Thru hiking | Endless P Summer

Day 1…..28 miles…..Cherry Mountain Trailhead

The Cohos(pronounced co-os like the way you would say co-op) Trail is a 165 mile footpath through northern New Hampshire. The southern terminus is at the Davis Path trailhead in Crawford Notch and it stretches to the Canadian Border in the North. We’ll be hiking from south to north.

Yesterday Sara and I finished Vermont’s Long Trail, drove my car back to Smuggler’s Notch to pick up her car, then drove both cars to the tippity top of NH and dropped her car off by Third Connecticut Lake. From there we drove south to Crawford Notch and spent the night sleeping in my car before setting off in the morning. Along the drive we cached food about halfway in Stark, NH off rt 110 where we hid bear canisters in the woods stuffed with 3 days worth of ramen and Mike and Ike’s. Living in Massachusetts I have always felt that New Hampshire pretty much ends at the White Mountains. Boy was I mistaken. There’s so much more up here in The Great North Woods, as they call it and I’m about to find that out.

This morning we rolled out of the Subaru, crossed Bemis Bridge and climbed up Davis Path towards Stairs Mountain. The Cohos Trail goes up and over Mt. Isolation then drops way down to the Dry River. Actually not dry, we crossed it in knee deep water. From there we climbed up over the Presidential Ridge near Eisenhower, took a left on the AT and followed that for a quarter mile then dropped steeply down Edmonds Trail. We finally had some easier walking on snowmobile trails once we got to the bottom. After passing the Mt. Washington Hotel monstrosity we went west on 302 for a bit.

For dinner we grabbed gas station sandwiches and walked another mile before looking for a place to camp. The Cohos Trail runs along Old Cherry Mountain Road which has ‘primitive’ camping but everything was taken. These are sites carved into the woods with no toilets or electrical hookup. There were cars in every single one of them. Besides the primitive spots, the woods are so thick with brush it’s next to impossible to find a spot for the tent. We walked a bit longer than we would have liked to but finally found a spot in the woods right across from the trailhead up Old Cherry Mountain. A pleasant and productive first day on the Cohos Trail.

Day 2…..25 Miles…..Mt Weeks Summit

Yesterday I forgot to dry out my sleeping bag. We got rained on at some point, my bag got wet and I forgot all about it until we set up camp. Sara and I made due with 1 sleeping bag for the night. Fortunately it wasn’t that cold out and we were both exhausted and able to sleep. From our spot next to the trailhead we walked up and over Mounts Martha and Owls Head(the other NH Owls Head). Finally seeing some Cohos Trail signs and yellow blazes we followed these down through a series of snowmobile and rail trails around Pondicherry wildlife sanctuary before doing a decent road walk on 115A. Before starting the road walk I think I saw a bear. I can’t confirm it, it was either a bear or bigfoot, but I think it was a bear.

At the junction of 115A and Rt 2 there’s a country store attached to an Irving gas station. This place has massive subs, both thumbs up, and good pizza. We took our time eating lunch, went back in to pick up a few things for a 1 day resupply then sat on the porch doing some housekeeping; organizing food and cleaning our feet and stuff. We had been there for about an hour and as I looked over towards the gas station I thought I saw my cousin’s husband pumping gas. As I walked over to get a better look, my cousin Kate walked out of the store! Kate, John, and their daughter Mila were up here on vacation and were coming from Santa’s Village. And it was Kate’s birthday! What a treat. I know we’re only 3 hours from the North Shore of Boston and to see someone from home isn’t outside the realm of possibility but at one of the only places we’ll stop this whole trail, and a first cousin, that was quite a coincidence.

After an unexpected visit with family Sara and I walked up the Starr King Trail towards Kilkenny Ridge. A few miles later my back started burning like a son of a gun. It felt like somebody was simultaneously pulling out every single one of my back hairs. I took my shirt off and Sara wiped my back off, gave me an examination, and a diagnosis: heat rash. Neither one of us knew the cure. For the rest of the day I adjusted my pack so it wasn’t directly on my back and it seemed to help a little. We rolled along Kilkenny Ridge summitting Waumbek and a few smaller peaks before setting up on top of Mt. Weeks. My back seemed to get better for now which is a big relief.

Day 3…..27 miles…..Percy tent site

This morning we continued on the Kilkenny Ridge Trail slowly for another 15 miles. We went up and down a few smaller peaks and topped out for the day at Mt. Cabot, the northernmost 4000 footer in New Hampshire. On the way up Cabot we met a pair of southbound Cohos Trail thru hikers, Goliath and Handsome Dan. Long distance hikers, if we didn’t know the same people we knew the same trails and traded info with them on stuff coming up.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, we got off the Kilkenny Ridge trail and found ourselves at South Pond. This pond is at the northernmost part of the White Mountain National Forest. There’s a beach here and a swimming area. While the other beach goers did their thing Sara and I took baths washing off a few days worth of bug spray and B.O. It was extremely refreshing.

