Day 206 (HDT 22)

Day 206 (HDT 22): 23 miles

When I woke up I looked outside and saw a winter wonderland. It snowed a good amount overnight and I was excited. Last time I was at Bryce Canyon was in the winter, so I knew with the snow it was going to be even more beautiful. But even with me being excited about the snow, that didn’t stop us from leaving town late. We left around 10, but if I was alone I’m sure it would’ve even been later.

I grabbed a Voltage before leaving town to elevate the day even more. On our roadwalk out of town to enter Bryce Canyon from the east side, it started to snow. It was enough to make me put on my snow pants, rain coat, and pack cover. It only lasted a short bit, but it was good to see.

What was even better to see was the snow when we left the road and entered the park. There were a few inches on the ground and the trees were holding a good amount. It brought back some nostalgia from hiking the AT in winter.

We climbed up to the rim at Sunset Point. By the time we got to the top, I was ready to take off my rain coat which was on top of my thermal coat. I was cookin.

We grabbed water at the bathrooms there (of which i hardly drank any) and continued on the rim trail to inspiration point and Bryce point. The day was great…but the wind, especially on the rim trail, was insane and insanely annoying. It was emphasized by the fact that my large hat acted as a parachute and flew off my head constantly. Thankfully there was a loose chinstrap on it, but it came loose a lot. And with my pack cover on, I couldn’t attach it to my pack so I had to wear it. I also realized if it’s ever raining I’ll have to wear it then too and that will be a sad hat then.

The whole rim trail and view points up there were all amazing. I did slip on some ice kinda near a ledge but instinctually fell to the land/non-death side. There were 2 other people around and they seemed horrified. It didn’t cross my mind again. Falling while hiking in snow and ice is just part of the deal and you’ve gotta master the art of falling like a good NFL running back. At Bryce Point, Fancy Feast left before I did, which ended up having consequences. I started to descend thinking there was only one trial leaving this point in the direction I’m going. So I hiked a mile without really seeing anybody before I saw a sign that said “Peek-a-Boo Loop Trail.” Uh oh. I knew that trail sounded familiar, and that’s cause we passed it in the morning already. I was pissed off. I had just hiked over an extra mile and nearly 700 feet of vert, and now I had to climb back up to the top to head the right way. I was angry for a while. Then I started to think about the rest of the day. Normally on a trail if I was separated from my partner I wouldn’t care too much. We could camp separately and meet up the next day. But this was different. Mainly because Fancy Feast broke one of her trekking poles so she needs one of mine to be able to set up her tent. We had discussed maybe sleeping in the bathroom but it wasn’t for sure. And with us being off the Hayduke I wasn’t really sure if we would go exactly the same way and see each other. All the concern ended up being for naught when I caught up shortly before the park boundary.

We didn’t make it to the privy before it got dark, and it started to get cold quick. We totally lost the trail at the end of the day and did a mix of walking in a wash and cross country. The “game time” feeling I had at the end of the day was very reminiscent of being on the AT. Rushing as fast as possible if I was close to camp as it was getting dark cause it was about to get more cold real quick.

For anybody that cares: today was all our own alternate off the Hayduke to see more of Bryce. We hiked in from Tropic to Tropic Trailhead then up to Sunset Point, then on the rim trail to Bryce Point, then on the Under the Rim trail for a while before exiting the park on the Sheep Creek Trail and sleeping in a privy.

It really worked out well where we aren’t camping in the park so we don’t have to get camping permits, and we get to sleep in a warm privy! I was just glad Fancy Feast was willing to rise to my hikertrash level and embrace the warmth of privy sleeping. Also cause I think it’s gonna be around 15 degrees tonight. Song of the day: blood on the leaves-Kanye west