Twig Adventures

Monday, Oct 9th to Wednesday Oct 11th, 2023Total distance: 45 miles You can watch Worm’s accompanying video here. To celebrate finishing the Hayduke, we walked down some MORE canyons! This was all thanks to Worm, who scored us some last minute permits and also provided his wheels to get us to the hike. While I’m at it, note that most of the pictures posted here are also his…basically if I’m in the photo, he took it! I also must thank our Hayduke cohort, Sky, who shuttled us from Lees Ferry to Wire Pass trailhead so that Worm’s van would be waiting for us at the end of the hike. Sky’s impeccable timing meant that they just so happened to be[…]

Thursday, Oct 5th, 2023, 0700-1830Maroney well to Short Creek, 3 miles north of Hildale12 miles, elevation 5130′ It got really cold and damp overnight, due to our proximity to the well. I woke around 2 pm to find heaps of condensation on my tent, both inside and out. I was so chilly, I had to put my puffy on to sleep again. I hadn’t felt such a chill since the spring. By dawn, the wet had turned to frost. Worm was pretty soaked since he cowboy camped. I detested packing a wet tent, but at least we were on our way to town and I could dry it somewhere there. We went about 3.5 miles to reach the highway and[…]

Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023, 0650-18301\2 mile south of Hack Canyon mine to Maroney well27.5 miles, elevation 5070′ The wind really started to blow overnight, causing my tent to flap annoyingly, so I dropped my center pole and went into bivy mode. I only tried this briefly in the storm 2 nights prior, but it worked pretty well for most of this night, since there was no rain. I was able to position the mesh over my face so I could breathe and the extra layer kept me warm. It got pretty chilly…down into the low 40s. I was in a hurry to get to our extra food, so I left Worm in his cowboy cocoon (how he got his trail[…]

Tuesday, Oct 3rd, 2023, 0650-1830Scotty’s Castle, Kanab Canyon to 1\2 mile south of Hack Canyon mine23 miles, elevation 4170′ I slept well, enjoying a pretty still night, especially compared to the thunderstorm the night before. We resumed our 20 mile escape from the Grand Canyon via Kanab Canyon early in the morning. After only a mile, we came to Showerbath spring, which is revered for the water that dribbles like a shower from an overhang, lush with maidenhair ferns. Our timing was poor, since the spring is best enjoyed in the afternoon when the sun is hitting and it’s hot. I had no desire to soak myself under it. In fact, I became quite chilled just trying to collect water[…]

Monday, Oct 2nd, 2023, 1400-1800Deer Creek \ Colorado River to Scotty’s Castle, Kanab Creek Canyon 7.5 mile raft hitch to Kanab creek, then 7.5 miles, elevation 2750′ The wind picked up and it started to rain just after midnight, just like the forecast said. I was really glad I set up my tent but regretted pitching it in such an exposed spot. I lamented not being in the cozy and protected site I’d picked out across the river. Or even under the alcove where Worm was. Instead, my poor tent was getting thrashed. At one, point I lowered my pole to give it a break. But the rain started to fall heavily, so I had to put it back up.[…]

Sunday, Oct 1st, 2023, 0700-1800Thunder \ Tapeats creek confluence to Deer Creek and the Colorado River5.5 miles, elevation 2210′ I had an amazing view from my tent overnight. Lightning flashed for awhile, there was some rain and wind, then the glow of the moon on the canyon walls took over. Outside the dark outline of the alcove, I could see some clouds mixed with stars in the morning. It looked like a promising start, but the canyon only allowed a very limited window on the world. What new wonders awaited us? I was really hoping that a trail went all the way along the west shore of the creek but we were immediately forced into another crossing. Aside from getting[…]

Saturday, Sep 30th, 2023, 0700-1800Muav Saddle to Thunder River and Tapeats creek8.5 miles, elevation 2500′ I don’t even know where to start about describing this day. It was the hardest, wildest, most chaotic and fun day I spent in the outdoors as far back as I could remember. Carrot Quinn described this section as the Hayduke’s final exam. Every crazy and difficult thing one has done up to this point is all in preparation for the obstacles in Saddle Canyon. Well, I’m happy to report that I passed! I slept ok on the cot. It was really only the wind that woke me several times. It was raging over the saddle so bad that I contemplated staying another night in[…]

Friday, Sep 29th, 2023, 0630-1900North Rim Grand Canyon to Teddys Cabin, Muav Saddle30 miles, elevation 6690′ I considered posting an update before this day, explaining all my travels and adventures in how I got back to the Grand Canyon to resume the Hayduke. I decided to sum it up briefly here, instead: I ended my spring Hayduke hike at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in May, due to the conditions in and above the canyon (snow, flooded streams, closed and washed out trails). I kept in touch with Worm over the summer, another spring Hayduke hiker that was in our bubble. We met up in Flagstaff back in May, at which time we briefly discussed a fall return.[…]