Let it snow

Our next stretch of trail took us into Bryce National Park and to elevations above 8,500 ft. We headed into the park via a dirt road in National Forest. Looking at our maps we realized that there were several canyons that led from the National Forest into the National Park. We didn't have permits to be camping in the Park so we found a route through a side canyon that stayed in the National Forest longer allowing us to camp outside of the Park boundary. The off route canyon we chose was appropriately named Ponderosa Canyon with large trees towering above us. As we climbed up the canyon we came across patches of snow and then entire hillsides covered in snow. Just before the Park boundary we found flat spot to string our tarp between two trees and while I set up our beds Goose made a small campfire for us to cook our quesadilla dinner over. The small fire kept us warm until we extinguished the coals and had to run from the icy air to the warmth of our down bags.

We awoke the following morning to frozen water bottles and had to melt chunks of ice to brew our coffee. We then headed of to rejoin the Hayduke Trail for an entire day of hiking through Bryce amongst thick forests of tall trees and towering cliffs red and orange striped hoodoos while walking over snow covered trails in a silent wilderness.

Although we began to descend in elevation after we left the southern Park boundaries we still experienced two more below freezing nights and days where we welcomed the sun on our skin to warm us from the cold winter air that blew through the blue skies. Although colder than we had experienced the days were gorgeous and we were enjoying the easier hiking on the trails and flat washed canyon floors.

We camped at one of our water caches just outside of the town of Kanab and in the morning we hiked about six miles to the highway where after about thirty minutes we were finally able to catch a ride into town. Goose had some new shoes to pick up (he had been walking the past 150+ miles in shoes that were a size too small) and we were both planning on grabbing a few additional warm layers to get us through the colder weather ahead. And of course we were thrilled for the opportunity to stuff ourselves with town food!

Detours on the journey

Our intention when hiking/hitching into Tropic was to resupply our food for the next stretch, gorge on massive amounts of town grub and return to the trail that same evening. We got a quick hitch from the main road but the driver was only going the small town of Cannonville about five miles shy of our planned destination. He dropped us at the corner hotel/gas station/small grocery and we quickly decided the food inside would cover our needs and we began to stuff ourselves and Shilo dog. After checking the weather report and realizing the storm clouds we saw rolling in that morning were the start of a predicted two day snow storm, and then finding out a hotel room was only $49 our plans for the day changed as we settled into our room and hopped into a hot shower.

The following morning was cold with signs of snow on the far mountains, but the sky was blue with fluffy clouds and the day looked good for hiking. We dropped some mail at the post office box and walked out of town down Main Street which quickly became a dirt road surrounded by ranching fields and red stone cliffs. As we walked down the the quiet road we heard a car approaching in the opposite direction and we stepped out of the road to let him pass, and as he did I waved and smiled at the driver with his three large dogs in the back of the pickup. The truck slowed and then turned around in the road rolling down his window. He asked where we were headed and then asked if we were hiking the Hayduke Trail. We were surprised as hardly any people we have encountered, even those who live only miles from our route, are familiar with the Hayduke. After confirming we were indeed Hayduke hikers he the offered to take us the the trailhead if we like. We gladly hopped in his truck and were introduced to Roy and his three dogs.

As we drove down the dirt road Roy mentioned the cold weather and possible snow again predicted for the night and then said while he would take us to the trail if we like he would also happily take us to his house for the night where as he said, "I have little to offer but a bed, and if you like some whiskey." We couldn't refuse.

Roy took us to his off the grid "Feliz Ranchitio". A beautiful, modest home he and his wife had built over the past decade. The attention to detail in every aspect of the home and surrounding yard/horse ranch was apparent and Roy had stories for all of the details. Goose and I were both in awe of the home, but it was the garage that we really loved. A room larger than the house that was filled with sea kayaks, insane amounts of climbing gear, bikes and other outdoor recreational items. It turned out Roy was a very well accomplished old school "dirt bagger" who had been "climbing since he was in the womb". A retired teacher, a graduate of UC Berkeley, a Vietnam medic, a previous climbing and kayaking guide and a world traveller; he had amazing stories to share with us all night over bowls of fifteen been soup and glasses of whiskey as we sat by the wood stove. The following morning Roy had mugs heating for us on the same wood stove which he filled with coffee for us to enjoy before dropping us off at the trail. 

