Utah Day 3

After a day off from hiking, it was back to Bryce Canyon for a second day.  In years past, we would have gone out more in the hard to access areas and hiked something more difficult, but the knee precluded that line of attack.  Still, the hike we did was a good days work.  The hike was called Fairyland Loop.  Again, you get to see all the hoodoos and rock colors Bryce is known for, but you're close to everything at the park headquarters, and not alone out in the rugged areas.  In these pics you can make out the trail in spots and see the grades are manageable.
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This hike ended up being 7.94 miles and we took almost 5 1/2 hours to do it.  5 years ago we would have done this hike in half the time or better.  Oh well, with almost 1300 feet of ascent, you do get a workout on this trail.  Being longer and having more climbing, there were far less people on this hike.  We probably only saw another dozen people on the hike, and we enjoyed the quiet immensely.  Temps were again in the low 80's and to be honest, it was hot.  Lots of water, several breaks, a few bites of protein bars and we did just fine for a couple of old farts.
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What really helped me was I finally invested in a good set of walking sticks before we left, and after figuring out how to use them properly, I think they really saved my ass.  Going downhill they are a tremendous help keeping the knees from getting overburdened.  Wife still coddled me, but at least I made it and she was able to go.  Bryce was the main place we wanted to go to, and after the two days there, we had our fill.   Lots of Mule deer in the park, coming right up to the edge of the canyons.  They must see a lot of people cause they allow you to get pretty close.
At the end of the day I was spent.  Knee swelled up and was done.  Went back to the campsite, had two Tylenol, one Meloxicam, cooked burgers for dinner and enjoyed a nice fire talking with the wife.
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By the time I was ready to crash for the night, knee swelling had gone down and I was feeling much better.  For the next day we planned another off-road adventure, but a little more challenging this time.  We were not disappointed!
sticks
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Better Days Ahead!
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