Twig Adventures

Tag: HDT

GC Days 10 & 11: Tapeats and Deer Creek

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

Wednesday, February 28th 2024 Fossil Camp mile 125.4 to Opposite Deer Creek Camp mile 136.8 11.4 miles, elevation 1962′ (hiking 8.6 miles, minus 2.5 miles missed along the river) This day was all about getting our hiking game up to speed. But first we had to make it past two Class 7 rapids, Bedrock and Deubendorff Rapids. I rode with Cleve for the first time, which I enjoyed very much. Bedrock is an intimidating rapid, with a giant building-sized boulder splitting the river into 2 halves. Rafts need to nail the right line, otherwise they can get pushed up against the rock and become high-sided (flipped) or stuck. Worse yet, they can go down the left channel, which has huge[…]

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GC Days 7 & 8: Big Splashes and 1st Layover Day

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

Sunday, February 25th 2024Granite Camp mile 93.8 to 110 Mile Camp 16 miles, elevation 2188′ The day was off to a splashy start with some very big rapids. This was the start of the ‘Gems’ section, which is one of the most challenging days on the river. Many of the rapids are named after gems, starting with Crystal. First was a scout of Granite Rapid, easily done from our campsite. I set off with Charlie on his raft, while his usual crew/mate Lana stayed on shore to photograph our group with her nice camera. This was one of the most fun rapids yet, with a big wave train but not too much peril. Lana got some really great photos of[…]

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GC Day 4: LCR Perfection

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

Thursday, February 22nd 2024 Upper Nankoweap Camp mile 53 to Tanner Camp mile 68.7 15.7 miles, elevation 2691′ I woke to yet another migraine, even tough I tried to hydrate really well the previous day. I was officially out of my own meds this day, so someone gave me some of their extra. At this rate, I might still have to hike out of phantom Ranch in 2 days. I helped with breakfast in the morning while some of the rest of the group that didn’t get to do the hike at night went up in the morning. I saw a bunch of other people from the other 2 groups heading up as well, so I was glad I went[…]

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GC Day 3: Easy Ride to Nankoweap

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

Wednesday, February 21st, 2024 Nautiloid Camp mile 35 to Upper Nankoweap Camp mile 53 18 miles, elevation 2800′ I woke feeling well rested but unfortunately still with a migraine. I knew it was the result of having such a severe one the night before and experiencing a ‘rebound’ effect from the medication. I sometimes got locked into these patterns of migraines for up to a week. I took another precious pill, with my personal supply down to just 1. I had identified 2 people that had the same meds the day before, but hadn’t gone so far as to officially borrow from them yet. I really hated having to lean on other people for such things and was just hoping[…]

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GC Prep and Day 0

Arizona Trail, Grand Canyon Rafting Trip, Hayduke Trail

February 14-17, 2024 To begin this long adventure, I took a direct flight from Miami to Phoenix, utilizing some miles for a free one-way ticket on American Airlines. I also enjoyed a free checked bag as an AA credit card holder, because oh my did I have a lot of crap to bring along for this trip. I managed to fit it all into 2 bags, which was really quite incredible considering how much the other participants brought. Not surprisingly, my ultralight backpacking experience came into play. The typical rafter approach is to bring copious amounts of gear to ensure a comfortable experience…after all, the raft carries the weight during the day. But considering how much lugging and packing of[…]

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Hayduke Route Summary & Stats

Hayduke Trail

First and foremost, a huge thanks goes to Mike Coronella and Joe Mitchell, the creators of this route. Their passion and vision for exploring the Colorado Plateau was groundbreaking. Such a challenging and remote route was only made possible by the information generously shared by them and others that followed in their footsteps. There are some notable mapmakers and alternate-seekers that also deserve some accolades: Jamal Green, Andrew Skurka, Li Brannfors and Nic Barth. I also benefited greatly from information contained in many blogs and videos by these intrepid hikers: Buck30, Wired, Katherine Cook, Carrot Quinn, Constantine, Plants, and Samson the Bear. Carrot appropriately described the Hayduke Route, as this: “Walk cross-country towards a canyon, over lumpy slickrock and/or sagebrush[…]

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Hayduke Bonus: Zion Canyon & The Subway, Zion National Park

Hayduke Trail

Wednesday Oct 11th-Thursday Oct 12th, 2023Total distance: 12 miles Day 1: Zion Canyon Day hiking, 2.5 miles After finishing our Buckskin/Paria hike, Worm and I headed straight back to Zion National Park (well, besides a long pit stop for AYCE pizza in Kanab). We had just enough time in the afternoon to drive to the park headquarters and take the tourist shuttle into the main canyon. On the way, we went past Checkerboard Mesa, where we’d ended our Hayduke hike a few days beforehand. We couldn’t continue to the official Hayduke terminus of the Weeping Wall because a 2018 landslide destroyed the trail. We also had a timeline to make our permitted dates for the Buckskin Gulch hike, so we[…]

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Hayduke Bonus: Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River

Hayduke Trail

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[…]

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HayDay 44: Zion, the Promised Land and the Finish

Hayduke Trail

Saturday, Oct 7th, 2023, 0700-1300East Fork Virgin River & Poverty Wash to HWY 9, later a visit to the Weeping Wall6 miles (this is a guess, I forgot to check) It was a lovely night and we woke to our last day on the official Hayduke route. In true Hayduke style, we had to face several more challenges, even though we only had a few miles remaining. First was braving the cold water in the morning, but this was pretty easy. I’d gotten really used to wet feet on the Hayduke and the water wasn’t all that cold. Next we had a final waterfall to bypass. I was so glad I downloaded the bypass description from Across Utah, because there[…]

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HayDay 43: The Barracks

Hayduke Trail

Friday, Oct 6th, 2023, 0700-1830Short Creek to East Fork Virgin River & Poverty Wash 20 miles, elevation 4600′ It was a good night, warm with just a little wind, enough to keep my tent dry. It was hard to believe the 2 nights before had been so cold. We heard a motorcycle buzzing around for awhile, but fortunately it didn’t get too close. In close proximity to a town or road, getting run over in the night was my biggest worry. To begin the day’s hike, we quickly left Short Creek to climb alongside Squirrel Creek. We collected water at the bottom but need not have bothered. The second creek was flowing quite a ways up and we found tons[…]

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