Our quick grocery stop turned into a two night stay in a tiny little town in Southern Utah filled with warmth, generosity, laughter and wonderful company with a stranger who became an unexpected friend. Sometimes I find that it is the detours that we take that make for the best journey possible. 

Paria Canyon

We woke at our cache camp and had a leisurely morning, not leaving camp until after 10am. It was at that time we finally looked at a map to see exactly where the trail was located and we realized that we were about four miles south of the canyon we needed to follow. We followed the dirt road back to the Paria river and began our stretch following the river up the entire Paria Canyon, crossing the cool water many times throughout the day.

As we entered the canyon two large hawks circled above the river just ahead of us and as we followed them we got an amazing aerial show which included several high pitch screeches from the raptors before they lifted higher into the air and across the mesa in the distance. We were grateful for the experience as we continued to walk up the river and colorful canyon.

We reached the location of the old town site of Paria where we explored several ruins of old stone dwellings. While we rested in the shade of one of the stone walls Shilo barked and alerted us to two large brown sheep high on the rocky cliffs. We again felt incredibly grateful for the spotting as we watched them easily make their way across the loose rocks high above.

Our lazy pace continued as we followed the river and made camp before sundown in a grove of large yellow cottonwood trees. We ate dinner against a log in the sand and crawled into bed under our tarp as the last light of the sky darkened to a deep purple and finally a deep black to contrast the bright crescent moon. It was a very enjoyable day.

Lazy day by the river

We followed Cottonwood creek until it met with the Paria River and we found our cache hidden in the sage bushes. We carried our goods and our packs across the deep, clear river and set up camp under a grove of trees. The day was warm and I was super excited to be taking the afternoon off near the water. We grubbed down on the foods in our buckets and slurped on cold beers we had buried in the sand. We then took a few more beers down by the water and lounged around in the sun by the rivers edge. As the warm afternoon turned into evening we returned to our camp where Goose did all of our laundry for us using our cache buckets as the washing machine. He even added wild herbs and flowers to the hot water. After laundry he then made us each a hot bath in the buckets which felt amazing. After our baths we snuggled in our sleeping bags to eat dinner and fall asleep happy from a lazy day by the river.

Doughnuts, flying dinosaur bones & glowsticks

 After the tough day the day prior we were thrilled when the canyons we followed the next day were wider and flatter allowing for easy walking and navigating. As we drank water during the day our packs got lighter as well. We continued to leap frog with Jen and Dan and enjoyed conversations with them along the way. The easier walking continued this way for a short stretch and we found ourselves making bigger 20+ mile days. 

As we reached a network of dirt roads near where we had hidden our next cache we began to see cars, one of which stopped to talk with us, recognizing us as Hayduke hikers. It turned out he lived and worked in the area and often provided drinks and fruit for the few hikers he saw each year. To further demonstrate his status as a trail angel he then pulled out a box of freshly baked doughnuts and offered us each one. We were stunned and thrilled. We chatted for awhile longer and he told us of the dinosaur bones they had been digging in the area. It turned out they had recently found some T-Rex bones as well as a Steratops skull all of which were to be lifted out by a huge helicopter the following day. After wishing us luck on the trail he drove off leaving us with amazing images of flying dinosaur bones and sticky fingers from our sweet goodies.

We took a mid-day break at a popular arch and trailhead where we were able to get some water from kind day trippers and eat our lunch at a picnic table. From there we had about 24 miles to our next food cache. We headed back on our route and decided we wanted to make big miles for the day. Around sunset we stopped to put on some layers, make a couple of energy drinks which we mixed with the vodka we had been carrying and decorated ourselves with tons of glow sticks which we had also been carrying around for awhile. We were re-energized from the cocktails and silliness and walked long into the night making camp only a morning hike from our cache.

Back on trail

After a unintentionally long break in Escalante while we waited for new shoes to arrive we were thrilled to be back on trail. After two quick hitches to get us from town to the trail which was 30 miles down a dirt road, we were hiking by 4pm and quickly ran into two Hayduke hikers, Jen "Spider-woman" and Dan, whom we had met in tow the night prior. We leap frogged each other as we climbed the up what appeared to be a near vertical wall on the Escalante Grand Staircase but actually had a well beaten pack trail for us to follow upwards. As we climbed we stopped many times to gawk at the never ending views behind us. The mountains we had climbed and descended and the maze of deep winding canyons we had followed all glowed in the setting sun. We reached the top of the climb just as the reds and oranges in the sky changed to deep purples and dark blues. Jen and Dan were making camp at the top but Goose and I were still energized so we pulled out our headlamps and continued to hike into the dark of the night. 

