second visit to bryce
started the day with a mile stroll through red canyon
easy to bypass but worth investigating
moved on to sunset point in the park
we did this figure eight last time, along with fairyland and bristlecone loops
picked this one to do again for the variety of trails and views, but fairyland is a good one, too
down queen's garden, the connector to peek-a-boo, up the two bridges part of navajo (saw wall street last time)
great hoodoo scenery and plenty of ups and downs on peek-a-boo
had a snack at inspiration point, scored a cool coffee cup at the visitors center and headed for escalante
stayed in a small cabin at escalante outfitters
they have a gear store and café with wifi, so we spent some time relaxing there

Started hike about 30 minutes before sunrise from the Sunset parking area. Took the Rim Trail over to Sunrise point which was already crowded with eager beavers looking to catch the morning rays. I caught the sunrise from below the rim on Queen's Garden trail. Took the side trip to see the Queen, but even with my rampant imagination, just saw a pile of rocks. Really didn't see any other hikers until I got on Peek-a-boo (should be Peek-a-horse-poop) trail. Lots of elevation gain and loss on this loop. After completing the loop I headed up the Wall Street side of Navajo Loop, which was absolutely fantastic. Once at the top I dropped down the other side of Navajo Loop to snap some pictures of Thor's Hammer. In my opinion, the best hike in the park. If you only have one day to hike Bryce Canyon, this is the one for you!

I started my trip off at Bryce Canyon. I scored a campsite in the North Campground and got myself situated. I would hike a variety of trails over two days in the park and then move on towards Zion. This is my first time in Bryce.

Navajo Loop / Peakaboo Loop
It was late morning by the time I started this multi-loop hike. I headed down the narrow wall section which I really enjoyed. The trail is in excellent condition as it switches down. All of the trails in the park were in amazing condition. I headed down and then detoured to the Peakaboo Loop. The trail makes a respectable climb and then loops around under Bryce Point. The views are just breathtaking. The formations are incredible and the hoodoos are plentiful. I continued on and took a variety of pics as I completed the loop and started heading for Sunrise Point. I made a quick stop at the Queens Garden and then made the final climb out.

Viewpoints & Misc
I spent the evening with a couple of quick stops at Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. There were lots of people out but it wasn't overly crowded. I also took a shower at the General Store ($3 for 8 minutes and then settled in for the evening in my camp.

Fairyland Loop
On day two, I walked right out of my camp and headed for the Fairlyland Loop. I was planning on doing a counter-clockwise loop and wanted to be done around noon. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this trail. I didn’t do any research. I just had GPS routes to follow. So I headed down and cruised to magnificent views that only got better. I continued down and took the short detour over to Tower Bridge which is an impressive formation. From there the trail makes a solid climb as it wraps its way to the NE towards Fairyland Canyon. This section blew me away. The formations are stunning and the colors are vibrant. Every turn brought a new perspective and I was in heaven. This stretch goes on for several miles and then I started my ascent back to the rim. Once up top I admired the section I just hiked through. It’s one of the most visually stunning sections of trail I’ve ever hiked! I would highly recommend! The rest of the hike along the rim was easy going as I looked down on the area I just hiked. A short time later I walked back into my camp to relax. I have a couple more hikes planned for the afternoon.

Mossy Cave
After taking my lunch in camp, I headed north and drove over to the Mossy Cave Trailhead. This is a short hike with a nice waterfall. There were several cars at the TH when I started hiking. The trail parallels a creek in Water Canyon. I walked over to the Mossy Cave which had a steady trickle of water pouring out. After that I headed over to the waterfall which is solid. It’s roughly 20 ft high and had a solid flow of water coming over. After admiring the waterfall I continued a bit up canyon and then turned around and made the hike out. I wanted to drive to the south end of the park and that would take some time.

Bristlecone Pine Loop
The drive to the south end of the park is very pleasant. It’s just under 20 miles with a variety of viewpoints along the way. I arrived and made a loop around the Bristlecone Pine Loop trail. The going is very easy and there are several viewpoints that look down on the valleys below. I was really glad I spent the time driving down here.

I would return to camp and spend one final night and then move on to NW Zion. I greatly enjoyed my time in Bryce and made good use of the time. This park is stunning and the hiking is easy going with incredible views. I highly recommend Bryce!

Bryce Canyon: One of the best hikes I've been on, the loop beginning at Sunrise Point and then immediately descending into the hoodoos via Queen's Garden Loop. In the late afternoon, the sun glowed off the hoodoos - incredible first impression of Bryce. The trail consists of many arched tunnels that escort you through the trail, sometimes serving as door ways to vastly different sceneries on the other side. At the bottom of the descent the trail bottoms out in a lightly wooded area encompassing a couple of washes, linking up with Navajo Trail.

