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I own no land, instead I have wheelestate. I’ve been a full time RVer since 1997. Working summers as a Park Ranger takes me to many beautiful places and playing during the winter takes me to many more. This blog is simply the story of my life's adventures.

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Monday, October 4, 2010

MWT - Hiking Navajo Loop (downhill) at Bryce Canyon

01 Mike & Gaelyn Navajo Loop trailhead Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x915)

After spending a day touroning around all the overlooks  (more posts coming) and looking down on the hoodoos, fins, windows, arches and bridges the next morning we took a trail into the canyon. 

02 map of Navajo Loop trail (313x161)

The Navajo Loop trail is only 1.3 miles (2 km) long with a 550 foot (167 m) drop in elevation.

03 Navajo Loop trail thru arch & surrounded by hoodoos from Bryce Point Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x768)

The trail winds under arches of orange and yellow…

04 Hoodoos & windows along Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x738)

…past windows to a blue world…

05 Thors Hammer & hoodoos along Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x768)

Thors Hammer

…and below towering hoodoos full of faces.

06 Switchbacks between fins & hoodoos on Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT pano (565x1024)

Then down switchbacks between the fins and into a different world.

07 Hoodoos above Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x768)

Almost eye level with this amazing geology. Hoodoo, a pillar of rock, or, to cast a spell, maybe both.         

08 Two Bridges just off Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (768x1024)

Two Bridges

The oldest gray-brown rock at the bottom was deposited by repeated seaways during the Cretaceous Period between 144 to 65 million years ago.         

09 Hoodoos & grotto along Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (768x1024)

For the next 25 million years, in the Tertiary Period, rivers and streams flowed into an ancient freshwater lake and deposited iron-rich, limy sediments that became reddish-pink rocks, the Claron Formation, from which the hoodoos are carved.         

10 Winding between fins & hoodoos on Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (768x1024)

After uplift, the steep slopes along the plateau’s rim allow increased erosion scouring off softer rock, creating gullies with enough soil for pines and firs to reach for the sky.

11 Hoodoos & fins from Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x559)

…and leaving harder rock as fins…

12 Hoodoos above Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x729)

…which continue to erode into hoodoos…

13 Rhino head hoodoo along Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x768)

…of the most whimsical shapes.         

14 Hoodoos from Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x614)

Paiutes living in the area when settlers arrived from the east called hoodoos the “Legend People” whom Coyote had turned to stone.         

15 Hoodoos & beyond from Bryce Point Bryce Canyon NP UT pano (1024x353)

Named after mormon Ebenezer Bryce who built his home and ranch in the Paria Valley in 1875 with the canyons in his back yard.         

16 Hoodoos above Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (1024x768)

In 1923 President Harding proclaimed part of the area as Bryce Canyon National Monument and in 1928 legislation passed that changed it to a National Park.

17 Mike between the fins along Navajo Loop trail Bryce Canyon NP UT (756x1024)

After hiking down .7 miles (1.12 km) we began the assent into Wall Street. More to come.

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23 comments:

blog with no name said...

Hoodoo hysteria... Took us half the day to walk it cause it was so cool... Best part was sharing it with you!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe I missed Bryce when I was out there...

- Jazz

Arija said...

What great wonders of nature you have access to, no wonder you two are all smiles.
I love seeing you so happy my friend.
Nature surely is the greatest sculptress on earth!

Sylvia K said...

Oh, what memories your photos brought back, Gaelyn! It is definitely one of the most beautiful, breathtaking places in the world! And, like Arija, I love seeing you so happy! Have a wonderful week!

Sylvia

Diane said...

Wow those rocks and the colours are amazing. I would not like to be at the bottom though if the head off of one of Thor's hammers should decide to tumble!! Diane

A Scattering said...

I enjoyed this post soooo much! I've just finished watching Ken Burn's The National Parks: America's Best Idea so I was really in the groove to see more. Will have to read your earlier ones as well. Cheers, Elaine from southwestern Ontario, Canada

Martha Z said...

Don't we live in a magnificent country? Your shots of Bryce are so different from my Sierra photos. It has been too long since we have visited that area, we need to go back with our digital cameras.

The Giraffe Head Tree said...

Oh my, Gaelyn. The colors, the stories, the shapes, the history. My head and heart can't hold it all in. How do you live amongst such beauty without exploding from sheer joy? Wow. This was just rich.

D said...

Gaelyn, those pillars are like statues on watch. We have not been to Bryce but yearz ago I was fortunate to have been to Moab... phenomenal place just as this. Beautiful photos. Thank you.

Al said...

Extraordinary, another place I have to visit one of these days.

Anonymous said...

Wow - the air is so clear, the colours sparkle. It looks as if you are on another planet. Gorgeous gorgeous!

Pat said...

Oh, wow, the colors, the shapes...I'm a comin....

Anonymous said...

The scenery in the southwest parks always takes my breath away! You captured the beautiful feeling of this area! I think its so wonderful you guys have been getting out and enjoying these amazing places!

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

As always, these pictures take my breath away with their beauty Gaelyn. How I wish I could go back there again. I missed so much on my last trip.

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

The pictures are stunning, but I can't imagine what it must look like in person. What a breathtaking place with such interesting legends attached to it.

giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...

Wow,
grandiose immagini rocciose !
( non vorrei trovarmi sotto una di queste rocce, nel caso dovessero cadere ! )
Buona giornata :)
Myriam

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Gaelyn: That is a marvelous place to visit. I am glad to be there through your photos.

Quiet Paths said...

The fantastic red sculptor which is nature!

Craver Vii said...

The rhino head is cool!! I wonder if I'll ever get to see it up close and personal.

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful photos, Gaelyn! The trails in Bryce are like a fairyland to me. I loved walking around these hoodoos. Seeing the pines growing there is cool. What a great place!

Ruth said...

Spectacular photos!!

Janie said...

The hoodoos do look a little like people carved into stone. I like that thought.
Lovely photos. Bryce is a grand place to visit.

Small City Scenes said...

OMG---Total beauty. Wonderful pictures. Maybe I will get out that way sometime. I hope!!!

Lookee--I found you again. I try everyday and now, like magic, here you are. Thanks for visiting my blog and keeping on keeping on. MB

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