Utah Day 9: Bryce Canyon, up close and personal

The shuttle doesn't start runnng until 8PM so Steve took me into the park and dropped me off before sunrise. I was well before the hour, but if I had been much later, I would not have gotten a place along the rail. I was glad for my jacket in the pre-dawn chill. Clouds obscured the sunrise, which is great when your goal is to see the golden ring around them, but not so nice when you want the early rays hitting the rocks. The light was filitered, but not bad.

I started down Queen's Garden Trail. I wasn't the only one, but most of the crowd headed back to their hotels or campsites for breakfast. I had packed granola bars, a fruit cup, and a thermos of tea, and sat on a log part way down, waiting for the sun to rise above the clouds. Eventually the sun came out, and although I was low down in the valley, the views were breath-taking.

A few places they had cut doorways to ease the trail along. Yesterday while Mom sat at Sunset Point she watched people appear and disappear along this path.

I did a lot of looking straight up.

I took the connecting path to Navajo Loop Trail and came up "Wall Street."

The stairs turned to switchbacks. This is the view I saw last evening that made me determine to do this trail. Steve took one look and said, "No, thanks." (Note the switchbacks down to the dark opening between Hoodoos.)

The light could no longer be called "early morning" (it was a little past 9), but it was still spectacular.

Steve and Mom were enjoying a rerun of the incredible road we came down yesterday. I was scheduled to meet them at Inspiration Point at 11:30, so I followed the Rim Trail. Getting to Inspiration Point well before the meeting time, I continued toward Brye Point Overlook. Didn't go that far, but here is a glimpse of the narrow trail along a spectacular hogback just south of Inspiration Point.

Conclusion: I wanna hike every trail in this park!