We rose at sunrise from our camp near a flowing spring and brought our gear to a picnic table located at the "line shack" which was also located at the spring. From the luxury of the benches we made our morning coffee and got our gear and packs ready for the day. Jen and Dan soon arrived and together we all filled our water bottles while talking, excited to have new people to share stories with. We had a long haul, over thirty off trail miles, to our next water source so we were filled to capacity with nine liters each. Those twenty pounds of water added to the seven days of foods that we carried made for uncomfortably heavy packs. We loaded those packs onto our backs at 10:15am not minding the distraction of other hikers that caused for the delayed start of the day and we began across the open sage brush filled hills.

We soon dropped into Monday Canyon fighting our way through a narrow drainage choked with fallen trees, large rocks and debris to reach the canyon floor. Initially the larger canyon floor made for decent walking but soon we found ourselves scrambling up, down and around huge boulders and large pour offs. We scrambled up the side of the canyon when the floor got too choked with rocks and steep drop offs and we slid, hopped and hiked back down when the floor would clear. Every step was an effort and the climbing was challenging with the huge weight of our packs. We made camp at the end of the night completely exhausted and totally bummed that we had only made it about eight miles the entire day. We could only hope for and early start and an easier hike the following day. 

Why I continue to hike

We left our cache in the morning and headed up Tarantula Mesa for eight miles of dirt road before we scrambled down the steep cliffs of the mesa into twisting canyons that we would follow to our next cache about a day and a half away. After reaching our next cache, where we stayed for the night, we headed out again for a planned seven day stretch, none of which was on a trail. This section took us deep into the canyons where the Escalante River twisted through; a beautiful wet, abundant ecosystem in the middle of an otherwise dry, seemingly desolate expansive of land. 

During this week in the deep backcountry we encountered some of the most difficult terrain, the most beautiful surroundings and the most serene wildlife sightings. We climbed up steep slopes covered in slipping scree, massive boulders, rolling rocks, fragile soils and soft sands. We slid down hillsides of crumbling gravel, thorny bushes, steep rocks, and shoe filling dirt. We encountered slick mud, sticky mud, sucking mud and crackly mud. We waded through soft sand, deep sand, quick sand and slow sand. We pushed through tall soft trees, short stabbing bushes, grabbing, snagging, ripping, tearing, gear stealing branches. We rock hopped across streams, jumped across puddles, sloshed through thigh high rivers and swam through a couple of deep pools of ice cold water. We pushed, pulled, climbed, scrambled, crawled, roped, clawed, jumped, jogged, slipped, tumbled, stumbled and occasionally hiked through this stretch of difficult terrain. 

We were rewarded with the utter silence of the wild. The colors of fall that painted the mountainsides. The final blooms of the season that burst in brightness. The rich aromas of the pungent herbs and plants baking in the sun. The quick glimpse of a badger running for cover. The large high circles of a golden eagle at the peak of the canyon. The yips of coyotes in the night surrounding our camp. The screech of a hawk soaring low over the river. Large groups of deer grazing the hillsides. Chirps of birds in the morning and the caw of the crows echoing on the stone walls during the days. Star filled skies as we closed our eyes at the end of the day and the rich colors of sunrise the following morning.

The rewards of the wild far outweigh the challenges...this is why I continue to hike.

Henry Mountains and a movie date in the woods

We left Hanksville after a great day of rest where we stayed in a hotel, ate at the only three places in town and met up with two other thru hikers! In the early morning the housekeeper from the hotel where we stayed dropped us at the trail and we began our long rise up into the Henry Mountains and the tallest point on the Hayduke Trail on the summit of Mt. Ellen at 11,419ft. We had been looking forward to these mountains and the change of scenery that they would provide, but first we had about ten miles of walking across the mesa in deep sand dodging plants with weapons aimed at our ankles and thighs. When we reached the base of the mountains and began our accent the temperatures began to drop and a small creek bubbled alongside our dirt road route. The pinyon pines grew to full sized trees that were now mixed with other tall pine trees and gigantic aspen which burned in the brightest yellows and oranges of fall colors. We began to notice the elevation as we rose over 10k ft and just before the summit we made camp for the night as the sun sank and the cold night set in.