Navajo Trail consists of several up and down switchbacks, offering initial glimpse and then wide views of the Twin Arches above. In this area the hoodoos are above and surrounded by the packed siltstone slopes. On a Monday, approaching dusk, we had the entire trail to ourselves and didn't see anyone on the entire Navajo Trail until Wall Street, near the switchbacks back up to Sunrise Point to complete the loop. (The irony of naming a several million year old geologic feature after Wall Street kills me inside.)

Great loop. Must do in Bryce, and not overly strenuous.

The Wall Street portion of the Navajo Loop is closed for winter so we combined the Queen's Garden with the Navajo to make a loop. We headed down the Queen's Garden trail (near Sunrise point) and then back up the Navajo (at Sunset point). Okay I'll say right now that supposedly the reason for the Queen's Garden trail is to see the formation that looks like Queen Victoria, if that were the only reason I wouldn't probably cross the road to see it. There is so much more to the Queens Garden trail than this formation. It's a great hike down. 320 feet down and 1.8 miles of fantastic views. Some of the best of Bryce Canyon. Then at the Queen's Garden, eh I could skip it. After all you've just seen it's such a let down. In fact we were over a mile past the Queen then decided we shouldn't skip it and hiked back to see it.

But then from almost the bottom of the Queen's trail the Navajo trail joins in and continues with more great views and some nicely shaded areas of the trail. And of course a series of switchbacks. The whole elevation loss is over 550'.

Then we took the Sunset to Sunrise rim trail to get back to the starting point which is close to the General Store and it's snack bar.

Utah/Arizona Strip Trek – May/June 2014

Bryce Canyon NP (BRCA) & Zion (ZION) NP
Kodachrome Basin SP & Coral Pink Sands SP
Pipe Springs (PISP) NM & North Rim Grand Canyon (GRCA) NP

Utah/Arizona Strip Trek - Three National Parks, Two State Parks, One National Monument, Four Days, Three Nights, almost 1000 images, and 24 HAZ trails...

Prelude: Believe it or not but I’ve never been to Bryce Canyon or Zion. With 2 strikes already against me having previously attempted a trip in April (snowed out) and October (snowed out again), Lynn, the dogs and I made a late May attempt battling off strike three!


_______________________________________
DAY 1 - Saturday May 31st
7.44 miles hiking and 390 AEG (39 floors) on FitBit
442 miles on F-150

With business visitors Friday evening, we couldn’t hit the road until early Saturday morning. Made good time and stopped for lunch at the Page AZ Burger King before crossing the Glen Canyon Dam into Utah http://hikearizona.com/decoder=2047 . Once in Utah, we passed some familiar sights in the Paria River Valley. Sad to hear the movie set from Clint Eastwood’s “The Outlaw - Josie Wales” was vandalized and burned to the ground http://www.amwest-travel.com/awt_oldparia.html . Don’t know if I was one of the last to capture images before the set was burned to the ground http://hikearizona.com/decoder=17647 and http://hikearizona.com/decoder=17647

Eventually drove past Moqui Cave just north of Kanab UT http://utahcaves.blogspot.com/2008/06/moqui-caves.html . I’ve always wondered if this was a structure incorporating original Anasazi ruins. A little online research says definitely not…

We turned off SR89 and onto Utah Scenic Highway 12 http://www.scenicbyway12.com/ . This was a treat for the first time (finally). Red Canyon gave us a hint of the “eye-candy” yet to come. Stopped at one of the pull-outs along SR12 and hiked the Red Canyon Loop http://hikearizona.com/photoset=21926 and a section of Golden Wall Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19023 plus some connector trails (Red Canyon Tunnel Trail and Photographers Trail) http://www.utah-trails.com/Tunnel-Trail and http://www.utah-trails.com/Golden-Wall- ... orn-Trails

We eventually wandered into our “pet friendly” basecamp at the Best Western Ruby's Inn in Bryce Canyon City located just north of the park entrance http://www.rubysinn.com/ and http://www.rubysinn.com/bryce-canyon-hi ... hotos.html . This certainly was an international gathering of German, French, and Japanese tourist! After fixing a quick dinner at our basecamp hotel room, needed to stretch those legs around the Lake Loop http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19366 .


