Days 51 & 52: Bryce Canyon, UT to Orderville, UT

• Distance: 63.78 mi
• Elevation: 2,073 ft
• Dedication: Uncle Tim and Chase
• Ride group: Chase, Bailey, Julia, Jack, and Tori
• Host: Airbnb, courtesy of Katy’s dad

Yesterday was a day of celebration! It was my 4K birthday (also my real-life half-birthday), Christmas in July, Chase’s last day (not that we were celebrating that), and the day we arrived in Zion National Park territory!

As expected, I did not sleep very well in my hammock. It was relatively comfortable but very cold; I had my uninflated sleeping pad under me because it’s insulated but every time I woke up I could feel cold spots where it had gotten folded up. The good news was I woke up easily, and our morning was relatively painless even with a lot of moving parts. Our small camp crew did need another van to come scoop us because we didn’t have room for people and bags in the water van. After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we took up a few parking spaces for our dedication circle. Chase led our cheer for his last day, and we all surprised him (and really threw him off lol) by saying his name for all of the responses (“who are we?” “CHASE!”).

Since it was my 4K birthday I then had to get suited up in our community birthday outfit: a blue tutu, rainbow suspenders, and an “it’s my birthday!” sash. The tutu is actually super fun to wear but not aerodynamic whatsoever.

We tried to use a route going through Bryce Canyon National Park. We started out on a gradually steep but beautiful bike path along the trail before entering the park. The main road through the park dead-ends but we found a side road we thought would get us through in the right direction of our host. When we got there, though, there was a gate that did not seem like we should cross. As we were trying to figure out a reroute with Rose and Briana in the water van, we heard a park police siren and got worried. Lucky for us bikers, they were pulling over the run van behind us :) Turns out we were on a non-public road and definitely needed to turn around. Thankfully they just gave them a warning and we were free to exit the park. Julia has been our route master the past few weeks and already had a backup route prepared, so we set off for Orderville in another direction.

We were on a really beautiful but super bumpy path through Red Canyon, which was one of the most beautiful landscapes I think we’ve seen on the trip. There were vivid orange and red pinnacles, called hoodoos, similar to the famous landscapes in Bryce Canyon. The trail was also almost entirely downhill, which was very fun to cruise along other than trying to dodge the bumps.

After getting off the trail we were on highways most of the way. There was a very abrupt exit from Red Canyon to a greener landscape. Utah has been surprisingly diverse in terms of landscapes– we have seen everything from red desert sands to white mesas to green forests, sometimes all in the span of a day or two. Getting out of the canyon also meant today’s route was one of our easiest since entering Colorado, with just over 2,000 feet of climb for the day.

We made a birthday coffee stop in the town of Hatch, which was excellent, and were then pushing it for most of the rest of the day to catch up to the rest of the team and beat a rainstorm. After our last water stop we had about 20 miles left in the day and they were almost entirely downhill, with the exception of the stupidly steep gravel driveway leading up to our Airbnb. This was one of the best descents of the trip for me– not the steepest for sure, but so beautiful and just a wonderful feeling. Being able to just coast for 20 miles and average 25-30 mph felt like a good reward for all the climbing we’ve done lately! And, we were lucky to be able to cover 20 miles in less than an hour– about 10 minutes after arriving at our host it started to downpour. Overall I think most of the team had a really excellent ride day, with the exception of having to see and smell the dozens of dead deer we passed on the side of the road (the stench is haunting).

The rain was beautiful from our spot atop a hill, with views of mesas and mountains in all directions. Many of us hung out on the porches and enjoyed the cool afternoon. We then gathered inside for our Christmas in July celebration. We did a Secret Santa-style gift exchange, with the condition that our gifts had to be picked up from the road as we were biking or running. I gifted Collin an incredibly dusty children’s sweatshirt and received a painted rock from James. People were very creative with their gifts and it was a fun exchange!

After that it was very sadly time to say goodbye to Chase :( He’s heading back to Omaha to start his second year in medical school. This is our third and final early departure but they haven’t gotten any easier! I decided to take a quick nap after that and woke up to a delicious spaghetti dinner prepared by Maggie and Bailey. From there it was a pretty quiet night; I did some laundry, reorganized my bag, and turned in pretty early. One additional perk of my 4K birthday: Maggie secured us the master suite, which means she, Bailey, and I are sleeping very comfortably and have a luxurious bathroom!

