CW: From Bryce to Zion

The next day (Oct. 6th) took our Country Walkers group from Bryce Canyon to Zion Canyon with multiple stops in-between. First, Joan and I grabbed a quick look at the sunrise palette reinforcing the colors of this spectacular canyon.

 Here's a more panoramic view.

After breakfast our group took a walk along the canyon rim, starting with a visit to Bryce Point.

There's a fenced observation point here,

with a history of the eponymous Bryce family. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The view from Bryce Point.

Then we hiked along the rim. This overturned stump graciously agreed to pose for me.

Much of the time we could look down to paths we were hiking yesterday.

When the formations aligned, the lines of towers appeared deliberately constructed. In reviewing this photo, I was struck by the resemblance to a forest of pleated carbon nanotubes.

At the far end of the walk we piled into our vans, and the first stop was at Losee Canyon, in the Dixie National Forest.

We were there for a brief visit to the arches.

The trail switchbacked up a short ridge.

The top of the ridge had some great viewpoints.

A short walk along the ridgeline,

and we were at the windows/arches.

What's the difference between a window and an arch? Technically, when the opening extends all the way to the ground, it's an arch. This formation has both.

We headed back by completing the loop, past columns,

and down steps.

We reached our vans just as it started to rain. Driving towards Zion in a steady rain, we stopped for lunch at the bakery Backerei Forscher, in Orderville, Utah. Afterwards the rain tapered off, just in time for our stop at the Maynard Dixon Home and Studio.

First there was an introduction, and artwork to admire.

Maynard Dixon (1875-1946) was a noted illustrator, landscape, and mural painter of the early 20th-century American West.

Here is the main house, built about 1939.

A glimpse of the interior.

Nearby is the bunkhouse.

Here's the "note" on the door.

The addition is well-lit.

A third building is Dixon's studio, not completely finished at the time of his death.

It's spacious inside.

Then it was time to shove off for Zion National Park, not far away. The traffic was heavy at this time of day, and the parking lots near the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel were full. Our Country Walkers group was headed for the Canyon Overlook, and the trail starts near the higher end of the tunnel, which is 1.1 miles long and gains 800 feet.

The first of our two vans couldn't find a place to park and was forced to drive through the tunnel, turn around, and come back up. Joan and I were in the second van, which found a place to park along the side of the road. In this photo we're walking towards the trailhead. The traffic ropes prevent any left turn into or out of a small parking lot across the congested road.

The tunnel was built between 1927 and 1930, before the era of huge cars, trucks, campers, and RVs. Any vehicle over a certain size must purchase a $15 tunnel permit. When such a mobile obstacle is in the tunnel, the tunnel must operate in one direction only. Which means traffic must wait.

This is the sign for the Canyon Overlook.

The trail began with a staircase, and soon we were looking down on the traffic. In this photo there's a car, centered left-to-right and about two-thirds of the way down. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The Canyon Overlook Trail is mostly over slickrock and has exciting portions. This photo looks back to a section where it passes under an overhang. 

The other side of the gorge was impressive too.

Approaching the overlook.

The view was more than worth the walk.

Across the way and lower down, we spotted the windows of the road tunnel. Stopping a vehicle to check out the view is forbidden.

We walked across the slickrock to start our return.

The traffic had become more reasonable by the time we returned to our vans. After diving through the tunnel and looping around the switchbacks, we had a brief pause to take a photo of the overlook from below.

Then we entered the small town of Springdale, which sits just outside the park. We checked into our motel, the Desert Pearl, and had a group dinner in town.

It was a non-stop day!

CW: Into Bryce Canyon

On a damp morning, October 5th, our Country Walkers group drove to Bryce Point, the start for a hike down into (and back out of) the spectacular canyon. The Point is at the lower right corner of this map.

The trail started downhill gently. We were all prepared for rain showers.

We're headed down there.

Looking back towards the observation point.

The path changed texture many times as we descended.

The rain finds the trail to be a congenial surface. In places the way was merely wet, with water-carved channels in the middle; in others, there was muck that clung in gobs to our boots. The inside or outside edge could be a better place to walk, except when it suddenly wasn't.

Still headed down.

The sun came out, encouraging us all to shuck our rain jackets and pack covers. Then a shower passed through, demanding that we hastily reunite with our rain gear. After a few minutes, the sun came out again. Or at least, the rain stopped. Do we take the jackets and ponchos off again, or are we being just being teased? The first time I faced this dilemma, the answer was  just being teased.

The route takes advantage of a window which functions as a passage.

On the far side our horizon began to disappear.

Looking back at the underpinnings of the rim.

There was a panorama on all sides as we continued  to descend.

We had left the pale higher strata, and were floating in an ochre sea -- hydrated and anhydrous iron oxides with varying amounts of manganese producing many colors.

Can you see a supplicating figure on the far left? (Click on the image to enlarge.)

We reached the intersection with the Peekaboo Loop Trail.

Heather is explaining the choice ahead of us: go right to take the easier path, left for more up-and-down. In either case, we wouldn't do the complete loop. Instead, we'd climb back up to the top at Sunset Point, via a leg of the Navajo Loop Trail.

We went left, which included a pit stop and and opportunity to reorganize our gear. It looked like the rain had stopped, at least for a while.

Our group arrived at the Wall of Windows.

Here is one section of the Wall.

Twenty minutes later, we used another tunnel to break through a ridge. Climbing over these spires was not an option!

This capstone has put up a durable resistance to the weather. Note the sunshine.

In the other direction it's scenic, but the clouds weren't going away.

Next, a slot instead of a tunnel to pass through.

When our group reached the Navajo Loop Trail, we found a notice that the left-hand option, through the popular Wall Street formation, was closed. I recommend checking current conditions when here; as of this writing, Wall Street is open but Bryce Point and the Trail Head to Peekaboo Loop are closed.

Our right-hand route passed the Two Bridges.

After the wonders we had already seen, the two bridges were a bit anticlimactic.

Then it was up, up, up through many switchbacks to Sunset Point.

After a hearty lunch we drove along the ridgetops to the southernmost and highest point of Bryce Canyon National Park, Rainbow Point. I took a photo of this overall map at the Bryce Point Trailhead.

The altitude was between 9000 and 9100 feet. Clouds, fog, and drizzle had rolled in, and unfortunately there were rumbles of thunder as well.

Heather and Eric, our guides, decided that the risk of lightning was too great for a hike, and after a lookaround we drove back. Some chose to return to the lodge, while others, including Joan and me, chose to go in the van to the Visitors' Center. Bad timing struck there as well. The museum section was closed, so we occupied ourselves with the gift shop and the introductory short movie.

We returned to the lodge for a quick cleanup before the next event, a performance by cowboy singer and poet Kenny Hall at 5:30, preceding dinner. (Kenny also works at the park in Historical Preservation.) It was planned for a lecture room at the lodge, but a ranger presentation had been moved into that room because of the weather. After some minutes our guides arranged for two tables just outside the main dining room, and Kenny sang and recited and answered questions there.

We enjoyed our dinner at the same tables, but afterward it was time to pack. Tomorrow's action would take place both here in Bryce and then at Zion National Park. And points in between.