Leaving the pond we had a few miles of road walking, crossing rt 110 then the Upper Ammonoosuc River and entered Nash Stream Forest. We located our hidden bear canisters with our untouched 3 day resupply in them and took a few minutes to organize our food. I think we have now entered the Great North Woods and virtually everything up here is uncharted terrain for me. I’m very familiar with WMNF but I’ve only been hiking north of Cabot once, it’s all brand new to me. Sara and I walked another 6 miles with the last 2 being extra grueling and got to camp at the Percy tent site.

Amazingly today my heat rash on my back all but vanished. I did my best to keep my pack off my back and the weight of it more on my hips but other than that I didn’t do much to cure it. Had it been as bad as yesterday I would have considered getting off trail at rt 110 and figuring out how to get back to my car.

Day 4…..29 miles…..Panorama Shelter

Today started off innocently enough. A nice 4 mile downhill to a waterfall with an excellent swimming hole. A cool dip was a perfect way to start the day.

For the rest of the day we just walked. Here and there we find ourselves on decent trail for a few miles but I’ve noticed much of this trail is a conglomeration of snowmobile trails, road walks, atv or jeep roads, rail trails, and old logging roads. I don’t hate it, I’m enjoying myself, but it hasn’t been super scenic and the trail at times is just ok.

This afternoon we walked through the Balsams Ski Resort. I thought someone was supposed to build a big resort up here but this place looks like a thing of the past. There sure was a huge hotel in the distance though. We dropped way down to Dixville Notch, crossed rt 26, then climbed way up on the north side. Dixville Notch is a highlight of the trail (also the place where the first presidential ballots are cast every 4 years). There’s cascading waterfalls and great views from steep jagged cliffs on both sides. Sara and I had planned to camp once we got up the north side but there was nothing even close to suitable. Another thing about this trail, camping options are very limited. We had to crank out another 3 miles at sunset to Panorama shelter and got in just before the rain started.

Day 5…..30 miles…..Pittsburg, NH

All night it rained absolute buckets. Sleeping in the shelter the sound of the rain was amplified by the tin roof making it even scarier or more soothing. We were very lucky to push on last night. Had we set up it most likely would have been in an uneven campsite probably right in middle of the trail somehow and we would have got soaked.

Although the rain had stopped this morning we still got soaked through splashing in puddles, mud, and walking through wet ferns. The trail turned to road after half a dozen miles and the skies opened up on us. We walked through an empty Colebrook State Park and then had a series of road walks for most of the day. Our goal today was Young’s Store in Pittsburg, 30 miles from Panorama Shelter. It was ambitious especially since it closed at 7pm but with about 20 of those miles on road or ATV road(this area is a hotbed for ATV and snowmobile enthusiasts) I felt pretty confident we’d get there. Since we were a bit ahead of schedule we both had enough food to only be a little bit hungry before finishing the trail tomorrow. By the afternoon we had moved fast enough that we had time for a nice lunch and quick swim in Lake Francis.

We got to Young’s Store by quarter to 6, got subs, macaroni salad, ice cream and a little bit of food to supplement our bags for tomorrow. There’s cabins for rent across the street so we decided to rent one for two nights. This way we can slack pack the last 25 miles to the border then drive Sara’s car back here and totally relax for a night.

Day 6…..25 miles…..Canada

Today’s hiking wasn’t great. Sara and I were both glad to be finishing up the trail but the miles today just didn’t have much going for them. It poured again overnight which didn’t help and when we got going at 6am it was already warm. The cloud we were walking through felt like a steam room and the overgrown snowmobile trails were muddier than usual.

We spent all day within the town of Pittsburg, the largest town by area in New England. The trail parallels rt 3 and took us by 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Connecticut Lakes. These lakes are the headwaters of the Connecticut River that becomes the NH/VT border and flows all the way to Long Island Sound. Once we reached the Canadian Border the Cohos Trail takes a left for nearly a mile up through the clear cut which is the actual border. Don’t write off this last mile as easy clear cut walking. It’s anything but. After climbing about 500 feet the trail comes to 4th Connecticut Lake and does a small loop before returning to the clear cut then the dastardly mile back to the road. When we got back to the road we walked past the border patrol office then a mile south into the USA where we left Sara’s car by 3rd Connecticut Lake. We jumped in the water and washed off all our sins. Tonight we’re staying again at the Mountain View Cabins in Pittsburg. So rewarding and comfortable!

