Category: Hayduke Trail

Monday, April 3rd, 2023, 0840-1730Moab to S2 mm 5 BLM camp near Colorado River16.5 miles, elevation 3950′ I heard the wind beating at the door all night and didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning. The forecast called for 50 kt gusts through the day, and rain then snow overnight. Tuesday might have some more snow and then temps in the 20s overnight. Boo. The problem was, if we waited around town another day or two, we’d miss our permit for Canyonlands NP. It cost us $46 for the privilege of pitching our tents on bare earth, and no pit toilet at the site. It was the same deal we got every night free camping, the difference[…]

Sunday, April 2nd, 2023, 0730-1500Arches National Park, S1 mm 11.7 to mm 24 Lions Park\Moab12 miles, elevation 4,000′ A coyote call to dawn was a great alarm clock in the morning. It was 32 degrees as I awoke but I felt pretty warm all night. We climbed out of the wash to begin an alternate across the slickrock and the sun hit us almost immediately. It warmed pretty quickly and soon we were stripping layers and donning sun protection. The slickrock alt was very cool and fun. We didn’t actually follow the line on the map but rather made up our own. Comments warned of the cryptobiotic soil but we managed to keep out of it by weaving from the[…]

This is a long post, done so mostly for my own recollection of my preparations and travels prior to the hike. It encompasses several weeks, just to give an idea of how much pre-planning the hike involved. It was a good couple weeks visiting family and friends…good training at altitude in Colorado, too. Stellar and I had planned to head to Utah sooner, checking out some day hikes as we placed our food and water caches. But it was so bloody cold and snowy, we extended our stay in sunny (and kind of warm) CO. We spent the extra days at our friend Jolly Rancher’s home near Westcliffe \ Rosita. I met him on the Colorado Trail in 2017 and[…]