Shortly after arriving at Bryce we stopped into the visitor center to ask some preliminary questions about this backpacking route we were planning on tackling later in the week. Ranger Geoff filled us in on some important details. Several of the backcountry campsites near Bryce Point had been closed due to troubles with black bears in the area. The result being that an 11 mile day was needed to finish the trail from the last available campsite up to Bryce Point. He also let us know that a section of the trail had been wiped out by rockslides, and that finding the route could prove tricky in this area. Water was only sporadically available on the trail, as well.
I asked him if I should plan to get in line early to get a permit the day before our hike, as I did in Zion, and he replied "oh, no, you shouldn't have any trouble getting a permit. Zion is a WAY better backcountry park than Bryce." Geoff went on to tell us about a story written in Backpacker Magazine a few years ago that hailed Bryce Canyon's Under the Rim Trail as one of the best backpacking trips in America. The park was suddenly filled with eager adventure seeking backpackers. Geoff said that many would return to the visitor center angry with their experience afterwards. It would seem that the Under the Rim Trail is not something we cannot live without doing. We decided to shoot for the Riggs Spring Loop for our backpacking trip later this week instead. The Riggs Spring Loop also leaves from Rainbow Point, but stays in the forested southern section of the park, avoiding the rock slides, and the bears.
This decision made, I wanted to see as much of the Under the Rim Trail as possible, rock-slide section aside, of course. It turned out it would be possible to day-hike a number of sections by using the park's Rainbow Point Tour Bus, free to visitors by reservation. We ended up arranging for a shuttle from Rainbow Point, at the Southern end of the park back to Ponderosa Canyon. This would allow us to hike one way along the trail and end up back at our Jeep at the end of the day. All told, this would leave us with a manageable 8 mile day.
We met the Rainbow Point Tour Bus in the parking lot at Bryce Point a little after ten in the morning. The rest of the tourists on board were making the full round-trip guided tour of the park. We looked a little out of place, with our hiking poles and day-packs. The bus driver, who doubled as tour guide, included us on the tour for the rest of the passengers "and these people, folks, are actually going to go hiking in the park today. Make sure you watch out for those bears." He seemed to think that Bryce's black bear population was bloodthirsty and on the loose. We were amused by this, as we've hiked in quite a few places known for difficult ursine populations, and Bryce was not thought to be one of them!
The bus ride only took a few minutes, and then we were headed off down the Agua Canyon Connector Trail by ourselves. "By ourselves" was a key trait of this hike. In five hours and eight miles of hiking we saw exactly one other person. A little before Iron Spring a man passed us jogging in the opposite direction. I thought that one heck of a morning run!
The solitude was charming, especially in contrast with how crowded the rest of the park had been. The connector trail followed a high ridge with striking views to the East. A seemingly endless collection of Hoodoos adorned the near cliffs. Close to a mile into the hike, the connector trail began a rapid, but manageable switchback down to meet the Under the Rim Trail.
Once on the main trail, we strolled through a lush forest of pine for hours. The trail descended to meet the North Fork, where only a trickle of water ran.
Shortly after this, an impressive rock formation appeared on the left side of the trail. A collection of white rocks were clustered together on the hillside. The structure was alone, near the top of the hill. I thought it bore a resemblance to "weathertop" in the Fellowship of the Ring Movie.
I couldn't resist the temptation to explore this peculiar fortress of rocks. It was possible to walk through it in several places, and by walking around the back of it and climbing some sculpted rock, I was able to reach an overlook. Mary took my picture here. It felt like I was in the turret of a castle. What a strange and unusual landscape!
We resumed our descent through the evergreen forest. Other than the one lone jogger, we had the forest to ourselves for the day. We stopped for lunch at the Iron Spring Campsite. The air had warmed in the heat of the day, but a pleasant breeze blew through the canyons.
After lunch, the trail began climbing, gradually at first, and then more steeply later. It crossed several "washes," or dried up stream beds. Some of the washes looked almost as if a construction crew had ran a bulldozer down through the forest below the ridge. This was striking evidence of the power water during a flash flood could have on this terrain. Thankfully, for us, there was no chance of rain in the foreseeable future.
Crossing some of the washes required scrambling up the rocky riverbanks, and in places the trail took a moment to locate on the other side of the stream course. As we hiked north, we also encountered more and more downed trees. Climbing over and under these obstacles was taxing.
The last two miles of the hike were, by far, the most spectacular. The trail climbed steadily above the various branches of the Black Birch Canyon. As we hiked, the views to the East began to open up. It seemed as if we could see hundreds of miles. Mesas and ridges ran endlessly towards the horizon, and distant, larger mountains hung in the sky liked shadowy ghosts. Many people have said that hiking in canyon country makes one feel small. This section of the trail certainly had the feeling of being lost in a vast landscape too grand to comprehend.
As the trail worked its way around Ponderosa Ridge it slowly turned back to the West. We suddenly could see the observation platform built on Rainbow Point. This provided the illusion of making us think we were close to the end of the hike, but the trail still had a few tricks up its sleeve. As it turned North, the Under the Rim Trail skirted a ridge with stunning views to the West. It climbed higher and higher, breaking out into a treeless world of red rock. We had views in 360 degrees, with distant mesas and ridges to the East, a labyrinth of Hoodoos directly to the West and North, and the green ridge of Rainbow Point to the South. If we looked more carefully to the Southwest, we could make out patches of snowfields on distant mountains.
We stopped for a few photos while crossing the exposed red rock. The winds howled across the open terrain with enough force that we found ourselves crouching down while taking pictures.
On the other side, the trail climbed rapidly up the green ridge, ascending past the 9,100 feet mark. The winds died down to more normal breezes in the forest. We began to pass folks wandering down from Rainbow Point with cameras and flip flops - a sure sign that we were near the end.
This stretch of the Under the Rim Trail far exceeded my expectations. We had solitude, dark forest, and stunning views for hours while exploring the more remote corners of Bryce Canyon National Park. Tomorrow we are thinking we will visit one of the more heavily trafficked trails in the north part of the park in order to take in some more of the hoodoo formations up close. After exploring the South end of Bryce today, though, we are more excited to go backpacking in this quiet, green area later in the week.