The following morning we slept late and snuggled in our bags long into the morning. Initially we had discussed possibly rising in the dark and hiking to the summit for coffee with the sunrise, but the freezing early morning hours changed that plan completely. When we finally did hike to the summit in the morning sunlight we startled a large group of sleeping deer and followed them for much of the day as they grazed there way along the open mountainsides. After a break at the summit we made quick time with the decent and were soon back in the sand and small fierce bushes of the desert floor. We moved quickly down the canyon as we were excited to reach our destination for the night. We had a cache ahead waiting for us with beer, juice, olives, pickles and other good foods. Goose had downloaded a movie onto his ipad at our last town stop and we had a dinner and movie date planned for the night... we had been looking forward to our "date" all day and we were thrilled to arrive to camp with a couple of hours of sunlight left and plenty to keep us fed and happy for the night. We stayed up late drinking, eating and laughing at the comedy we were watching from the warmth of our sleeping bags and the shelter of a large juniper tree. It was a good day and a great night!

Heavy hiking to Hanksville

Our next stretch of the trail began with twenty seven miles, mainly cross country route finding, without any known good water sources. I carried eight liters of water, Goose carried ten. That meant about 20 pounds of water for each of us to carry in addition to our food and gear weight as we climbed up canyon cliffs and across huge plateaus with rolling hills and sandy washes. Even Shilo dog was complaining about her pack weight, but together we made our way across our route through the Red Ledge Cliffs, helping each other, once with the assistance of rope, up and down some of the more difficult terrain. After a long, challenging day we reached the edge of the plateau just after sunset where we camped under the stars and prepared for a sunrise start the following day.

As planned we were up and hiking with the first light of the day and found our route down into Fiddler's Canyon which led us to the Dirty Devil River. The river was flowing well, but even though we were low on water we could not drink from the Dirty Devil as it was the most silty we had seen and contained high levels of agricultural waste. Our  resources had all indicated to avoid drinking from this river so we made do with the remaining water we had carried from the day prior. 

We had to follow the river approx. 6 miles to a point where we would head up another canyon. When we reached the river intersection I turned left without checking the maps and together we headed down river. We bushwhacked across the riverbank and crossed the water when needed. After about an hour Goose stopped for a break and this is when he realized that we should have been heading up river, not down river. We were both stunned, upset and totally bummed. We put our packs back on, turned around and headed in the correct direction walking in silence.

Even with our detour we still managed to reach the end of the river section by mid day at which point we connected with a dirt road and were able to quickly recover our lost time and miles. The easy hiking and ability to "tune out" for awhile on a path rather than to constantly be route finding made for a fun evening and raised spirits. We made it to camp next to a great fresh water spring with empty water bottles and an hour of daylight left. It was a good day and we only had eight miles left to the end of the section and our first town stop in Hanksville Utah... burgers and milkshakes were in our near future, yay! 

Deep in the canyons

The route this past week has taken us far from civilization and deep into the canyons and high plateaus of the southern Utah desert. Occasionally we have dirt roads or faint trails to follow, but most of our miles have been walking up washes, climbing out of canyons, pushing through shrubs, hopping over boulders, and hauling our packs and ourselves up and down steep cracks, pour offs and rock ledges. 

We spent a couple of days in Cayonlands National Park and then on BLM land where we had stashed a food and water cache. We arrived to our cache in the late afternoon and we were both thrilled to find that we had also left a six pack of Sierra Nevada pale ale with this cache. This was enough to give us a good buzz and we had a great afternoon gorging on our cached food, dancing to music on the rocks, doing yoga to stretch our stiff muscles and watching the sunset from the ledge near our camp.

The following days took us even deeper into the backcountry and we found ourselves climbing in and out of several massive canyons picking our sometimes near vertical route up rock walls and boulder fields. In between these canyon climbs we moved across mesas and plateaus with endless views of the vast open land surrounding us.

Our next resupply stop was in a one store stop near Lake Powell called Hite. The girl who worked at the store, Melissa, had been kind enough to allow us to leave our boxes in her house a couple of weeks ago and when we arrived in Hite we met Melissa with her new puppy walking up the road from the store. She greeted us with, "I must have boxes for you at my house." and she then proceeded to invite us to come over for showers, food, air conditioning and a place to stay if we like. She had to work all day so after we indulged on cold food at the store she brought us to her house, gave us a quick tour and then left us with the place to ourselves for the day. Not only was there a trail angel on the Hayduke Trail, but she also confirmed our suspicions that there were also several other thru hikers out there!  She had been a trail angel to them as well and had just dropped them at the trailhead the day prior. After a restful day at her house, Melissa dropped us off at the trail after dark, we made camp behind a rock and set our alarm for an early morning of hiking to start again the following day on what would be our fourth section of the Hayduke. We hoped to catch the other hikers soon and hang with some hiker trash!

