Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

So this is the third time we've been to Bryce - and it was never in the plans to go this time, but given that we did not get a permit for The Wave and it was unsafe to hike any slot canyons, and we had a day with no plans, we figured, "Hey, Bryce is only 1 1/2 drive, let's go!" 

We have hiked a ton in Bryce already, so when we arrived to the park, we stopped at the Visitor's Center and chatted with a ranger about ideas.  One thing we needed to consider was that they were expecting heavy rains starting around 2pm and then some trails would close. (It is actually the rain in Bryce Canyon that causes the flash floods in Kanab and Zion.) He suggested a fun 6 mile one-way hike and take the shuttle back to our car - brilliant idea - and so we did it.

We started at Bryce Point and hiked the north side of the Peekaboo Loop Trail towards the Navajo Loop & Queen's Garden Trails. Some pics.....

 

We then stopped for lunch at the "bottom" where a lot of trails meet. No trash can for the orange peels? No problem ~ Brad has deep pockets! 😁

At this point one can back to Bryce Point via Peekaboo Trail, or go up to Sunset Point via Navajo Loop Trail, or to Sunrise Point via Queen's Garden Trail - we chose the last option......

Once on top, we walked about a mile to a shuttle stop (we chose to walk so we wouldn't have to go around the entire park on the shuttle to get to our car) and before leaving, enjoyed some backpacking food of breakfast tacos! Yup - we brought our backpacking stove, fuel, food, etc.... 😜

We drove around Bryce some more and headed back to the hotel.  It was a really great hike, quite unexpected, and a highlight of our time in Kanab!