Poetry in Stone: Bryce Canyon’s serene vistas are deceptive; the landscape is never static. Stand at the rim in early morning and experience the chilly dawn, crystalline blue sky, and rocks ablaze with the ruddy light of sunrise. After breakfast, walk the rim and your shifting perspective dramatically recomposes the scene below. The sun arcing across the sky casts a kaleidoscope of slowly altered hues and shifting shadows over the land. You peel off layers of clothing as the air rapidly warms as much as 40°F from dawn to late afternoon. Thin air can leave you short of breath. The high elevation that causes these effects also creates the climate that weathers the cliffs and bulbous columns called hoodoos. After sunset, as the chill returns, listen through the advancing twilight for the faint clatter or murmur of the stones tumbling in the distance. At Bryce Canyon the forces of weathering and erosion never rest, not even for a day. This dynamic, mesmerizing place is like no other.
We hiked the Navajo Loop Trail from Sunset Point down to the floor of Bryce Canyon. We started down towards Wall Street, theres’s a rapid descent along a series of switchbacks – this was tricky for the kids, they were like snowballs picking up speed with each turn and I admit it freaked me out a little. The trail flattens out a little at the bottom with a more gradual descent through Wall Street. We passed two towering Douglas firs that by all accounts have been growing in the depths of the rift for more than 750 years! A little further along we passed Two Bridges on the right of the trail. On the assent up the other side of the loop, is where you get a fantastic vie of Thor’s Hammer. I highly recommend this counter clockwise route, saving the best till last, because when you turn around at the top of the final leg you get the most breathtaking view of the Amphitheater andante all the hoodoos, it really makes the whole hike worth it! If you want a longer hike there’s signage along the way to combine this trail with Queens Garden, but on a baking hot day this loop was just the right amount of challenge for our littlest hiker.
One of my favorite National Parks. More info here.
