This had been declared a day of rest. But there was a short hike down behind Bryce Canyon that seemed to be calling to us.
We'd passed this particular turnoff in the road several times, and there were always lots of cars parked there. When we were in Bryce Canyon, we learned that there was a short hike to a cave and a waterfall down below the park. So we decided to hike and then rest for the remainder of the day.
The Mossy Cave hike is in what they call Water Canyon. It's part of an irrigation project undertaken by the Mormon pioneers to get water from the East Fork of the Sevier River into the farmland below. There wasn't much water there at the time, but they say that water has been running through there continuously for over a hundred years, with the exception of 2002 during the drought.
The cave was not mossy at all. Wrong time of year. But there is a natural spring that drips down through the top of the cave, and in the winter, the water forms upside-down icicles. I think the scientific name is "stalagmites". There was also a small amount of water flowing over the cave. It really was very pretty.
We felt like we were in a completely different land when we got to the waterfall. It was small, especially when you compare it to the waterfalls we see in Oregon. We thought we were done with the hike. But then we saw an unofficial trail leading up the creek, so we decided to keep going.
We're glad we did. There were a couple of much smaller, but prettier falls. One was coming out from under a sheet of ice that was covering the top of the creek. We followed the trail up into a cove and found one more little waterfall.
The Mossy Cave hike is a relatively easy hike and Water Canyon is not large. But it's still pretty; and being able to see the Hoodoos from below gave them a different perspective. And we got back with plenty of afternoon left to rest.
I'll leave you with photos of our intrepid photographer at work. Check out his photos in his Gallery.
We'd passed this particular turnoff in the road several times, and there were always lots of cars parked there. When we were in Bryce Canyon, we learned that there was a short hike to a cave and a waterfall down below the park. So we decided to hike and then rest for the remainder of the day.
The cave was not mossy at all. Wrong time of year. But there is a natural spring that drips down through the top of the cave, and in the winter, the water forms upside-down icicles. I think the scientific name is "stalagmites". There was also a small amount of water flowing over the cave. It really was very pretty.
We're glad we did. There were a couple of much smaller, but prettier falls. One was coming out from under a sheet of ice that was covering the top of the creek. We followed the trail up into a cove and found one more little waterfall.
The Mossy Cave hike is a relatively easy hike and Water Canyon is not large. But it's still pretty; and being able to see the Hoodoos from below gave them a different perspective. And we got back with plenty of afternoon left to rest.
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