May 18th, 2021
Hiking the Navajo Loop and the Queen's Garden Trail
It all sounds great when you are reading the description on AllTrails but man, was I in for a surprise. I could not have been more challenged as a 62 year old woman. This hike is rated as a moderate hike with elevation gains of 643'. I had done some research on the hike and what I found out was this...start at Sunset Point so that you are walking down the steepest part of the hike first. But before you start out, check out the views from the lookout point. It offers some of the best views of the canyons hoodoos. Hoodoos are are tall skinny shafts of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins. As the name suggests, it is also a great place to watch sunset from this point. Now start your way down the trail. Along the way you will meet people coming back up the trail. Everyone is so friendly and encouraging.
As you get deeper into the canyon, you will hike past Thor's Hammer and Two Bridges. Thor's Hammer is a stand alone hoodoo in the canyon and looks like it is about to fall over at any time. I truly was so overwhelmed, I'm not sure I got an image of it.I do remember getting a picture of Two Bridges though. Continue on until you get to the intersection where Navajo Loop makes a loop around or continue onto the Queen's Garden trail. We chose not to complete the Navajo Loop though many other people did it, so we paused a moment at the Navajo Loop Benchmark and then began our hike again. I can't emphasize enough about having plenty of water, good hiking shoes or boots, hiking poles if you like them and a good attitude! The hike meanders through the floor of the canyon until you reach the Queen Victoria's benchmark. It's a nice place to stop and rest or have a snack if you packed anything. It's also a great photo opportunity.
Once you are in Queen's Garden you will see Queen Victoria and her court of hoodoos standing above you. It's a pretty impressive sight. Continue on through the Hole in the Wall, seeing so many hoodoos now. Hoodoos were formed when the sandstone in this region was compressed and then twisted by movement of the earth. The twisting and compression cracked the stone into an array of tall blocks. Water, ice and wind then eroded the cracks leaving tall spires call hoodoos in the thousands all throughout Bryce Canyon. After you continue on the trail, you will come to the horse trail and you might be kicking yourself and wondering why you didn't chose to do the horseback riding instead of walking it yourself. But have no fear, it's all going to be worth it when you get finished. You will have such a feeling of accomplishment and be so proud of yourself. You will also be exhausted and telling your husband to quit counting your steps out. You know it's freaking hard and you can't spend the night on the trail so put on your big girl hiking boots and get moving!
After some more switchbacks, which you will generally hate because it's all uphill (in fact, it's been uphill since you left the Queen's Garden area, you will get to a point where you can look back to the left and see the Queen's Garden. This is a great place to rest for a minute or two. And then it's right back at it. You are so close to being finished. Just about a half of a mile to go. Once you get to the top, give yourself a pat on the back. You've done it! We actually wound up parking our car at Sunrise Point so we didn't have to walk as far and there are restrooms at the top close to the parking lot.
This is an awesome hike to do even though it challenged me more than I thought it would. We went in the morning and stayed pretty cool throughout the hike. Wear lots of sunscreen and have a great time. #gohike