Loving backpacking

We were on trail under the stars following cairns marking the path winding up, down and around large slickrock formations by headlamp in the morning. We stopped on top one of the large formations to watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee. My feet felt so much better and I was so happy to be able to be walking in the morning without being in sheer agony. Although I was feeling better Goose and I both decided to keep the day semi short to avoid causing any more foot damage. The marked trails that we were following through the park that day however made for easy "cruiser miles" and we found ourselves done with ten miles by mid morning. 

The hiking was incredible. The sun was hidden behind clouds most of the day allowing us to walk in cooler temperatures than we have yet. The rains from the night before had dampened the earth and plants giving everything in the typically parched environment a chance to flourish. Pungent fragrances filled the air, birds flitted and chirped about, small rodents scampered across the path, caterpillars munched on flowers and spun into cocoons and overwhelming colorful wildflowers stood tall for their final moments before shriveling for the winter. The wide path allowed Goose and I to walk side by side all day, with Shilo on our heels, and we enjoyed conversation and marveling at the beauty of our surroundings together. We made frequent stops to try and maintain the easier pace we were trying to keep for the day and yet we still found ourselves with over fifteen miles completed at 4pm so we made camp early for the night in a sweet little spot next to a large juniper tree and pine tree. 

It was a beautiful, enjoyable day on the trail today and I am so happy to finally be able to take my focus away from my feet and onto all of the things I love about backpacking.

Healing rest

We decided that a day off at the Needles Outpost was the best plan to give my feet a break and let some of the blisters heal. We had been to the Outpost the previous year and had not recalled a very pleasant experience, but since they are the only place within almost two hours where I could hopefully restock on some Ibuprofen and medical tape we decided to give them another chance. Our initial greeting from the owner was as unfriendly as we had recalled from our prior visit and we almost just left, but Goose went inside and chatted for awhile until she was smiling and came outside to say "hello" to Shilo and I. We continued to have odd interactions with her throughout our time there, but she was all smiles and well wishes by the end of our stay. We were able to stock some food from the store, eat hot food and milkshakes from the grill and take cold showers. We also spent hours under our tarp, some of which were spent hiding out from an intense thunder and lightening storm directly overhead. The following day my feet were feeling a little better so we walked/hitched from the Outpost into Canyonlands National Park and found our food/water cache we has stashed a couple weeks prior. We spent the night at our cache sheltering from more thunder and lightening until the storm finally passed and we were able to sleep in a small rock alcove ready to get back on trail the following morning. I knew the time off had been invaluable and necessary for the healing of my many blisters but I was anxious to get back to hiking.

Week one & big time blisters

 A few days outside of Moab entering into Canyonlands and we seem to be getting into the swing of things, our thru hiking life is settling in. We rise at 5am and I tape the multiple blisters on my feet from my sleeping bag as Goose gets to hit the snooze button a couple more times. We then rise, pack up, enjoy a cup of coffee and we are on trail by the first light of the morning.

Mornings especially have been hard for me this first week of hiking. Every step on my blister covered feet (I stopped counting at nine blisters) is excruciating pain in the mornings. I hobble along super slow and try to fight back tears at times. After the first mile or so the ibuprofen starts to work and the pain dulls to a manageable scream which allows me to move at a somewhat normal pace. 

We have been walking a series of dirt roads through steep canyons, expansive plateaus and wide valleys and we have been cutting across country and through washes to connect the different canyons that we have been traveling through.The tall stone walls offer shade at times but otherwise we are exposed to the intense sun most of our hiking. We had originally hoped to hike most of the miles in the early morning and evening hours, often by headlamp, but we have found the navigation required on this trail too difficult to do in the dark, which unfortunately means we have been walking in the heat of the day more than we would have liked. Our current routine seems to be working for now. We hike until about 12pm, stop for a lunch break, hike again for an hour or two in the mid day and stop again around 3:30 for another break when the sun seems to be the most intense. We walk again by 5pm until about 7pm when we make camp just before dark. 

