Hiking Bryce Canyon

By Brooks Stevenson

Draped over the east edge of the Paunsaguant Plateau, running away from the thick pine forests like a roaring waterfall, Bryce Canyon spills its brown, red, orange, yellow, pink and white pinnacles of limestone, sandstone and mudstone into the radiant sunrise.

Nature has spent millions of years, hard at work, to carve and shape the pink cliffs of Bryce, which is not actually a canyon, but the eastern escarpment of the Paunsaguant Plateau. In 1875, when Ebenezer Bryce discovered the geological gem now known as Bryce Canyon National Park, his most memorable description of the region was simply, a "helluva place to lose a cow."

I submit it’s also a helluva place to wander looking for a cow. Or in the modern day sense, take a good hike.

Among the trails that skirt the rim of Bryce, and weave down among the hoodoos, is the short loop hike called Peekaboo. From the forest rim at Bryce Point, Peekaboo descends via a heavily traveled and well-marked trail into the hidden wonders of Bryce.

Bryce Canyon National Park is one place where you can see a lot of fantastic scenery in a very short time. This is exactly what I had in mind at sunrise: get on the trail, into the shade of the "canyon," and back out to my car before the sun reach to top of the sky and I ran out of water.

Descending Peekaboo is quick, easy, and can create a false sense of what it might take to get back to the rim. Cruising through the Claron sandstone, snaking around the fins and formations, makes me feel like I’m alone, blazing a trail into the unknown wilderness of the Wild West.

Reaching the bottom, shaded by the sparse pines that eek out an existence in the tight confines of the canyon, I slow my pace and take a quit look back at Bryce Point, 900 feet above me. It looks like a long way back the way I came.

Turning back to the trail I approach a large fin of sedimentary rock that is slowly eroding into a line of hoodoos. It’s called the Wall of Windows and is quite simply a window into the very process that created this famous region. Viewed in the early part of the day, when the sun is in the east, the Wall of Windows burns brightly and radiates the iron oxide that gives the stone its color. Enough geology for one day, I have a schedule to keep, and more trail to enjoy.

When hiking Peekaboo, the tendency is to continually look up, where the giant formations rest delicately among hundreds of others. Since you constantly wander below the rim, and below the best viewpoints of the sweeping span of the sandstone, it takes considerable effort not to miss the eye-level features and intricacies along the trail.

Alone and without a trail, the wave of orange and red would be impossible to navigate. I try to remind myself of this as I start to regain altitude and connect the loop. Resting on a brief ridge where the trail reverses direction, I realize that even the early morning hours can bake you. To make it worse, I’m out of water.

It’s about this time I start thinking about searching for lost cattle. A wave of futility hits me briefly and I chuckle at the prospect of trying to search for anything in these parts.

Walking more quickly than I had early in my hike; I make good time and even manage to get back to my car before the midday sun beats down. Drinking a cold jug of water and watching the other tourists 1,000 feet below, I wondered why Ebenezer Bryce never charged admission himself: Had he marketed his venture just right, and had the means to get the crowds to this then-faraway place, he could have solved his lost cattle problem more easily.

Peekaboo Loop: (5.5 miles round trip) Plan on 3-4 hours to complete the loop at an easy walking pace.

Season: Summer to mid-fall, the trail is covered with snow in the winter and spring months. Take plenty of water and food; you’re either in dark shade or blazing sunshine. There is a pit toilet along the route, but that’s as convenient as things get.