of the hoodoos (the big columns of rock that shoot up all over the place) early in the hike and found out how loose the rock on the trail can be. There was a nice view of what we'd be hiking down to from the top.
After the initial rim trail we arrived at where things got serious apparently. It did get a bit more difficult after this point but not so much because of steep grades as the length and exposure.
There was rarely a shady spot to stand on the rest of the trail, though we did have plenty of great sights to see along the way. It was hot. It was hot. Twice. Because it really felt like walking through the desert. Sometimes water doesn't make it better.
We took a break to eat an apple and drink some water in a shady spot for a while and then continued on. One part of the trail took us into a low area that had some tree cover, but we soon had to climb up out of it on a steep hill. We went up and down a few times before starting a final ascent up a long, long trail back toward the rim where we began. The scenes were nice, but the heat and the length just got to me so I was ready for it to be done.
When we finally arrived back at the car we went out to the market to get some more food and came back to eat it and relax at the site for a while. Joanna took a nap while I read and enjoyed sitting.
The night sky is supposedly best viewed at Bryce, allowing a view of three times as many stars as most places in the country. The stars were plentiful and amazing as we went out to an overlook with my tripod to try to shoot them. It didn't work as well as I'd hoped, but the view was still worth the short walk.
After stargazing for an hour or so we came back to camp and I spent a little more time reading before getting to bed. It's easy to fall asleep after being out in the desert all day.
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