The earlier darkness of the fall season, as well as my slower blistered pace, along with the constant route finding, has made it hard to hike the 20 plus miles per day that Goose and I are accustomed to. We have been hiking a long, exhausting pace of about 15 miles per day, but we are hopeful that once my injuries heal, when we both have our trail legs back and once we get a little more practiced with our route finding we will be able to push big mile days at times.

It has been hard to be very appreciative about my surroundings or the hike in general with the amount of constant pain that I have been in for the last few days, but there are still moments each day when I am able to ignore the pain long enough to look around at this incredible landscape, to focus on the gratitude I have to be able to be out here hiking in this wilderness and to know the joy deep inside of me that I feel when I am backpacking. Soon my blistered feet will heal to hard calluses and I will be able to spend much more time focusing on all that I love about being out in the backcountry.

Rain and shine

After hiding out in the sun our first day ended with a hike long into the dark, across country to a destination we did not even realize we had reached until we were able to see the spring in the morning light the following day. 

Other than sore blistered feet the hike that next day was wonderful, following along running water through lush canyons filled with cottonwood trees bordered by towering red walls of cliffs that stood high above us. At lunch we rested in the shade of a tree next to the water and watched as thick thunder clouds rolled over the rock formations across the valley. Heavy drops of rain began to fall and winds roared down the canyon bending the trees that we had been sheltering from the sun under just moments before. Thunder rolled above us and lightening flashed in the distance. We scrambled to gather our gear and moved to higher ground to wait out the storm. A couple of hours later the blue skies and sunshine returned and we hiked until almost sundown when we made camp just a mornings hike outside of Moab where we planned to resupply in the morning.

First day on the Hayduke

We awoke at the northern border to Arches National Park at 5am and packed up under the stars by headlamp. After a cup of coffee we were so ready to get started on our journey. In our excitement to walk we jammed on down the dirt road watching the sunrise and pushed right on past the point where we were supposed to leave the dirt road and bushwhack up the mesa that ran parallel to us on our left. About a mile or so further when we stopped to apply sunscreen we pulled out our maps and realized our error. We hopped off trail and began to slog at a diagonal through the bushes and sand of Salt Valley, we then picked our way up the boulders until we reached the top of the ridge at a spire called Dark Angel. From there we spent some time wandering amongst the fins and canyons trying to find the trail that we should be joining in the are. We pulled out our maps and GPS, got a bit frustrated at our slower pace due to route finding and back tracked to head in the direction our instinct had originally told us. As soon as we reached a rise we found a series of trails which ultimately led to day hikers, followed by many day hikers, followed by bus loads of people all crowding down the narrow paths to see the nearby arches. We zoomed by all of the photo ops crowded with people, quickly taking in the scenery and trying to get out of the madness as soon as possible. We covered the four trail miles quickly to reach a campground where we planned to fill up on water. It was around 11am and it was starting to get hot. I stuck my head under the cold faucet and then soaked my shirt, both felt amazing. After filling our bottles we headed back out in hopes of heading a little further down the trail to stop for a mid day lunch/avoid the heat siesta stop. The shortcut trail on our map that led back to our route could not be found however as we kept running into high pour offs and impassible cliffs. We saw where we needed to go, but we could not get there. Frustrated, hot and hungry we decided to stop for lunch at the impassable rock wall in a wonderfully shaded area. After food, a break, a short nap and a little fun together we were in much better spirits and ready to try and find our route through the wall. 

We re-checked a pour off we had previously deemed too high and decided that if we removed our packs we could scramble/slide down the rock to an indent where we could then jump the final six feet. I went first, Goose lowered the packs and then Shilo (via a hook on her pack and a rope which helped her walk down the rock wall) to me and followed us down.We were happy to have made it past our obstacle, but in the full blaze of the 4pm sun we realized we had left our cool, shaded lunch spot too soon. I pulled out my Golite reflective umbrella, something I had initially thought I did not want to carry but quickly realized the portable shade was going to make a huge difference in my ability to handle the full desert sun, and we headed out to find the next dirt road which would lead to an under ground pipeline which we were to follow for a couple of miles.By the time we reached that pipeline around 5pm both Shilo and I were too hot to continue so we all hunkered down in the shade of some juniper trees where we now sit waiting out the heat just a little longer. We have about 10 more miles to an area called courthouse wash where we plan to jump into the stream and make camp for the night. I think we are all looking forward to reaching that desination.

