St. George, Utah

This morning I left Torrey less than an hour after my last post and headed south on Utah 12 to Bryce Canyon National Park.

I drove through the Escalante region on my way there and got to drive on one of those narrow roads you only find in this part of the country.

I was somewhat surprised when I got to the park I found it still setting up for the season. None of the water spigots were operational and the trail I hiked was in full repair mode.

I decided to test my mettle and return to the Peekaboo Loop trail I had hiked in 2003. It is a hike down into Bryce Canyon that drops 1555 feet and runs about 5.5 miles total. It's a fascinating area.

One physically demanding aspect of this hike is that once you're in the canyon you go up and down by hundreds of feet several times during the loop.

After Bryce I drove to Zion National Park and drove through the old east entrance tunnel into the park.

I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing tomorrow morning — I may do a serious hike in Zion or I may not — but I have to start back if I'm going to make it home in time.

I'm almost 1400 miles from home and I better get on the road soon.