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Sunday June 1st
10.71 miles and 780 AEG (78 floors) on FitBit
84 miles on F-150

Bryce Canyon NP http://www.nps.gov/brca/parknews/upload ... 14-web.pdf

Pets in Bryce Canyon NP http://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/pets.htm
"Pets are only permitted in campgrounds, parking lots, paved roads, paved viewpoint areas, and on the paved trail between Sunrise Point and Sunset Point"

We knew the limited hiking with dog options within the national parks before we left for Bryce and Zion. Undeterred, the Bryce “eye-candy” made up for any missed opportunities http://hikearizona.com/decoder=11935 . The Sunrise Point to Sunset Point Rim Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19367 offered our first glimpse of the Amphitheater Region. Lynn and I then took turns minding the dogs up on top of the rim to give us each a chance to hike the Navajo and/or Queen’s Garden Loops. See http://hikearizona.com/decoder=2000 and http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1998 .

Bryce Amphitheater Region map http://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/u ... er-web.pdf
Fairyland Point
Sunrise Point
Sunrise to Sunset Point paved connector trail is dog friendly Sunset Point Inspiration Point Bryce Point

Bryce Southern Scenic Drive viewpoint map Swamp Canyon, Whiteman Bench, Natural Bridge, Agua Canyon, Ponderosa Canyon, Black Birch Canyon, Rainbow Point & Yovimpa Points

I had scouted up the Bristlecone Loop http://hikearizona.com/decoder=11918 that connects Rainbow Point and Yovimpa Points as a “photo op”. Unfortunately the trail was closed…

On the drive back from the southern reaches of Bryce Canyon, we stopped at Fairyland Point. Lynn and the dogs stayed at the rim top while I ventured down the Fairyland Loop Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=12546

With the hour approaching 6pm and knowing we still had a couple of hours daylight left, we agreed to head the F-150 over to Kodachrome Basin SP http://stateparks.utah.gov/park/kodachr ... state-park located 7 miles off Highway 12 near Cannonville on Cottonwood Canyon Road http://stateparks.utah.gov/sites/statep ... erview.png . I had previously viewed Kodachrome Basin from the south on an approach heading north up Cottonwood Canyon Road. On that occasion we had to abort our trip due to slick mud. This time I had an opportunity to view Kodachrome Basin from within the basin – nice! Pre-trip suggestions indicated Angels Palace or Shakespeare's Arch as highly recommended destinations http://stateparks.utah.gov/sites/statep ... ochure.pdf and http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Kodachro ... le-UT-5584 . Hiked Angel’s Palace Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1999 followed by an aborted attempt of Shakespeare’s Arch http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1394 prior to a sundown picnic dinner at TH parking lot. Arrived back at Ruby's Inn basecamp to catch Hawks-Kings game and Game of Thrones...


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Monday June 2nd
6.61 miles and 150 AEG (15 floors) on FitBit
245 miles on F-150

Zion NP http://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm
1hr 44min drive per Google Maps from Ruby's Inn to Zion Lodge
Zion 2014 park map and guide http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/u ... MG2014.pdf

Once again we knew the limited hiking with dog options within the national parks before we left for Bryce and Zion. Dogs are allowed on Pa'rus Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=2106
Trail connects Canyon Junction and Zion Visitor Center. Prior to entering the 1.1 mile long Zion – Mt Carmel tunnel on SR9, it was recommended to us to make a stop at the Canyon Overlook Trail http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-c ... -trail.htm and http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/zion/ ... erlook.htm and http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19368 Once near the Zion Visitor Center, I managed to grab the last available parking spot and we headed out along the Pa’rus trail as mid-morning temperatures hit the mid-80’s. With the scene reminding us too much of Sedona (the bad, not the good), we agreed to head up into the mountains and cooler climate along a back road I had scouted up as “Plan B”. Kolob Terrace Road was identified as an alternative since Zion Canyon can only be accessed by shuttle vehicles (no dogs allowed) http://www.takemytrip.com/07zion/07_08a.htm .
We had a pleasant lunch up at Lava Point http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/l ... ground.htm and http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19369 before checking out the West Rim TH http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/w ... -trail.htm and Kolob Reservoir http://wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots/detai ... 1154730183 and http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19370 .


