Thursday 30 April
Bryce Canyon and the first day of camp out
Cath Mcgrail
Wow what a day, the weather improved as we travelled south to Escelante andwe reached Bryce Canyon by lunchtime in bright sunshine. We ate a delicious lunch prepared for us by our hosts and then we set off to walk the canyon.
You get a taste of what is to come when you look over the rail at the incredible landscape below, the alien shapes and the intense colour, but walking down the steep path right into the canyon you become engulfed and swallowed up by these monolithic sculptural forms, the deep deep orange colour intensifies and changes constantly with the changing light.
The trek takes you deep into the heart of the canyon and bottoms out into a dry river bed. At this point you are in the middle of a western movie and lizards are skittering across your path.
The trail then begins a steep ascent up through the canyon and the landscape changes again. Looking back the rocks change shape and colour and then finally you reach the top of the path and the landscape is again laid out before you.
I was lucky enough to stand on this path alone, no other walkers and in silence. I have never felt so overawed by a landscape the way I have here.
We use superlatives all the time, awsome, incredible, superb, wonderfull, but in the case of Bryce Canyon they all apply and then some.
I have discovered the worlds best architect and sculptor is nature itself and I would not have missed this sight and this experience for anything.