Our final cache

We had to pull ourselves out of bed at 7am, tired from a short nights sleep but needing to get going before the day got too hot. We drank a cup of coffee, stashed our buckets and water up a wash under some large bushes, buried some beer and apple cider under the ground and got back on the road. It was our goal today to finish the remaining six caches and get to Moab so we could start hiking.

The drive in Arizona around the North rim area of the Grand Canyon was gorgeous. After the previous several scorching hot days we were overjoyed at the cooler temperatures and forests of evergreen and deciduous trees. We were quickly finished in the area however and found ourselves back in the heat of the lower lying desert as we made our way back into Utah. We dropped off our last two water caches and then sat under the shade of a large juniper to examine our maps to find an alternate cache location from the previous nights failed attempt. Happily and hopefully we found a possible alternate location approx. 26 trail miles from the original location and we set out in hopes that the dirt road would be passable. When we arrived at the dirt road we found a sign reading, "road temporarily closed". We could not be stopped this easily so we swerved around the sign and decided to see how far we we could go. The road was better than expected and when our GPS said we were only about two miles from our destination we okay to come across the wash out that stopped any further progress...this location was just fine for our cache, we could walk the additional couple of miles to get our food. To further reward our additional miles we buried an entire twelve pack of beer to enjoy by the riverside when we hiked to this pick up location. The sun was just setting for the night and we had just finished our final cache...it was time to go backpacking and we couldn't wait!
 

Caching all day and all night

We slept soundly in our "camp under the lake" waking only once to the howls and yaps of coyotes who were traveling through our camp in the night. After packing up camp we swung by the restroom facilities where we were able to take a splash bath in the sink, rinse some clothes and our coffee cups and brush our teeth. Feeling clean and refreshed we headed up to the store to drop off our resupply boxes. When we arrived to the store however we found a sign reading "closed for inventory" and nobody to be found. We walked across the lot to the visitors center to find it too was closed. Since these were the only two buildings in this very remote area we were at a loss for what to do. I found a phone number on the store window for a storage company and decided to call from the pay phone out front to see if they would be willing to store our boxes. When I explained my situation the woman on the other end of the line told me where she thought I might find Melissa, the girl In charge of the store, and gave me a phone number to try and reach her. I was able to call and track Melissa down working at a lodge in the neighboring town and when I got her on the phone she was extremely kind offering that we drop our boxes at her house up the road, indicating we should let ourselves into her unlocked house and leave the boxes "on the couch or wherever." She said if the store was not open when we hiked in to pick up our boxes to go ahead and come on by to her place to pick them up. The trusting kindness of strangers is always surprising and touching.

After leaving Hite with our boxes safely stashed on Melissa's coffee table we headed north to pick up more water for our next caches. On the way we stashed a few bottles of water and sodas at an intersection where we planned to hitch into town so we could have drinks while we waited for a ride, or walked if unable to hitch. After grabbing more water and lunch in town we headed out to complete several more caches down a series of dirt and gravel roads. We drove on and cached until late into the night. Around 10:30pm we were headed out another dirt road to drop our sixth cache for the day and were stopped by a wash out that was impassable. With no other option of reaching that cache location we decided to worry about that cache tomorrow and try to loop around and get into Arizona where we would be caching the following day.

Goose drove until after 2am while Shilo and I slept. When we woke we were in Arizona on more dirt roads yet again and we were close to our next cache location. I woke myself up a bit more to help with navigation and we continued out towards the trailhead where we hoped to cache and camp for the night. About six miles shy of the trailhead however we found the dirt washes impassable for my Suby so we stopped where we were and set up our bed on the side of the dirt road. We both fell fast asleep after a long, hot day.

Caching in Canyonlands

We woke to the silver skies of the morning before the sunrise and marveled at the red rocks, tall spires and striped mountains that had been hidden in the dark the night prior. After a cup of coffee we hit the road and headed to our first caching location. At the entrance to Canyonlands we decided to purchase an annual park pass and got into a brief conversation with the ranger about our hiking and caching plans. She must have called in to the other rangers as when we walked into the backcountry office we were greeted with "Are you the Haydukers?" We were surprised to find that we were expected! We spoke with two rangers about our hike and got permission to cache in the park as well as got into general conversation about the handful of other Hayduke hikers that they knew of this past year. We then went out into the sun to find a place to cache our food and water. Once we had secured our cache hidden well off the road we left the park on our way to our next stop. 

