When it was finally warm enough to coax us out of the tent we fixed some hot coffee and eggs for breakfast while packing our day-packs for our hike. Today's destination was the Fairyland Loop Trail, near the park entrance in the north.
This 8 mile loop trail starts from Fairyland Point, located a couple miles down a side road near the park entrance. Many visitors miss this trail, as it is kind of "tucked away" between the park entrance and the visitor center. The rest of the hikes are located further south of the campground, in the opposite direction.
We arrived at the parking area to find only a scattering of other cars parked and a few folks taking in the view from the overlook. The vista from the point looked down into the Fairyland Amphitheater, packed with a dizzying variety of Hoodoos. We elected to tackle the trail in a clockwise direction, and headed off down the trail.
The route followed a high ridge for a while, affording views to both the North and the South. For most of the day, the trail carved through a hard red rock surface. It provided for more stable footing than the Peekaboo Loop Trail did.
Scatterings of Ponderosa and Limber Pines provided occasional shade without obstructing the views much. The trail dropped gradually down to the floor of the amphitheater. Pink cliffs and towering spires of rock surrounded us in all directions. Much like in other sections of the park, the hoodoos were often arranged to resemble castles and other structures.
As we wound our way around the loop, the path would climb 50-100 feet at a time, arriving at a sort of low pass. The wind would often howell across these narrow spits of land while we paused for pictures. The views gradually opened up more to the East as we went. The view was of distant mesas, cliffs and mountains stretching to the horizon.
As we hiked we traversed around Boat Mesa, acquiring views of this prominent rock from many angles. Boat Mesa is a large rock structure that resembles a sinking ship. A few years ago, a portion of it collapsed in a major rockslide. Some hikers managed to snap a photo of it as the dust cloud cleared - a photo the park service has included in some of its evening programs. it is more striking evidence of the power of the natural forces that shape this strange terrain.
About two hours into our hike we reached the junction with a side trail to views of Tower Bridge - a carved out rock that looks a bridge with towers on either side of it. After checking out the 200 yard side trail we stopped for lunch in the shade of a towering Ponderosa Pine Tree.
After lunch, the trail climbed steadily for close to an hour. It wasn't exceedingly steep, but the trail was relentless in ascending up from the floor of the amphitheater. More strange rock formations passed by on the left while we climbed. Eventually, we arrived at Sunset Point, another jumping off spot for this loop hike.
From there the trail turned north and climbed a few forested dunes. The views to our right gradually became more and more dramatic as we hiked. For the first time during our trip to the park we had views to the North of the park. Distant, forested rock formations could be seen on the horizon. Before the trail made its return approach to Fairyland Point we passed through beautiful open meadows high above the Fairyland Amphitheater. During this last section of our hike we were treated to a fly-over from a beautiful Red-Tailed Hawk. I also spotted a Mountain Chickadee, a Western relative of one of my favorite backyard birds. Much like the little black and white birds back home, he hopped from branch to branch on a bush near the trail and made no effort to move out of our path. Chickadees are well-known as some of the bravest little birds.
The trail made another brief climb as we returned to the trailhead parking area. It was a long 8 mile day, and it felt like we were going up hill more than we were descending, but the views were outstanding throughout our hike. This is a vast and remarkable landscape, and one that defies easy description!
