Returning to Bryce Canyon and Zion

Back to Bryce Canyon National Park

My friend, Shon, and I had planned on hiking the Fairyland Loop at Bryce Canyon this morning, but Shon had family in town, back in San Diego, as well as a long haul back home, so he decided to call it off, given the fact that I’d be in San Diego myself in a few days. At around 8:30 AM, I began the relatively short drive up to Bryce Canyon, full of optimism given how well the trip turned-out to this point.

The day had different plans for me, however. Due to the fact that it’s a Sunday… and the weather is beautiful… and there are even more people in the area due to the eclipse… Bryce Canyon was an absolute zoo. And, I hate parks when they’re like this. To be fair, I’m contributing to the chaos, I admit it, but I just don’t want to deal with it. So, I got in to stamp my passports and grab my souvenirs and then headed to the Fairyland Loop trailhead with the intention of just hiking a few miles of it and leaving the stone I made for the area.

Unfortunately, the parking lot was small and overflowing. Frustrated with the situation, I decided to just head to Zion National Park early and left, but actually did a u-turn a mile down the road to give the lot one more chance. It was worse, so I put my blinkers on and parked in the handicapped spot for a minute so I could run up to the viewing area and leave my stone for someone to find. Then, I was off to Zion.

Browns vs 49ers

One of the benefits of missing out on hiking Bryce Canyon was that I got to catch the Browns vs 49ers game on the radio. To be honest, I was expecting the Browns to get dismantled unceremoniously, and the game started-off that way. But the Browns kept themselves in the game and provided me with some entertainment on the short drive to Zion.

Back to Zion National Park

Like Bryce Canyon, I stopped through Zion back during my first road trip in 2019 but I didn’t get a chance to do anything. This time around, I actually had a campsite, so I was pretty excited to get to walk around a bit. Again, though, the circumstances made the park a total mess and it really stressed me out. Every pull-off and parking lot was overflowing and people were walking in the roads like maniacs. I made it to my campsite and decided to finish the Browns game, which was a surprising win, which improved my mood a bit.

Watchman Trail: Two Attempts Needed

After the game, I decided to hike the Watchman Trail, which was within walking distance of my campsite. About 3/4 of a mile into the hike, I realized I’d not prepared myself properly. While I had water and put on some sunscreen, the temperature was in the mid-80s, the trail had over 500 feet of elevation in a short distance and the path was almost completely exposed to the sun. While I’m the type who likes to tough things out, it was enough for me to turn around, rather than become a statistic and get life flighted off the trail.

So I walked back to my campsite, put on lighter clothing and shoes, really slathered on the SPF 50 sunscreen and packed twice as much water and snacks for the trip. Along the way, I stopped at the visitors center to stamp my passports and buy souvenirs, then I was on my way. Despite promising myself just to take it easy, naturally I pushed myself and it was one of the toughest, if not the toughest, mile and a half I’ve ever hiked. Just straight-up the side of a small mountain. Once at the top, though, the views were amazing, and I literally hopped and skipped down the trail back to may campsite.

Setting Up Camp and the Evening

Back at camp, I got my tent and everything set-up and then got into writing this blog post. After getting to a good point, I planned to make some ramen and burn the log I bought before heading to bed early. Because I got all the important stuff taken care of today, my plan is to pack up and head to Las Vegas early, maybe stopping at a couple of state parks along the way.