Tag: HDT

Thursday, April 27th, 2023, 1000-1910Tropic to just south of Noon Canyon Butte, mile 35 of Bryce Extension, just outside of park boundary 20.5 miles, elevation 7740′ We got a late start, as I was once again dragging my feet. Tropic is actually easy to leave, since a Hayduker can simply walk out of town, resuming the trail on what’s known as the Bryce extension. The official route skips the best parts of the park, entering it far to the south at a remote trailhead. I wanted to see all the hoodoos and pillars that the park is famous for. It’s named after a Mormon guy, Ebenezer Bryce, which gave rise to my invented Bryce ROU’s: the Ebenezer Shrew. Ok sure,[…]

Tuesday, April 25th, 2023, 0630-0930Paria River 0.5 mile south of Sheep River to Willis Creek Trailhead, then ride to Tropic8.5 miles, elevation 6300′ I hiked the final miles of this leg as if I was being pursued by the meerkats. Or maybe it was the possums…I can’t keep them straight. It felt pretty warm when I woke, with temps in the mid 40s, but as soon as I started crossing the river, I was freezing again. A cold wind was blowing straight into my face and my feet quickly felt like blocks of ice. I should have put my neoprene socks on but I was too stubborn to stop. Town awaited. We turned up Sheep Creek right away and the[…]

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 it was light rain. 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 we’d been extremely lucky with hardly any precipitation during the days, mostly just when we’d already been in our tents. I couldn’t complain. We got ready early and immediately started up the alternate trail to Yellow Rock. It’s a giant dome of yellowish and orange sandstone. Its rise is gentle enough that one can easily summit. We gained[…]

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. We’d decided to do an out and back up the canyon, adding 5 miles total to our day. 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 is a classic slot canyon, very popular with tourists[…]

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 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 Grosvenor arch but couldn’t make it all the way due to the road being muddy, icy, and covered in snow. Things had changed greatly since then. The snow was gone and the road dry and grated. Any car could drive it. Stellar and I dug[…]

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’ve 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. We thought we only had a few miles left before beginning a road[…]

Thursday, April 20th, 2023, 1130-1840Escalante\Hole in the Rock Road Devils Garden S7 to Right Hand Collet Canyon15.5 miles, elevation 6000′ I didn’t really 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. Plus, I still felt like I hadn’t gotten much done. 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[…]

Tuesday, April 18th, 2023, 0630-1130)Beginning of Coyote Gulch to Hole in the Rock Road, hitch to Escalante 12 miles, elevation 5870′ We survived the night, untouched by ROUS’s. I slept so well. Actually, I did have one complaint in that I was too hot! My thermometer was reading in the mid 60’s in the morning! I was sweltering under my quilt but wasn’t quite sure what that feeling even was, so I just ignored it. I recalled that I’d felt that way in Florida several times before. At least everything was bone dry \ no condensation in the morning…kind of weird being next to a stream and all. Not at all like Florida. We got to enjoy about 7 miles[…]

Monday, April 17th, 2023, 0645-1900Halls creek  end to beginning of Coyote Gulch18 miles, elevation 3750′ We had 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 looks like a giant homogeneous slab of white sandstone. But there are 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 microcosms of habitat, including juniper and pinon pine. We 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’m not really sure, since I took measures to be dead to the world…earplugs and herbal remedies. We ran into Artemis and Mac pretty early and all started hiking in the vicinity of each other. Soon we spotted a side trip that 3 of us decided to try while Mac continued on. He was heading over on the main Hayduke route to the Escalante River to packraft down for about 25 miles. The rest of us were doing the[…]