Day 4: Under the Rim Trail, Bryce Canyon NP (14.7 miles)

This was the HIKE FROM HELL.

First a bit of background. I’ve hiked with Nanine for many years, and I completely trust her, her judgment, and her knowledge of my capabilities. So several months ago when she said, “Hey, Lisa, want to do the Under the Rim Trail at Bryce Canyon NP,” Without hesitation, I said, “Yes.” Her thought – which I agree with – is it would be a good training hike for our upcoming Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim hike in October. Similar length, similar elevation changes…

As time moved forward, we researched the trail. It seems not many people hike the Under the Rim Trail, other than those who do it as a three-day backpacking trip. Hmmm…

We decided to break it into two days, about 12 miles the first day and 13 miles the second day. BEST DECISION EVER! After shuttling RVs into place (Nanine has a 30 foot Class A, and I have Addie), we left Rainbow Point for what we thought would be a great 12 mile hike to Whiteman Connecting Trail.

WRONG!!! The hike was GRUELING! Although the scenery was Bryce Canyon magnificent, the trail was HORRIBLE! It was washed out at points, not well-maintained, and nearly impossible to follow. We butt-scooted into gullies, climbed up granite rocks, and traversed loose scree. That was the worst.

At Mile 8, there had been a landslide leaving scree uphill, scree downhill, and a very narrow scree-covered trail. SCARY! I hate scree! Anyone who has ever hiked with me knows my fear of falling, especially when there’s scree. Most of the time, Nanine is a ROCK – strong, confident, capable. This time, though, she was even more scared than I. With no alternative to moving forward, I had to be the strong one. Using my hiking pole, I widened – by only a couple of inches – the trail and pushed some of the loose scree downhill. Somehow, I figured out how to maneuver to the other side of the washed out section, about five feet away. Then I talked Nanine through the process. Soon afterward, we had another gnarly section without a strong foothold even while scooching on our butts. Somehow, I managed to get through that and again guided Nanine to safety.

With another nearly five miles to go, including a big uphill climb out of the canyon, we continued on the trail. Adrenaline turned to endorphins…turning into our next BEST DECISION: We are NOT going to do the second half of this absolutely horrible trail!