torrey- NP- las vegas

Hello,

My route was : Torrey-Capitol Reef NP-Bryce Canyon NP-North Rim of Grand Canyon-Zion NP-Las Vegas
Total cycling distance : 11 165km or almost 7000 miles

So on sunday, september 28, i left Torrey and cycled into Capitol Reef NP. It is very good weather and because i had a good hiking possibility i stayed there for 2 nights and did some backcountry hiking along a small creek and in a canyon. There was nobody but me and i enjoyed it very much.

The reef is just fabulous and 100 miles long. It was first settled by mormons and they left us some orchards. I eat a lot of apples but was too late for any other fruit. I also visited an old mormon house which gives a very good impression how they used to live.

On tuesday i cycled south on HW 12, an official scenic byway and just heavenly to enjoy the scenery. But here you are stil in the mountains so i had to cycle over a pass of 2866m or 9400 feet high. Because of the desert heat some things are reversed. In Europe if you go higher first you encouter leave trees, than evergreens which become smaller till you get above the treeline. Here i started in semidesert, saw than the evergreens and ended up in the leave trees which now were in the fall colours and thus very spectacular.
I camped on the top of the pass and had a beautifull sunrise and sunset.
The next morning i visited an anasazi museum. These are also called the anchestral pueblans. There were some ruins and an newly build pueblo. It was ok.

On thursday, october 2th, i reached Bryce Canyon NP. Very famous for the hootoos, rocks in different shapes and forms formed by erosion. I did a backcountry hike here but the multiday hikingtrails dont go through the hootoos and that was a bit of a disappointment to me. I did also some small hike through Wall Street, Queens Garden, Amphiteather,... These are very special hootoos or groups of hootoos which have been given a name.

On saturday, there was very bad weather but luckily a mormon family took me in. Conny and Roger were very nice to me. I even could go to a birthday party and learned a lot about their believs. It is quiet different than we think in Europe. Conny is also a moviefan and so i watched a good movie in the evening.
Conny and Roger, thank you very much for letting me stay the night and all the generosity you provided.

I continued my trip and on monday i was on the north rim of the grand canyon and i hoped to go to the colorado river. I allready knew that the most permits were reserved 4 months in advance and only a few are remained for walk inss. The next available was 2 days later and i didnot want to wait that long so i only did a day hike.
The grand canyon is not very beautifull but size of it did impress me very much. You feel very little even if you go in there for a little while like me.

Here i met Aaron. He is hiking for at least 60 days from NP to NP and i had a nice conversation with him. He also travelled ultralight and didnot have a tent with him. Only a tarp to spread out abouve his sleepingbag and mat.

Allthouhg the north rim is very high (8000ft) it didnot feel cold because the heat of the desert comes through the canyon and rises at night so that was ok. But when i left on thursday, i was all downhill and i felt the cold very hard but after 2 hours of cycling i was back in the hot semi-desert.

In this area with all the NP they are lots of cyclists and i had a good time with some of them. Giving each other good advice makes travelling so much easier.

Continuing my cycling i came to Zion NP from the east entrance. There is a tunnel i am not allowed to cycle through but in no time i had a ride. The funny thing is that i did some hiking and the end of the hike was at the east entrance so the next day i was again asking for a ride which i found in less than 15 minutes.
Zion is very beautifull and i could watch it from the highest point called observation point.
I didnot find the time to do the most famous hike there called angels landing. It is lower but the trail is very small and there are chains you can use to get higher. Many people dont reach the top because they fear the hights there.

On saturday, october 11, they predicted rain and snow so i went to aonother host from warmshowers and had a good time. Dave showed me around and we even did a small hike in the state park. He showed me petroglyphs and gave a lot of information.

His wife Denise is bikingguide and told me were it is nice to cycle. She also gave me good maps from Las Vegas and so.
Denise and Dave, thank you very much for having me and giving the information. I enjoyed my stay with you.

Here in Saint-George i saw my first palmtree. That night i camped for the first time in a desert and there were no trees to put my tent behind but all went good and i reached Las Vegas in the afternoon where Aaron from CS was waiting for me.

I stay here for 4 nights and visit the strip, attended a potlock organised through CS. It is very simple : everyone brings a bit of food or drinks with him and you have a party. With 30 people from around the world is garanteed a pleasure.

Now i am going to the atomic bomb museum and i leave tomorrow and will cycle to Death Valley, Kings Canyon, Sequoia NP, Yosemite NP and San Francisco.

greetings,

nico