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By Jacob
By Jacob
Bryce Canyon National Park is located along Utah State Route 24 in the southern part of the state. It was the second national park established in Utah. Bryce Canyon is the smallest national park in Utah. It is home to one of my favorite trails in the national parks system, The Navajo Loop Trail.
We visited Bryce Canyon on Day 2 of the 2020 Vacation to seven national parks. We were driving from Grand Junction, stopping at the Colorado National Monument Visitor Center, driving and hiking in Capitol Reef National Park, driving and hiking to and through Bryce Canyon National Park, driving to Zion then staying the night in Springdale, Utah. Bryce Canyon was the last stop so we were pretty tired from the long day. I knew that the Navajo Loop Trail was the best trail to hike if you had a limited time in the park like we did. We stopped at the park sign and went to the visitor center and set off for the trailhead. The Navajo Loop Trail starts and ends at Sunset Point along the rim of Bryce Canyon.
We parked our car and went to the overlook to get our first look at the Bryce Amphitheater. The view was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Tall spires of rock rising majestically from a bowl of red rock creating a spectacular rainbow of color. We began our trip down the Natural Bridges side of the trail. We began our deep dissent down into the amphitheater allowing us to take in the massive size of the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. Behind us two hikers were arguing about which park is more orange, Arches National Park or Bryce Canyon, at a very loud volume. Why don't you just shut up and try to appreciate where we are, I thought. We came upon the most famous hoodoo in the park, Thor’s Hammer, where I got an iconic picture of Bryce Canyon.
Thor's Hammer
The trail is steep but we had little issues making our way down. Further along, we were not in the hoodoos surrounded by the steep walls of red rock. The lighting was incredible as it was midday and beginning to get darker. The discussion behind us about how orange rocks get louder between the walls of the hoodoos. It is always nice to get away from people but we could not take the backcountry trails because of our limited time. My mom and I were stopping to take pictures and my dad and brother had gotten ahead of us. We were near the lowest point of the trail when we reached the Natural Bridges. Off of one of the branches from the Navajo Loop Trail leads to two bridges of red rock connecting one wall to another. It is a strange rock formation that is something unexpected in the area.
We reached the junction with another trail in Bryce Canyon and watched a large family struggle to read a simple sign. This spectacle kept me entertained while we took a short break to take in the scenery. We had reached the lowest point in the trail so we had a 550ft gain in front of us to the rim. We followed a dry stream and then arrived at Wall Street. This area of the trail is two dozen switchbacks flanked by massive walls of hoodoos. I decided that I would run up this stretch for a physical challenge. Bryce Canyon is located at a high elevation so the ascent was challenging but I made it up without stopping. From there I was able to stop and relax to enjoy the scenery of Wall Street and take some incredible pictures. Even if you have just a couple of hours in Bryce Canyon you must do this hike. From the top of Wall Street you are just a walk from the trailhead of the Navajo Loop.
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