Today we followed the 4K pattern of unrestful rest days and woke up at 4 AM to go hike Angels Landing in Zion National Park. Angels Landing is a pretty intense hike and you have to get a permit to do the last section. We secured permits for 15 of us to do the hike, but had an hour drive to the park and needed to start before 8 AM. We also wanted to catch the first shuttle at 6 to avoid lots of traffic on the path.

The drive into the park was pitch black so I didn’t really get a sense of our surroundings until we were boarding the shuttle. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of our national park visits so far but this one felt extra special because Team Zion finally made it to Zion! After a quick shuttle ride we were dropped off at the trailhead and made our way up a steep but paved path toward the top.

You might think that after biking cross-country for 50+ days we would tackle this hike no problem– not the case. My overall fitness has definitely improved but this hike was still not easy. The trail had a bunch of switchbacks leading us up to the more recognizable section of the trail: a narrow ridge of rocks ornamented with a chain for you to hang on to as you climb up. Shelby, Bailey, and I settled into a mini-group together while some of the more ambitious members of our team booked it to the top, and by the time we reached the first chain we were drenched in sweat and breathing hard. The upper portion of the hike was actually a little easier just because we were moving slower but was much, much scarier. There were times when we were literally pulling ourselves up the rocks with the chain, and even when walking easily we held onto it because there were sharp drop-offs on both sides of the trail. I’m not afraid of heights but some of the views made me a little dizzy! I didn’t take many pictures on the hike up just because it wasn’t super safe to do so and I didn’t have a free hand.

On the way up we said a lot of things like “we’re going up THERE?” and “we came from all the way down there!”. Reaching the top was a huge relief, and we met up with the rest of our team to enjoy the incredible views. After taking a few photos, Bailey, Shelby, Bethany, and I decided to get a head start on the descent because we figured we’d be moving more slowly than the rest of the group. Climbing back down the rocks was at times just as scary as climbing up, but we also felt a perhaps false sense of confidence having gotten to the top. Honestly, the scariest part of the whole hike was that there was a lot of sand, so even if you found a good footing you sometimes slid around. Not fun when you’re on the side of a cliff!

Another tricky part of Angels Landing is that it’s an out-and-back trail, so if people are coming up while you’re going down you have to find a good place to step aside and let them pass. As soon as we started descending I was so glad we were with the first group to go up; we only had to pass one guy on our way up but were passing dozens of people on our way down. It wasn’t too bothersome for us but I felt bad for the people going up, who were probably more nervous than us and had to keep stopping or rushing through sections to pass.

We made it back to the paved portion of the trail, which was honestly worse than descending the rocks for me. Walking down on such a steep slope was really hard on my knees. Once our group all made it to the bottom we got a light breakfast and stopped by the gift shop and visitor’s center. Bailey convinced me to buy a National Parks passport and I added my very first stamp!

The drive back to the host was very sleepy for most of the van. I did my best to stay awake until we left the park since we couldn’t see much on the drive in. We drove through the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel, which is over a mile long and has large windows spaced throughout the tunnel. Apparently you used to be able to pull your car off at them like a scenic overlook, but that isn’t allowed anymore.

Back at the host I took one of the deepest naps of my life and woke up extremely hungry. We had a few hours of downtime before I rallied a small crew to go back to Bryce Canyon. A group went for a hike two nights ago which I passed on because I thought we’d be biking through the park, so when that route didn’t work out I really wanted to go back! Bailey and James joined me and we did a quick driving tour of Bryce (and got our passports stamped at the visitor’s center, of course). Unfortunately it was a little overcast and we took a little too long getting back down to Sunset Point in time for sunset, but we saw some truly incredible views along the way. The hoodoos are so unique and there was a beautiful contrast between the rocks, sky, and trees.

I was fully exhausted by the time we got back to the host so we went to bed pretty quickly. This was maybe my most exhausting rest day yet, but also one of the most memorable. The past week or so has felt much like the first two weeks of our trip, but in the desert instead of the mountains. We have been physically and mentally exhausted, our butts hurt, our bodies ache. Emotions have been high and the toll of riding such long distances day after day in such a hostile environment was apparent. This rest day was much needed and I think all of Team Zion is feeling a little more energized as we head into our last few days in Utah. It has been special!

Until tomorrow,

Lauren