Continued from the previous page.

RIDING AROUND THE PEEKABOO LOOP

We joined the hiking trail and rode clockwise on the Peekaboo Loop for the next three miles. Hikers can walk in either direction.

I showed over 80 pictures of the Peekaboo Loop from the hiker's perspective in the last three-page entry but I want to add some more from the equestrian's perspective:

Above and below:  Gotta say, it's a lot easier to ride 
a horse up the long ascents than it is to hike up them!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tunnels are fun on a horse! Yes, there's plenty of headroom on this trail
because of the equestrians.

The Peekaboo Trail winds around below the iconic Wall of Windows . . .

 

. . . and then switchbacks up through a slot canyon similar to those on the Navajo Loop -- again, much easier on a horse than hiking:

 

There is another tunnel at the top of the slot canyon, and a great view when you come out:

 

Moqui is trying to get ahead of Red River again . . . gotta keep reining him in.

 

No, Moqui, we can't go through this narrow passage next to Red River.

There were two more switch-backing descents before we reached the intersection with the Horse Trail again:

 

 

ASCENT ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE HORSE TRAIL

Here's the trail map again.

Once we closed the loop on the Peekaboo Trail we got back on the Horse Trail and wound through more interesting rock formations on the east side of that loop before climbing out of the canyon to the rim:

The map shows horses going opposite the direction on the Horse Trail than the way we did on this ride -- not sure why the guides took the two morning groups in the figure-8 we rode.

Here are some photos from this section of the Horse Trail, which hikers don't get to see:

 

 

 

 

 

Above and below:  Our guide graciously took photos of the riders with
their own cameras in front of this scenic rock formation.

 

 

After we climbed back up to the rim and crossed the Rim Trail we followed the fenced Horse Trail back to the corral and dismounted:

 

A FUN ADVENTURE

We forgot to turn on our GPS units to record the ride. Tim, our guide, verified we did eight miles. Because of all our stops and moving slowly past hikers it took almost as much time as it takes for me to walk that distance -- but it was a lot easier since the horses did all the work.

We both walked a little funny for a few minutes after the ride but we weren't tired or sore like we thought we might be. We had lunch at the park lodge, which is close to the horse corral, and then Jim rode his bike 18 miles back to the campground. Later he rode several more miles with Casey and I went out for a hike with Cody in Red Canyon.

I'm glad we did this ride because it was a fun new adventure for us. We can highly recommend the park concessionaire's rides at Bryce.

Next entry:  virtual tour of the Fairyland Loop, Sue's favorite Bryce Canyon trail

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, Cody the ultra Lab, and Casey-pup

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© 2015 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil