April 22

First things first. Safety is the number one priority, with anything in your life. Be vigilant and be prepared. As I was exiting the shuttle bus in Bryce Canyon NP at the Sunrise Point stop, four Search and Rescue people were putting on gear from their truck. Ten minutes later I learned why. A lady of about 55 years of age was screaming in pain, about 200 yards down the Queen’s Garden Trail. One EMT member was already attending to her. First analysis was two breaks in her left foot and ankle. As I left the scene, the medic was trying to cut off the hiking boot. With her pain threshold already quite low, the sound was not pretty. As I rounded the next corner of the trail, I saw the other EMT folks arriving.

Yes, I was in Bryce Canyon NP today. This was my first time in the park with snow on the ground, and plenty of it as one went further south, which meant increased elevation (9100 feet at the end of the road, whereas the VC near the park entrance is only 7900 feet). One of the more difficult trails, Navajo, was closed due to weather-related issues. Therefore, I opted for another strenuous path, the Peekaboo Trail. The consensus of the many folks I talked to during this hike was that if the Park Service allowed us to take this trail, then Navajo must really be in bad shape. More than half of the trail was covered in packed snow and ice. Most of the other half was mud. The trail was down to a single lane, so if a group was coming up and another group was going down, somebody had to stop at a “wide spot” to let the others go by. There was plenty of slipping and sliding by many people for the 1.1 miles down to the loop portion of the trail, as well as the mirror-image pain of going back up. The loop at the bottom snaked through myriad stone towers. What a sight. I want to thank all the folks I met along the path for wishing me the best on achieving the Quest.

Prior to Peekaboo, I took the Fairyland Loop Trail, near the park’s General Store. It had piles of packed snow and mud as well for the first portion of the hike, since the path was on the north side of the ridge which headed down to the canyon floor. But once it cut through a section of the wall and came out on the south side, no more snow. The Sun can do good work when given the chance.

The final trek of the day was the aforementioned Queens Garden Trail. This had by far the most people. Maybe the absence of snow and mud was the main reason. Or it could be the horizontal and vertical distances were much less than other trails. But everyone seemed to be enjoying their hikes, and that should be one’s objective. This trail’s path does go through a couple of doorways/tunnels, which expectedly caused folks to stop for photo-ops.

One thing to keep in mind when you visit is the sun’s position. It goes from east to west each day, and slowly moves north and south over one year. Certain sides of the hoodoos, towers, and windows will look brighter when the sun is here, and other sides will light up when the sun is there. Switchbacks on the trails, and moving from one side of a ridge to the other, will provide new angles to get great photographs. If you think something looks dull now, keep walking another 100 yards and find another something that looks majestic.

The number of visitors in the park today was probably way below the level seen in the summer. A few parking spots seemed available off and on at most of the main hiking trailheads but at times I saw cars just leave. That is where the park’s shuttle bus system becomes a major player. There is a lot in Bryce Canyon City where one can park their car and board a shuttle. In ten minutes, you are at the VC, and a few minutes later at the farthest point the shuttles go; Bryce Point. No need to worry about driving, honking, worrying about parking, etc. Just hop off and get to you first hike. Then hop on and go to the next trailhead. Parking at the VC is only allowed for one hour, though today there would not have been a problem to shelve that requirement. But watch out for the summer crowds.

Please note, the shuttle only goes as far as Bryce Point. If you want to go to the end of the park road, you have to drive your vehicle. But plan to do so, or else you will miss views like Natural Bridge.

The park is home to many animals, but the one which caught my attention was the Prairie Dog. A large colony borders the park road, a bit south of the VC. Signs are posted for vehicles to slow down because the little critters like to scramble across the blacktop. Maybe they cannot tunnel horizontally that far.

Today was also a “Fee Free Day”, at all NPS parks. Bryce Canyon is now $35 for a 7-day pass, for a standard vehicle. Probably a lot of happy people today at all parks.

For those who know this park, I did not forget Mossy Cave. But I will visit that tomorrow morning.