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Tuesday June 3rd
8.25 miles and 500 AEG (50 floors) on FitBit
572 miles on F-150

“Getaway Home Day” via a natural curiosity, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park http://stateparks.utah.gov/park/coral-p ... state-park and http://stateparks.utah.gov/sites/statep ... alpink.jpg and http://www.zionnational-park.com/sdhike.htm and http://hikearizona.com/decoder=12221 . We discovered colonies of rare Tiger Beetles (only 600-3000 total population of beetles) while hiking the dunes http://stateparks.utah.gov/sites/statep ... ochure.pdf and were also treated to a fascinating display of late spring flowers while hiking the Nature Trail http://www.duneguide.com/sand_dune_guide_coral_pink.htm . South Fork Indian Canyon Pictographs - Located 4 miles northeast of the dunes in the Mosquith Mountain Wilderness Study Area (WSA) http://hikearizona.com/decoder=13601 . From Hancock Road – Yellow Jacket Road intersection, drive 3.5 miles passing the Ponderosa Campground until you reach the intersection of Hancock Road and the 4WD Sand Spring Road on the right. A 4WD vehicle allows travel within .5 mile of the pictographs. If your vehicle will not make it on the soft sandy roads, walk from the "T" in Hancock Road and Sand Dune Spring Road. It is 4 miles, one way, to the pictographs. Take Sand Springs Route to first intersection. Then a little less than 2 miles the trail ends and hiking trail to pictographs and petroglyphs begins. From the parking area, walk northeast to locate a path of use through the sand. Continue the gradual descent down the obvious trail. The trail soon becomes obvious as it continues east and then switches direction after a small drop down through the rocks. Continue descending and then traversing the hillside beneath the cliff band on hikers left. Shortly you will arrive at the (chain-link fence protected) South Fork Indian Canyon Pictographs. The distance from the parking lot to the pictographs is about .5 mile and the descent is about 150'. The pictographs sit at the back of a large alcove and pictures must be taken from behind the fence 30' away http://www.zionnational-park.com/moquith-mountain.htm and http://www.zionnational-park.com/images ... ndex32.htm . This area is a unique hidden gem – highly recommended (and no HAZer has visited this place before?)!

Pipe Springs National Monument http://www.nps.gov/pisp/index.htm and http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1229 .

North Rim of Grand Canyon http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/cg-nr.htm and http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/u ... im-Map.pdf

Prior to our visit we knew about limited options hiking with dogs at the Grand Canyon North Rim; “Dogs on the North Rim; are not allowed other than the Bridle Trail (Greenway) that connects the lodge with the North Kaibab Trail and the portion of the Arizona Trail that continues north from there to the park entrance.”

Bridle Trail on HAZ http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1654
Bright Angel Point Trail on HAZ http://hikearizona.com/decoder=418
Transept Trail on HAZ http://hikearizona.com/decoder=810

Made a stop at the Marble Canyon Navajo Bridge and found “condor city” http://hikearizona.com/decoder=778 before stopping in Flagstaff for a late dinner. Arrived back home just before midnight…


___________________________
HIKING SUMMARY
7.44 miles, 390 AEG Saturday
10.71 miles, 780 AEG Sunday
6.61 miles, 150 AEG Monday
8.25 miles, 500 AEG Tuesday

TOTAL = 33.01 miles, 1820 AEG, 24 HAZ trails


141 images on iPhone
310 images on Canon Rebel XT
438 images on Canon 6D
61 images on Canon 7D

TOTAL = 950 images on 4 cameras...


F-150 SUMMARY
442 miles driving Saturday
84 miles driving Sunday
245 miles driving Monday
572 miles driving Tuesday

TOTAL = 1343 miles on F-150 (20.8 mpg). Assuming $3.80 per gallon average, that’s 64.5 gallons consumed for a trip cost of $245.35…


EDITORIAL COMMENT; Coffee in Utah sucks. Maybe that’s too rash since I didn't stop and try the Cafe Adobe/Expresso Rock Shop in Hatch UT... Took a Starbucks “fix” in Flagstaff to return me to equilibrium!

That NPS annual pass comes thru again for $25 entry into Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon, plus $8 for Pipe Spring...

Aiming for Fall colour redux at Bryce Canyon Lodge the 1st week of October (looks like only Oct 4-6 or Oct 18-21 availability)? Cabin rentals are $212 per night plus multiple convenience fees and surcharges. Want to get some sunrise/sunset "golden hour" images...

