Fairyland Loop

We wanted to see how much patience Zyla had and get in a longer hike in the cooler weather. So we drove out to Bryce Canyon and I chose the Fairyland Loop Trail. Jacqueline was very hesitant about it since the trail was 8 miles, but I had faith that Zyla could do it. Frankly, since I would be carrying her, I actually had faith that I could do it. The trail started from the rim near the entrance to the park. We dropped off the rim at a fairly steady elevation drop. We kept the clouds in mind as a thunderstorm did not seem out of the realm of possibilities. We hiked for an hour or so through the cliffs and spires, before stopping for a lunch break. We found a nice spot above a wash with some trees and shade. We had to eat early on in the hike so Zyla’s milk did not get to warm. It was a much longer lunch break than I would take on a typical hiking trip, but it is hard to rush the little one along. I went up the wash to try to get some better pictures of the cliffs. This took some time, but I was still waiting when I got back. You have to be patient with a 16 month old kid. We took off after a while and the trail began to climb and traverse through what I guess you could call Fairyland Canyon, though it was too open to be called a canyon. I got to carry Zyla the whole way, but this time Jacqueline had a pack with our other stuff in it which was helpful. Zyla was doing great with the hike and was staying awake. She seemed to be enjoying herself, though I am sure she would have been happier walking. It was nice for Jacqueline and I to get in some good time in the outdoors as lately she had not had those opportunities. The trail was in good shape also, so we did not have to worry about any steep drop offs. We traversed through the canyon lands which took us a ways away from our car until it was time to climb again. The clouds looked like they were not going to cause thunderstorms on this day, but they did provide a little shade making the hike out easier. It was still challenging with Z on my back. But we soon topped out on the rim. Zyla still had not slept, which made her both grumpy and goofy nearly simultaneously. She was giggling up a storm and then the next second she was crying. It wasn’t shocking when she finally fell asleep nice and comfy in the backpack. We hiked the rest of the hike along the rim with her asleep. It turned out to be longer than we expected on the rim, so we were happy when we finally could see the sign for the trailhead. It turned out to be a pretty nice Sunday as the foot traffic was rather minimal on the trail, especially in the middle. Zyla did great, though we felt this was a good amount of hiking for everyone involved. It gave us confidence to take her on longer hikes in the future, though we had to admit that conditions were rather perfect on this late September day.