Overall Sara and I had a good time out there. We beat the bag out of the trail and had fun. It was difficult but we kind of did that to ourselves. Had we slowed down and taken another day or two it probably would have seemed significantly easier. The weather however, didn’t make me want to stick around too long. I probably wouldn’t hike this trail again but like I said it may have been more enjoyable if we took a bit longer. Also just like the Long Trail, the time of year to hike probably isn’t the dead of summer. One other thing, it might be better to hike this trail south as it gets more mountainous in the south.

For more pictures feel free to follow my insta @endlesspsummer

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Posted on December 4, 2020 by endlesspsummer

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11/8/19…..Hayduke Day 43…..20 miles

We woke up to a delicious home cooked breakfast of potatoes, black beans, corn, cheese, eggs, toast, yogurt, fruit and coffee. Then, after we packed up, Lynn drove us 40 miles out of Kanab to where we got off trail yesterday at the corner of AZ 389 and Yellowstone Rd. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Lynn and her husband Richard are the ultimate trail angels and have done so much for not just me and QB but so many hikers on the Arizona Trail and the Hayduke.

We walked dirt roads through the tiny town of Cane Beds, AZ and then a paved highway for awhile. It was boring. The walking all day today and yesterday was a road walk across the ‘Arizona Strip’ and the best way I can describe it is just boring. I have to just go elsewhere in my mind for monotonous boring road walks like this. For awhile we were on a paved road with a fair amount of traffic, and I found a cell phone in good condition on the side of the road. We charged it up and turned it on but the thing’s locked and we don’t know how to find the owner. Did anybody lose an android near the Arizona/Utah border? I didn’t think so. When we did cross back into Utah after lunch we turned onto a very sandy 4wd road. It was like walking on the beach for 10 miles with no waves. Tomorrow we’ll be in Zion and all this road walking/connector trail will be worth it.

11/9/19…..Hayduke Day 44…..15 miles

We woke to frost on the tent, which wouldn’t be a big deal if we didn’t have to walk through an ice cold river this morning. It warmed up a little as we walked 5 more miles of very sandy jeep road. The road dead ended and we followed a steep trail down to the bottom Parunuweap Canyon aka ‘The Barracks.’ This canyon contained the East Fork of the Virgin River which we would walk along and through for the next 6 miles.

The water was ice cold! Bone chilling. At least for the first hour. We had to keep crossing over and over and only had these small sections of dry land for our feet to warm up a bit. Luckily it didn’t get more than knee deep and it must have been in the low 30’s or colder. I don’t think my feet have ever been more uncomfortable. For some reason the cold water didn’t seem to bother QB or at least she didn’t complain, I had trouble doing anything else.

There was a bald eagle down in the canyon keeping us company for awhile. Or maybe it was 4 bald eagles. Most likely it was 1 eagle that I saw 4 times. Finally after one of the coldest hours my feet have ever endured the water definitely warmed up and became bearable and the canyon was really very cool. It just seemed like the Hayduke’s final boss that we had to defeat. After 15 miles of super sandy jeep road and a half dozen miles of a viciously cold river and 1 quick class 3 scramble you can finish the route. The scramble was through a lemon squeeze beneath a giant boulder and down a natural tunnel all to avoid an impassable waterfall. Shortly after this we climbed out of the river by way of a route called ‘Fat Man’s Misery’ and walked 4-5 more miles crossing into Zion NP and reaching Mt. Carmel Highway.peeing

The official end of the Hayduke is the Weeping Wall within the park but because of a rockslide the Weeping Wall as well as the East Rim Trail are closed. We’ve done both of these before so I’m not losing much sleep about it. Going into Zion our plan has been to hitch around into the park and walk the Zion Traverse starting on the West Rim Trail and finishing at Kolob Canyon. Since Mt. Carmel Highway goes through a huge tunnel that is illegal to walk, we had to hitch and quickly got a ride from Hugo and Manuel. These guys dropped us off at the ranger station where we got our permit for tomorrow.

We’re camping in the park tonight and got into Springdale for a meal. If you come to Zion, Oscar’s just outside the park is where it’s at for food. Very good and they’ve got thru hiker portions.

11/10/19…..Hayduke Day 45…..23 miles

From our campsite at the Watchman CG we took the Zion free park shuttle to the Grotto stop and started up towards the West Rim Trail. The beginning of this trail is the same one that goes to Angel’s Landing. It’s paved, moderately steep, and crowded. After a mile or so we fell in step with an older couple and the woman started asking increasingly personal questions. It was getting weird, and I couldn’t out hike her. Good thing they were stopping at Angel’s Landing because I could only lie to her for so long.