PS - I see this trip tripped me over the 3K distance line for miles logged on HAZ

LINKED HIKES;

Glen Canyon Dam http://hikearizona.com/decoder=2047
Paria Movie Set http://hikearizona.com/decoder=17647
Red Canyon Loop http://hikearizona.com/photoset=21926
Golden Wall http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19023
Ruby’s Inn Lake Loop http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19366

Bryce Canyon NP Trails http://hikearizona.com/decoder=11935
Sunrise Point to Sunset Point Rim Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19367
Navajo Loop http://hikearizona.com/decoder=2000
Queen’s Garden Loop http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1998
Bristlecone Loop http://hikearizona.com/decoder=11918
Fairyland Loop Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=12546
Angel’s Palace Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1999
Shakespeare Arch Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1394

Canyon Overlook Trail, Zion NP http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19368
Pa’rus Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=2106
Lava Point Overlook, Zion NP http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19369
Kolob Reservoir Loop http://hikearizona.com/decoder=19370

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park http://hikearizona.com/decoder=12221
South Fork Indian Canyon Pictographs http://hikearizona.com/decoder=13601
Pipe Springs NP Trails http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1229
Bridle Trail, Grand Canyon North Rim http://hikearizona.com/decoder=1654
Bright Angel Point Trail http://hikearizona.com/decoder=418
Transept Trail, Grand Canyon North Rim http://hikearizona.com/decoder=810
Navajo Bridge, Marble Canyon http://hikearizona.com/decoder=778



Sent from my iPad


Wildflowers
Concentrated around Bryce Canyon NP and Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP

Combined the first half of the Queens Garden trail with the Navajo Loop/Wall Street section top form a 3-mile loop. This is the most popular hike in Bryce according to park officials. It was certainly crowded around the Wall Street area, but still worth the time. Everything in Bryce is interesting and visually stunning. This loop really shows you the best the park has to offer in a compact package. If you only have time for one quick hike in Bryce, this is it.

I hiked the "Figure 8" hoodoo hike as described in the Bryce Canyon National Park Visitors Guide. I started out clockwise down the Queens Garden Trail. I remember some of it from hiking here almost 43 years ago. Then at the Peek-a-boo junction I went counter-clockwise around the Peek-a-Boo Trail. then went up the Wall Street Section of the Navajo Trail. As the Visitor Guide says: "Combine Queens Garden, Peekaboo Loop, and Navajo Trail into one ultimate hike!". Hope to come back in another 43 years to hike it again

Part of a Zion NP - Bryce Canyon NP 5 day weekend. With my friend & trainer Hoem Winn and his 7 year old son Van Lathen (the reason for the McDonald's stops).
27 June 2012 Wednesday
Left Phoenix 0615
Stopped Camp Verde McDonalds
Stopped Cameron (Gas)
Stopped Horseshoe Bend
(this was Longer and sandier than I remembered)
Stopped Glen Canyon Dam
Stopped Mt. Carmel Junction
East Entry Zion
Reanger told us that the Park Campgrounds full.
Model T Rally
Tunnel Wait
1400 Visitor Center - Info showed Watchman availability
Watchman Campground tent loop. Site 16. No Shade. Hot.
Drive to Springdale

28 June 2012 Thursday
Transfer to South Campground
Shuttle to Temple of Sinewava. Two guys from Salt Lake canyoneering Mystery
Riverside Walk to The Narrows. Lots of people outfitted by Zion Outfitters.
Various Stops
Too hot to attempt Angels Landing
Grotto to Kayenta Trail to Middle and Upper Emerald Pools
Shuttle to Springdale
1630 Back to camp
Drive past La Verkin to Hurricane to McDonalds and Lin's Grocery Store on State St (Gas)

29 June 2012 Friday
Drive to Bryce Canyon
Mt. Carmel Junction
Ranger recommended Sunset Campground Loop C.
Chose Site 304
General Store and Lodge
Visited various viewpoints
Sunrise Point for Sunset (oops)

30 June 2012 Saturday
Mossy Cave Junior Ranger Program Volunteer Tracy Cobb
Visitor Center
Figure 8 - out clockwise Queens Garden - brought back memories
Counter Clockwise Peek-a-boo
Met KKRTrek and wife from Ashland
In on Navajo Loop Wall Street section
Back to Camp
General Store for Shower
At Camp - Van Lathen made friends with kids - Michelle (almost 6), Mark, Michael and mother Monica
Dinner - Hoem and Van Lathen to General Store
Alan to Bryce Canyon Lodge - Olesya (Russia) and Anna (Russia)
Black eyed Pea, cilantro, pesto Hummus
Arugula, beets, pinyon nuts, goat cheese, balsamic salad
Bison Steak, white beans, asparagus

01 July 2012 Sunday
Mt. Carmel Junction (Gas)
Kanab to 89A
Jacob Lake
Zuni Fetish for Jessica
North Rim Grand Canyon
Navajo Bridge
Flagstaff McDonalds (Gas)
Hopi Festival Museum of Northern Arizona
Cordes Junction
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