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southwest road trip - day 7 - bryce canyon - fairyland loop
From the Grand Canyon we headed back into southern Utah to Bryce Canyon National Park, famous for its unusual rock spires called hoodoos. Located on the edge of a high plateau between 8,000 and 9,000ft, the canyon has been shaped not by flowing water but by mechanical and chemical weathering. For 200 days a year the temperature goes above and below freezing every day. During the day, melt water seeps into fractures in the rock only to freeze at night, expanding and cracking the rock. Over time this "frost-wedging" shatters and pries rock apart. In addition, rain water, which is naturally acidic, slowly dissolves the limestone, rounding off edges and washing away debris.
Unfortunately, the wet weather seemed to have followed us but we didn't want to just view the canyon from the car, so we donned some wet weather gear and braving the sticky red mud set out for a 3 mile (4.8km) hike to a formation called Tower Bridge.
On the way we passed through a gap in a long, white rock fin called the China Wall.
After descending nearly 1,000ft from the canyon rim we came to a small stream and the well-named Tower Bridge which, sitting some 50ft upslope of the stream, didn't exactly span the water, but did resemble its namesake.
From Tower Bridge we could have returned to the canyon rim, but a small sign indicating "Fairyland Point 4 miles via Fairyland Loop Trail" tempted us to push on, despite the continuing drizzle. The trees didn't offer us much shelter, but the scenery was enticing. Here Boat Mesa towers above the hoodoos (and us).
The rocks and soil in the canyon are primarily siltstone and limestone that apparently turns into a sticky mess when wet. Our shoes kept gathering red mud that clung so well it felt like walking with weights on our feet!
Mark admires the rows and rows of hoodoos. Hoodoos are spires of rock that have alternating hard and soft layers that weather unevenly giving them a totem-pole or stone statue-like appearance. The term hoodoo comes from African-American folk-magic meaning "to cast a spell" or "one who performs magic". A fitting name for the fantastic shapes in Bryce Canyon.
This one caught our eye. Could that be a hoodoo cat sitting atop the rock?
As the day wore on the weather began to improve and patches of blue appeared in the sky.
As we climbed higher up the trail we began to get glimpses out of the canyon to the valley beyond. (If you click on this pic to enlarge it you'll see people on the trail that will give you some perspective of the size of the hoodoo formations).
The green vegetation made an interesting contrast to the oranges, pinks and whites of the rock formations. We noticed a couple of large caves hiding between these hoodoos. (Click on the pic and the caves will be easier to see).
Eventually the canyon rim was again in sight. The climb back up to the canyon rim sure was a lot harder than the climb down! (Especially after hiking for 5.5 miles)
When we got to Fairyland Point we admired the view and then checked the map. It was another 2.7 miles along the Rim Trail back to our car at Sunrise Point!
Fortunately the rim trail was just gently undulating, and there were interesting view spots along the way.
We even found a convenient log to take a short rest on and admire the view. We'd certainly earned the pizza we had that night for dinner!
From the Grand Canyon we headed back into southern Utah to Bryce Canyon National Park, famous for its unusual rock spires called hoodoos. Located on the edge of a high plateau between 8,000 and 9,000ft, the canyon has been shaped not by flowing water but by mechanical and chemical weathering. For 200 days a year the temperature goes above and below freezing every day. During the day, melt water seeps into fractures in the rock only to freeze at night, expanding and cracking the rock. Over time this "frost-wedging" shatters and pries rock apart. In addition, rain water, which is naturally acidic, slowly dissolves the limestone, rounding off edges and washing away debris.
Unfortunately, the wet weather seemed to have followed us but we didn't want to just view the canyon from the car, so we donned some wet weather gear and braving the sticky red mud set out for a 3 mile (4.8km) hike to a formation called Tower Bridge.
On the way we passed through a gap in a long, white rock fin called the China Wall.
After descending nearly 1,000ft from the canyon rim we came to a small stream and the well-named Tower Bridge which, sitting some 50ft upslope of the stream, didn't exactly span the water, but did resemble its namesake.
From Tower Bridge we could have returned to the canyon rim, but a small sign indicating "Fairyland Point 4 miles via Fairyland Loop Trail" tempted us to push on, despite the continuing drizzle. The trees didn't offer us much shelter, but the scenery was enticing. Here Boat Mesa towers above the hoodoos (and us).
The rocks and soil in the canyon are primarily siltstone and limestone that apparently turns into a sticky mess when wet. Our shoes kept gathering red mud that clung so well it felt like walking with weights on our feet!
Mark admires the rows and rows of hoodoos. Hoodoos are spires of rock that have alternating hard and soft layers that weather unevenly giving them a totem-pole or stone statue-like appearance. The term hoodoo comes from African-American folk-magic meaning "to cast a spell" or "one who performs magic". A fitting name for the fantastic shapes in Bryce Canyon.
This one caught our eye. Could that be a hoodoo cat sitting atop the rock?
As the day wore on the weather began to improve and patches of blue appeared in the sky.
As we climbed higher up the trail we began to get glimpses out of the canyon to the valley beyond. (If you click on this pic to enlarge it you'll see people on the trail that will give you some perspective of the size of the hoodoo formations).
The green vegetation made an interesting contrast to the oranges, pinks and whites of the rock formations. We noticed a couple of large caves hiding between these hoodoos. (Click on the pic and the caves will be easier to see).
Eventually the canyon rim was again in sight. The climb back up to the canyon rim sure was a lot harder than the climb down! (Especially after hiking for 5.5 miles)
When we got to Fairyland Point we admired the view and then checked the map. It was another 2.7 miles along the Rim Trail back to our car at Sunrise Point!
Fortunately the rim trail was just gently undulating, and there were interesting view spots along the way.
We even found a convenient log to take a short rest on and admire the view. We'd certainly earned the pizza we had that night for dinner!
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