Quickly we got away from the crowds and walked through a very cool part of the park. I feel like so many people in Zion stick to the main attractions within Zion Canyon but there’s a lot to see if you get just a little beyond them, for example the West Rim Trail.

In 2017, roughly the same time of year, QB and I hiked the Zion Traverse or Trans Zion Trail in the opposite direction. The next section the trail splits for 4 or 5 miles, you can continue to take the West Rim Trail or get on the Telephone Canyon Trail. I would recommend staying on the West Rim Trail, we did that last time and it was definitely more scenic. No big deal though. We carried on up near Lava Point, took a left through Wildcat Canyon and by the end of the day got to the Hop Valley Trail and the beginning of Hop Valley. For about a mile the Hop Valley Trail dips out of the Park into Zion Wilderness and that’s where we camped for the night. As we closed in on our campsite we were treated to possibly the most magnificent sunset of the entire Hayduke.

11/11/19…..Hayduke Day 46…..13 miles

Hayduke Lives!!! Finished the trail today.

We got going from our campsite and proceeded to walk through Hop Valley. This is a very underrated part of Zion. If you’re in the area I definitely recommend exploring the east side of the park and especially getting yourself to Hop Valley. If we had been here just a few days early the cottonwoods would still have been flying their bright yellow leaves. We crossed a bunch of partially frozen streams in Hop Valley then descended to La Verckin Creek. After following the creek for half a dozen miles we came to Lee Pass and for us the Western Terminus of the Hayduke. We high fived a few times, took a couple pictures and got busy hitching.

Deanna picked us up and ended up driving us almost 3 hours to Vegas. She even brought us to a thrift store in St. George, UT so we could buy clean new clothes for the next couple days. We’re staying 2 nights in Vegas, flying to NY for a few days then driving home to Massachusetts. Tonight we’re gorging ourselves at a buffet on the strip. We’re both trying to eat our weight in crab legs.

Thanks for reading! The Hayduke was a truly incredible endeavor, it was very difficult but the payoff was well worth it. I hope you enjoyed following along, I enjoyed having you. Feel free to follow us on insta for more pictures @endlesspsummer and QB @sarahikes.

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Posted on November 25, 2019 by endlesspsummer

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11/2/19…..Hayduke Day 37…..14 miles

I think someone camping nearby in Mather Campground was having night terrors last night or they were screaming at the top of their lungs at 4:30 in the morning for a legitimate reason. Either way I didn’t check it out or get back to sleep.

From the South Rim the Hayduke follows the South and North Kaibab Trails through the main corridor of the canyon back up onto the Kaibab Plateau on the North Rim. Normally the Hayduke goes along the Plateau then drops back into Saddle Canyon on Northwestern part of the GC. Because of an active fire closure near Swamp Point there’s a reroute that requires almost an extra day of walking roads on the Plateau before dropping back into the Canyon.

Last year while on the Arizona Trail, QB and I went Rim to Rim of the Canyon but this time decided to get a later start and eat a full breakfast before leaving. We started downhill with heavy packs around 10 am with hordes of other people. After a few miles it thinned out and soon we were nearing the river. From about a mile away and a ton of switchbacks up we could see 4 blue boats beached near the bridge we’d soon cross and wondered if it was our friends who gave us a ride the other day. Of course it was. We’re all on much different schedules and hiking along the river and floating it are far different lengths so the chances are low that we’d be crossing back over during the hour that they’d stop for lunch. Everybody else was surprised, I wasn’t.

We carried on up the North Kaibab Trail and stopped shortly at Phantom Ranch. The next half dozen miles are pretty cruiser and have just a slight elevation gain so we whipped through those then took a side trail over to Ribbon Falls for a quick swim. After that little field trip we were within a mile of Cottonwood CG where we had a permit to camp for the night.

11/3/19…..Hayduke Day 38…..26 miles

We broke camp and walked a mile up canyon to Manzanita Rest which is our last reliable water source for potentially 50+ miles. I left there with almost 9 liters of water and 6 days of food. It felt like I was carrying a Volkswagen. From Manzanita the North Kaibab Trail climbs nearly 4000 feet in 5 miles on nice wide groomed trail. It was a stiff climb but QB and I kind of crushed it. The views were spectacular, walking up the North Rim you can see all the colors of the canyon and look back and see across to the South Rim and even Humphrey’s Peak way in the distance. In the trailhead parking lot we met Karla working for Wildland Adventure Trekking company and she hooked us up with some apple juice, chips, and another liter of water each that we guzzled on the spot.

