Full Moon Hike

Thursday, October 17..... continued

After our very long, amazing hike down to the Hat Shop and back, we took a rest and had dinner to get ready for our Full Moon hike.  This hike is offered twice a month:  the day before (waxing gibbous) and day of the full moon.  We planned our trip to Bryce around this day.  We actually considered bailing while we sat, almost asleep, at dinner.  But we rallied and we sure are glad that we did!
  We met at 6:30 p.m. at the Fairyland Trail Head with Ranger Poe.

Ranger Poe

It turns out that Ranger Poe shared a lot of knowledge about nocturnal animals that reside in Bryce Canyon.  So in addition to watching the sun go down and the moon rise, we learned a lot about bats, owls, mountain lions, and coyotes.   He shared information about the food chain, mating, and light pollution and how that effects their survival.  Along the way, as we walked DOWN into the canyon, the moonlight got brighter, but it was difficult to see!  I realized I don't have very good night vision.

Once again, we found ourselves at the bottom of the canyon, this time with 25 strangers.  Many of our new hiker friends strolled out of the canyon - I whispered to Geof, "We will NOT be last" and we weren't, but I barely made it.   The climb, plus the dark, nearly did me in.  I found myself wondering if we didn't make it out, if anyone would know we were missing.  Our ranger was long gone and I couldn't see anyone around us!  But we did make it, and found many of our new BFFs at the top using telescopes to check out the amazing night sky.  It was all worth it and yes, we slept well Thursday night!

Using the flash to take a
picture of a tree at night!