Twig Adventures

Monday, April 24th, 2023, 0650-1945Lower Hackberry Trailhead \ Yellow Rock alt. to Paria River 0.5 mile south of Sheep River20.5 miles, elevation 5230′ It rained for awhile overnight, but only lightly. The wind really picked up several times but luckily the trees kept me sheltered. Everything was pretty damp and covered in sand in the morning. Still, I felt like I’d been extremely fortunate with hardly any precipitation during the journey, mostly just a few nights when I was already in my tent. I couldn’t complain. We got ready early and immediately started up the alternate trail to Yellow Rock. This was one of many alternate attractions suggested by Jamal Green on his page Across Utah, and as usual, it[…]

Sunday, April 23rd, 2023, 0640-1800Round Valley Draw \ Hackberry Canyon confluence to Lower Hackberry Trailhead \ Yellow Rock alt.21 miles, elevation 4690′ I was pretty excited to wake and pack this morning because I was seeking redemption for the failed Round Valley Draw adventure the day before. I’d decided to do an out and back up the canyon, adding 5 miles total to my day. Such extra miles were no big deal and the canyon was very much worth it. We left our packs under the cover of the junipers, as the ravens were already soaring above, looking for an opportunity. It was typically cold (30s) and felt even colder deep in the canyon. RVD was a classic slot canyon,[…]

Saturday, April 22nd, 2023, 0640-1800Grosvenor Arch S8 to Round Valley Draw and Hackberry Canyon confluence.21.5 miles (but only 9 official trail miles), elevation 5750′ I got an early start so I could take more pictures of the nearby arch. The light wasn’t as good as the night before but I did manage to catch some of the sunrise. We walked a little ways down the road to our cache, which we’d originally intended to leave by the arch, but couldn’t make it all the way due to the road being muddy, icy, and covered in snow. In retrospect, this was a good thing, since I’ve learned that burying food in the vicinity of people and picnic tables is a recipe[…]

Friday, April 21st, 2023, 0640-1830Right Hand Collet Canyon to Grosvenor arch 25 miles, elevation 6230′ It was 25 degrees under the trees and 23 degrees in the wash in the morning. Three nights prior, the low had been 60 something. I’d never been on hike with such temperature swings, except maybe the GET and MRT. There was one benefit to the freezing temps: the quick mud in the creek was quite firm to walk over, making for easy travel for a few miles. But I still wished it would warm up some. It was supposed to be back in the 60s by the end of the day. I thought we only had a few miles left before beginning an easy[…]

Thursday, April 20th, 2023, 1130-1840Escalante\Hole in the Rock Road Devils Garden S7 to Right Hand Collet Canyon15.5 miles, elevation 6000′ I really didn’t want to leave town this day. Normally I’m very eager, especially after a zero. I guess I was just liking the good food, people, and conveniences too much. I ate breakfast in the room and got a second breakfast at the natural food store. I saw Page at the Post Office as I was walking by. You know it’s a small town when you start getting waves from the locals after only being there just 2 days. We said goodbye to Mac, Leah and Sky and then met another Hayduke hiker, Emily. She’d gotten off trail at[…]

Tuesday, April 18th, 2023, 0630-1130)Beginning of Coyote Gulch to Hole in the Rock Road, hitch to Escalante 12 miles, elevation 5870′ I survived the night, untouched by ROUS’s. I slept pretty well except that I did have one momentary complaint in that I was too hot! It was in the mid 60’s in the morning and I was sweltering under my quilt just as I went to bed, like I was back in Florida. At least everything was bone dry \ no condensation in the morning…kind of weird being next to a stream…not at all like Florida. I got to enjoy about 7 miles of walking up Coyote Gulch, one of the most popular hikes in all of Utah. The[…]

Monday, April 17th, 2023, 0645-1900Halls creek  end to beginning of Coyote Gulch18 miles, elevation 3750′ There was a 2000′ climb to start the day, glad we saved it for the morning while it was still cool. Instead of waking up to the 30s, temps were in the 50’s! We got a great start before sunrise and were flying up the Waterpocket Fold. From afar, the feature looked like a giant homogeneous slab of white sandstone. But there were many peaks and valleys, ripples and rumples. It was incredible to see how varied the formation was up close. As the name suggests, there were many pools of water but also tiny micro-cosms of habitat, including juniper and pinon pine. I spotted a[…]

Sunday, April 16th, 2023, 0650-1845Muley Tanks to Halls creek, just before the Baker route23 miles, elevation 3830′ I woke with a bit of a headache, probably because of staying up too late. The party people didn’t go on all night but I wasn’t sure when they stopped, since I took measures to be dead to the world…earplugs and herbal remedies. I think they carried on pretty late. I was glad to get away from them in the early morning. We waved goodby to Mac, since he was heading over the Waterpocket fold on the main Hayduke route to the Escalante River. He planned to packraft down the river for about 25 miles. We were doing the Halls Creek \ Baker[…]

Saturday, April 15th, 2023, 0650-1830End of Swap Canyon to Muley Tanks, S618 miles, elevation 4630′ I woke to the usual chill, 32 degrees, which was starting to feel pretty normal. I got used to sleeping with my filter every night from the beginning. We walked out of the canyon in a few miles and entered Capitol Reef, our 3rd National Park on the route. There was a humble sign to welcome us and an easily bypassed fence to keep cows in or out. There was more cow poop on the park side of the fence, plus lots more hoof prints. We made it to the road leading to the various points of interest in the southern end of the park,[…]

Friday, April 14th, 2023, 0640-1920Under The Horn S5 to end of Swap Canyon26 miles, elevation 5150′ I was warm all night until about 4 am, when some squalls passed through. Maybe they started before that but I was asleep. The wind really picked up and I heard the pitter-patter of rain, then sleet, then snow. It didn’t sound like much so I was really surprised when I woke to find my tent walls heavily misshapen. My half-working brain thought a stake had pulled loose in the wind. But no, it was something else. A few shakes and punches deposited piles of snow all around me. Outside the ground was covered by about 2 to 3 inches. Snow on the heels[…]