Bryce Canyon Day 2: Into Fairyland

Our second day at Bryce and boy was it cold. The wind had picked up and it was cutting like a knife. Taking the recommendation of another hiker from yesterday we had decided to walk the Fairyland Loop Trail. It's not usual you would set off on a hike in the desert with down jackets but Elise had no doubts that it was worth carrying. She was right too. Eric only took a thin jacket and didn't really warm up until at least an hour of walking.

The Fairyland Loop is about 9km which again is tough with the altitude and constant undulation. Eric had an extra 4kms at the end to go and collect the car so it promised to be another hard day out all around.

The first part of the trail was fairly easy - downhill through more open country than the previous day. The curse was the lack of shelter from the previously mentioned cutting wind! The forest was a bit more developed here too with seemingly more variety of foliage and even the odd larger tree.

After a few kilometres we climbed a ridge between valleys and the scenery made a noticeable change - more hoodoos and less trees. This was a very spectacular section with some really nice views especially as we descended into the valley of the Campbell Canyon. The pinnacles became more numerous and spire like, more like we saw yesterday.

Eventually the climb out of the canyon started. Eric took off ahead to get the car, nevertheless for all three of us it was a bit of a crawl up the hill.

Although we had finished by lunchtime we decided this would be enough for the day. With a long travel day tomorrow we went home to rest and reluctantly said goodbye to Bryce Canyon, yet another amazing National Park in the USA.

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