If you’ve been following us, you thought you’d get a post from Karen today because we switch each day. Much to your chagrin, you are now realizing that you get me again today. Lucky you!
Karen suggested I post again tonight because we did an incredible hike. It was a hike she did with LLS in 2018 and was hoping to do again one day. And that day was today.
While we were walking along the Rim Trail yesterday, I mentioned that I would really like to get down in the hoodoos again before we left. I have not idea when or if we may come back to Bryce again, and in what shape I will be. I wanted to be down in the guts of the landscape one more time. Fortunately, Karen was more than happy to agree!
The hike we chose was a triple-header, parts of the Queens Garden and Navajo hikes we already did, plus adding in a substantial hike on Peekaboo, which we did not. Overall, the hike was a little over 6.5 miles, with a 1,500 foot elevation gain in total. Sounded like a perfect last hike in Bryce.
To avoid crowding as much we could, and find a parking spot, we arrived at the trailhead parking at 6 a.m. We got the same parking spot we had each morning, and packed for the long hike. We had to give the Needy Bichon a “calming treat” to keep her happy. Then we opened the door and hit the trail.
After a short walk along the Rim Trail, we came to Sunrise Point. This area was already crowded with people waiting for, you guessed it, sunrise. We bypassed that group and began our descent into Queens Garden before the sun crested the horizon. When we were about 100 vertical feet below the rim, the sun finally broke. There was no one around us, and the scene was incredible.
Our hike continued from this point for more than 6 miles. For more than half of that, we didn’t encounter another person. The trail went up and down and up and down until our legs were ready to give way. The sights we saw along the journey defied description, so I will not even attempt to bring them to life.
What I will tell you is this. I have been hiking in the national parks since my first trip to Utah in about 1994. That has included a LOT of hikes over that time, more than I can count. But I do know is this – the hike we did this morning was the BEST hike I have done in my entire life. Not only was it physically challenging, but it provided both a variety of terrain as well as unbeatable views.
I do not know that I will ever hike something as amazing as I did today. I hope I do, but I doubt it. The trail provided an experience I will not soon, if ever, forget. I am so happy that I was able to share today with Karen, without whom none of this would be the same.
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