Ted's Hiking World Sunset Point to Bryce Point
Bryce Canyon National Park

September 29, 2010

Looking for a nice walk as a warm-up for a possibly grueling adventure in Zion Park tomorrow, I have driven nearly 600 miles today, including a scenic unpaved byway that topped out at exactly 10,000 feet.  I reach the Sunset Point overlook in mid-afternoon.  This rates to be a good time to be on the trail here, although I doubt that there is a bad one.

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Sunset Point view

This is probably the most popular trailhead in the park.  It begins in a spectacular fashion, with 600 feet of switchbacks down into a dark canyon.

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A trailside window provides a view of — another window

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Start of the Navajo Loop

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One of several man-made tunnels
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The observation area is right up there

Down in the canyon, a photographer has set up a camera on a tripod and is scurrying down in front of his remotely controlled unit for a selfie.

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Entrance to the canyon's attractions

Already the crowd has thinned out.  The Japanese women in sandals have had enough, and some others might be finding the air temperature too high for their liking.

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Looking up the switchbacks
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The canyon bottom

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I have been fond of this tree for nearly fifty years

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What does that formation resemble to you?

The Navajo Loop Trail veers left here, but I've been there and done that.  A quarter-mile spur to the right begets another junction.  I opt for the right-hand fork again, because it leads closer to a special attraction.

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The fantastic formations, called hoodoos, are formed by the forces of water, ice, and gravity — not by wind, as is mistakenly perceived.  The color variations represent the four different types of rock found in this, the Carlon Formation.

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Along the cliff top are strollers on the Rim Trail, which runs the entire length of this amphitheater.

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Presently I hear musical sounds.  Around the next bend are two gentlemen playing guitars — or something resembling guitars.  They shall remain nameless because they didn't bother to send me an email as requested.

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Hoodoo hoedown

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Yours Truly is not making any music here today — just huffing and puffing sounds

The trail never loses its interest; there is something new around every corner.

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It sure looks like an angel from here

Although I can see my destination above, it still is more than a mile away by foot.

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Bryce Point is not as close as it appears
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Escalante Mountains in the distance

Another nifty tunnel conceals another series of downward switchbacks.  Wait a minute.  I need to start going up sometime!

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More elevation loss
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A lone hiker at the tunnel entrance

Finally I arrive at the feature I have been awaiting — a wall of arches.  Doubtless some of them could be spotted from the canyon rim; but even if one were to know where to look, the openings would be camouflaged.

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The Wall of Windows

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This park was named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon pioneer from Scotland.  Among other noteworthy accomplishments, he built what is now the oldest Mormon chapel still in continuous use.  When asked about the spectacular scenery near his farm, Bryce reportedly said only that the canyon was "a hell of a place to lose a cow".  Early settlers downplayed the scenic value of this area, having been more concerned about survival in a harsh environment.

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Joined at the hip
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The only flower I would see on the trail

Nearing the finish line now, I can hear tourists squealing above me.  In contrast, the late-afternoon lighting is exquisite; I could not be more pleased about that.  A couple more formations should see me to Sunset Point and the end of the walk

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At the top, I must take a final panorama shot of this incomparable place.  Behind me are several huge tour buses that have spit out a couple hundred visitors, all clamoring for a spot on the observation platform.  I grab the first available shuttle back to my car.

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This view alone was worth a trip across the Great Basin    ⇔

§: I cannot imagine what more to share that is not expressed in the photographs.  There is nothing else in the world like Bryce Canyon.  Any hike down into the hoodoos provides a unique perspective that is missed by the great majority of park visitors.

Some climbing could be avoided by doing this hike in the reverse direction.  That might be important to you; it wasn't to me.

Scenery *
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Solitude *

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