Our second cache for the day was down a long series of dirt roads which we were unsure of our ability to even manage to drive without a high clearance 4x4. Our destination was a location called beef basin. After a couple of hours on the dirt road, with several stops along the way to scope the route in order to ensure we could clear some sketchy spots, we successfully reached our basin. We found a large rock overhang to tuck our buckets and water underneath and we covered the opening with stones to further camouflage our stash. After retracing our long drive on the dirt road to get out we managed to reach pavement and highway speeds again as we drove the two hours into Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to a location next to Lake Powell where we would leave our boxes at a small store called Hite Marina. 

We arrived at our destination just after sun set and found a large flat area that used to be at the launch ramp.  The area actually was past the launch ramp in a spot that used to be under water.  The lake had long since receded however and we set our bed up on a slab of stone in our "camp under the lake" as I called it. The night air was still hot at 10pm so we shared a couple of beers, which were unfortunately also hot, watched the stars and enjoyed the occasional breeze that cooled our skin as it blew up from the lake in the distance. It felt good to relax outside and to have started our caches which would allow us to play outside in these areas for the following months. 

Departing Durango

It took a full week of 16-18 hour days filled with map reading, route planning, water calculations, food shopping, organizing, final gear collecting, more organizing, more map reading, more planning, but on Sunday our planning was finally done and we were ready to get on the road.

We crammed every last inch of my Subaru with five gallon buckets, boxes, backpacks, fuel, food and water leaving just enough room for Shilo dog to ride on top of a stack in the backseat and for me to ride shotgun with my legs crossed on top of a backpack and bucket. We departed our friends house in Durango, CO, which had been command central, and made our way towards Utah. The sun set in shades of brilliant reds and oranges and the sky darkened. We realized that we had not driven in the dark since the past April, as we have been in the land of the midnight sun since that time. The cool night air brought out the wildlife who were able to hide in the darkness, but despite the lack of sun we were still able to see a large elk, a huge owl, a fox, several deer and many small rodents.

At the last town stop we filled our gas tank with fuel and the remaining space in the back seat with water, moving Shilo to share the small space in the front seat with me. We continued on until almost midnight when reached a deserted campground just outside of Canyonlands National Park. We set up our bed under the open sky and eventually drifted to sleep after a long light show of shooting stars and flashes of lightening in the distance.
 

The route through the desert

The Hayduke Trail is more of a route than a trail. The route travels through the deserts of the southwest across more than 800 miles of ever changing desert environments; expansive ridgelines, deep drainages, winding canyons, difficult climbs and challenging travel through removed backcountry. Together along with my boyfriend Goose (aka KCop) and his dog Shilo we plan on backpacking this route in its entirety. We will begin in Moab Utah, hike through six National Parks including Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Grand Canyon and complete our journey in Zion. We are guessing that this adventure will take us about 2 1/2 months to complete.

The last time I hiked a long stretch in the desert I turned around, flipped the desert off and said ‘goodbye forever!” I had surprisingly enjoyed that desert stretch much more than I had anticipated, but after 700 miles I had my fill and was done with that environment.  At that moment I never wanted to hike in the desert again. Why now, as my next long distance adventure, would I choose to hike over 800 miles on the Hayduke Trail? I ask myself that question at times still, even within only days of embarking on this journey, and I am not exactly sure what is drawing me back into the desert. Perhaps because last fall I first travelled through Utah on a road trip which included several backpacking trips into these National Parks and I was amazed by the landscape. Perhaps because one of those trips was one of the toughest backpacking trips I have even taken and I was humbled by Mother Nature. I want to be humbled again. To connect with the rhythms of nature again and become part the environment.  I want to push myself, to challenge my skills, to be slightly outside of my comfort zone. I want my body to hurt at times, to suffer slightly at times, to be uncomfortable at times. To be doubtful at the challenge of the route ahead and to push past all of those difficulties feeling accomplished, exhausted and strong. I want to see lands that I have never seen before, to be surprised and awed by the environment over and over.  I want to be deep in the quiet of nature, to be far removed and surrounded by the stillness and vastness of the backcountry. I think the Hayduke Trail will be a journey that will require me to learn and grow, to challenge me and also reward me. I am excited for all of this. I am sure this adventure will be so much more than I can possibly imagine…adventures often are!