Days 10 and 11- Bryce and Zion

Day 10-

It takes quite a while to get from Hurricane, UT to the gates of Bryce Canyon. The handlers had determined this the previous evening after leaving the star watching party, and they realized that this would mean that they would have to leave very early the following morning in order to make the 7:15 am check-in time for their scheduled horseback ride.



So, upon a good 3 hours of sleep, they left their lodgings and headed out into the black of the Utah early morning. They decided to take a different route than the one which had stymied them the night before in the hope that it would involve less mountain driving and be faster.



It didn't...and wasn't.



After it became clear that more mountain driving in the dark would be necessary, Handler 1 offered to take over. Handler 2 consented, but soon found that the only thing he found more unnerving than driving in the mountains at night, was being a passenger in a car driving in the mountains at night. The two switched places again, and the roads soon cleared up. They made their check-in...but just barely...and were soon matched up with their mounts.


Here is Handler 2 with Dixie.


Handler 2 wanted to prove to certain of the grandhandlers that he could, in fact, ride a horse. He was then dismayed when Handler 1 pointed out that the lovely (but extremely gassy) Dixie is actually a mule.

Handler 1's mount was an Appaloosa named Dinero who was the best horse in the group. That's not just her opinion, all the trail guides said so as well. Handler 1 isn't sure why she got the best horse around, but was pleased all the same.


The 4 hour ride took them down into the canyon, among the "hoodoo" formations.

Afterwards, the handlers were of the firm opinion that this was the best way to see the canyon. They passed many weary hikers on their way who looked like they could really use an equine lift back up to the top.

Bryce was lovely, and afterwards the handlers continued a new (and somewhat accidental) tradition of eating at the historic park lodge. Lunch was surprisingly good. Then, they left, intending to return to the hotel and take quick recharging naps.

One of the tunnels leading out of Bryce.

On the way, they made a quick stop at Cedar Breaks National Monument.

This place probably would have impressed them more if they hadn't just come from Bryce. As it was, they dubbed the place "Bryce Lite" and didn't spend too much time there. It's supposed to be a lovely area during the peak of fall colors, but we were unfortunately a little too early to experience that.

After a short nap and a blog update, we decided to see if we could get some time in visiting Zion, so we headed out.

This, by the way, was just some of the lovely scenery between Hurricane and Zion.

Zion, itself, is spectacular. This is especially true at or near sunset when the whole sky turns different shades of pink.

However, the light was fading, and there wasn't too much to do in the park after dark. As such, we returned to the hotel, to ready ourselves for the following day and our introduction to canyoneering.

Day 11-

The handlers, being prudent folks in general, had signed themselves up for a half-day course to learn the basics of canyoneering prior to beginning their adventure in the Subway. They arrived at the shop and met their instructor Jeremy. They were to be the only persons in the class.

Jeremy was something of a free spirit, admitting aloud that he had tried and failed at having a "real" job. However, as a guide to people canyoneering, white water rafting, and otherwise engaging in adrenaline pumping sports, he turned out to be pretty good. He taught the handlers a bunch of knots they could use, how to create and hook up to a rapelling mount, and how to rappel down a 30 foot vertical wall without flinching.

He was actually a knowledgeable and patient teacher, and the handlers had fun learning how to rappel.

It was nerve racking at first, but they got over it.

Jeremy seemed convinced that the handlers would be prepared for the Subway. He rented them necessary gear and even provided them with an item from his personal gear kit to borrow. He was a great guy and the handlers would not disparage him or the information he imparted to them...regardless of what happened next.

After the class, the handlers got cleaned up and headed out again to see Zion in the daylight.

The handlers picked up their "backcountry" pass from the ranger station and were set to perform the Subway the following morning (provided the weather cooperated, as the Subway really shouldn't be attempted if rain is threatened). While waiting, they read an article describing the stupidity of other Zion visitors who had entered into the backcountry unprepared. The most interesting of these was the story of the group of people who thought it would be okay to bring their 7 year old and 1 year old infant along with them into Keyhole Canyon.

Not a good idea.

Personally, I didn't bother getting a pass, I'm not that stupid.

We decided to take the "Emerald Pools" trail. This leads you to some verdant pools deep within the canyon, where green bacteria has grown on the walls of the canyon and gives the area its name. There are three sets of pools, but just about everyone only sees the lower pools, as the rest of the trail requires some serious uphill hiking.

Here's the lower emerald pools.

And the midway pools.

Where we encountered an absolutely gigantic dragonfly. The picture doesn't do it justice as there's no scale, but this thing was at least 4 inches long.

We kept climbing.

And eventually made it to the upper pool.

There we met a very nice Austrian who had just visited Las Vegas and didn't like it at all.

A curious thing we noticed about national parks: there are a lot of foreign visitors there. I mean a lot. Also, the clientele of Bryce was significantly older than that of either Yellowstone or Zion. Apparently, Bryce must offer a good AARP discount.

There wasn't much wildlife to be seen on the trail, aside from the completely unfazed deer that just wandered everywhere around the park like they owned it. Oh, and this guy which the more arachnophobic of our readers (cough...Jen) might want to avoid looking at.

We'll leave you with this serene photo of the lovely Zion National Park to tide you over before Handler 2's in depth description of the following days' antics.