Bryce Canyon National Park

7/7-7/8 Utah

Day 7

The drive to Bryce was much shorter than we anticipated, it only took us about an hour and a half instead of the predicted three. It also seemed that either we are chasing these thunder storms, or the west is experiencing some sort of record weather. This was supposed to be the hot tanning portion of our trip. Arriving at Bryce Canyon National Park we set up camp and were surprised by the drop in temperature from Zion, until we realized we had gained about 4000ft to Bryce at 9000ft. The temperature drop was a welcome change initially, but proved to be to cold in the evenings when coupled with the cloud cover and thunder storms.
We spent the rest of the day driving up the rim of Bryce canyon stopping at each overlook as we went. Bryce is the fifth, and top plateau in a series of colored steps called The Grand Staircase. White, gray, vermilion, red, chocolate and pink. Pink being Bryces predominant color, it is made up of a soft limestone which has eroded through repeated freeze and thaw. This erosion has caused the strongest parts of the rock fortified with iron to remain standing, which creates what are called hoodoos. These hoodoos are tall tower like structures and arches which dominate most of the park, and are it's primary attraction.
Back at camp we planned out tomorrows hike, read our books (I finished mine) and went to bed.

Day 8

8:00am

Woops, we slept in a bit much today. It could be attributed to the continued thunderstorms and cloud cover. Fortunately we were not in a hurry this morning, and it's the first time we have not had to pack up and move camp. We decided to celebrate the occasion with some hot fluffy pancakes, which after digging through our supplies we found some toppings for. Peanut butter, nuttella and honey. I've never had honey on pancakes, but it is a winner.
Completely satisfied after breakfast we headed off towards the rim to get a little hiking in. We settled on a 6mi hike that would take us past the highlights of the canyon. The wall of windows, wall street and the queens garden. All different variations of hoodoos and arches. Zach brought his camera down into the canyon, and I my iPad since I decided to use my hiking time to practice my French through podcast.
The hike was spectacular, taking us through narrow tunnels, high walls topped with even higher arches and towering hoodoos. Along the way we even ran into a couple folk we had met in Zion a few days before. I guess Bryce and Zion are kind of a package deal. About halfway along the hike the thunder storms suddenly and violently turned into thunder showers! We took cover in a tunnel initially, and moved to another each time the rain let up a little. It was entertaining to watch the tourists scramble about like it was raining acid. Although there was the fear of lighting strikes. Bryce has the highest concentration of lighting strikes and lighting related injury in the country.
Finishing our hike we decided to head to the nearest town to find a coffee shop we could relax and read in while waiting out the storm. We ended up in the tiny town of Tropic, about 12mi from the Bryce entrance. Even for a Friday this town was quite. We found a little restaurant that served coffee, had ourself a sandwich and kept the waitress from losing herself to boredom. Two hours later we headed back to camp, stopping to do a quick mile up to a small waterfall and cave. Getting back we continued hiding from the rain, reading and eventually building a small fire. The first for the trip, as the Grand Canyon and Zion had a fire ban in effect.
We sat around talking and eating some soup before heading to bed, hoping tomorrow would bring a dry tent and clear skies for the drive to Capitol Reef National Park.

MILEAGE

Driving:

This trip-101
Total-1206.5

Walking:

This trip-8
Total-74