For the next 20 miles we walked dirt roads across the Kaibab Plateau within GCNP. It was a peaceful 20 miles through a pretty forest full of ponderosas and aspens but with the wicked heavy packs it was a bit of a slog. Tonight we’re camped on the border of National Park and National Forest land, never even saw a car out there today on these roads.

11/4/19…..Hayduke Day 39…..27 miles

“Here’s the great thing about the Southwest, there’s so much more than desert. Along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is a forest as lush as you’ve ever seen.”

-Deangelo Vickers

Not exactly, but still it’s a big forest.

It was so cold this morning! Overnight it was chilly and as we got going the temperatures seemed to plummet for the next couple hours. The road kept bringing us through gullies and the sun took forever to get above the trees. Our water bottles froze and my coffee drink turned to slush. And then it warmed up and just like that we were super comfortable.

From where we camped we walked 22 more miles of forest roads until finally getting to Monument Point and the edge of the Canyon once again(still never saw a car). Before dropping in we could see to the northwest side of the GC, across the Arizona Strip, and all the way to Zion National Park(I think). We took the Bill Hall Trail that zigzagged steeply down about a thousand feet to the Thunder River Trail. This trail cut across a huge flat red rock area for a few miles before dropping steeply down another thousand feet. We found a spot to camp just before sunset and amazingly are so much warmer down in the canyon. Probably won’t even use the fly on the tent tonight.

11/5/19…..Hayduke Day 40…..19 miles(12 hiked, 7 rafted)

In the first few miles today we dropped almost 2000 feet and soon were at Deer Creek. This was our first reliable water source in 54 miles(the longest water carry I can ever remember doing). We followed Deer Creek as it flows about another mile to the Colorado River. During this mile it cuts deep into the rock creating a super narrow canyon that we walked above on an incredibly narrow ledge and then turns into a tall waterfall that pours into a pool just before the river. It is quite spectacular! Of course I took a quick bath at the base of the falls.

The next 7 miles were supposed to be a very tedious rock hop along the side of the river. We started along this and then followed an animal path higher up to get around some cliffs before reaching a super sketchy section of something of a path through a rock slide. This didn’t look good. Luckily we had just seen a group of rafters breaking camp and decided to backtrack a bit and ask them for a ride around the sketchy section. They were totally cool and happy to help us out, not just for the sketchy stuff either. Kevin our oarsman got us safely through a handful of class 4 rapids and down the next 7 miles to the mouth of Kanab Creek. This was solid fun especially opposed to the tediousness of rock hopping all day.

From the mouth of Kanab Creek we left the Colorado river for the final time and started making our way up this canyon. The creek serpentines for miles below very impressive thousand foot cliffs. It’s been slow going as there isn’t any trail and we’ve done a lot of walking through water and scrambling around boulder chokes but at the same time it’s been very awesome and possibly my favorite part of the Grand Canyon. We even saw a golden eagle down here fishing or something. After about 8 miles it was getting close to sunset and we found a campsite that we couldn’t pass up.

11/6/19…..Hayduke Day 41…..25 miles

Today started off ordinarily enough. We walked up canyon about a mile to Showerbath Spring which created an amazing hanging garden and I had to resist the urge to strip down and take a shower. The walking became easier in the canyon after the spring and shortly after that the creek all but dried up for awhile(it would be intermittent the next 10 miles so we stocked up on water when we could). Eventually we crossed the boundary of GCNP into BLM land and as we walked the canyon became wider and the walls got shorter. We saw bighorn sheep running across impossibly narrow ledges and amazingly saw not only a bald eagle but a California condor! The thing looked like a pterodactyl.

Around 2pm we came to a 4 way canyon intersection. Kanab Creek continued on straight, Lawson Canyon went to the right and Hack Canyon which was our turn went left. Because Kanab Creek had been so bendy going left felt just like another bend in the canyon. This is a confusing and possibly dangerous intersection. We have GPS and knew which way to go but when we got to the intersection there was about a dozen college kids looking for their friend. They were out doing a 2 week adventure course with their school and somehow one member of their party had got ahead, or behind, or went left or right. Nobody had seen him in over 2 hours. He had food, shelter, and water(although there weren’t any water sources nearby) but he didn’t have a map or a phone or GPS. We started down Hack Canyon and told them we’d send him back to the intersection if we came across him. Their plan was to head down Lawson Canyon and I figured he just carried on straight up Kanab Creek and would eventually turn back. Hack Canyon was a dry rocky wash that occasionally had animal paths on either side of it. We were now way more out in the open in the desert and without the canyon walls for shade, the sun was hot. I had forgot all about the missing hiker until an hour and a half later when QB pointed out a big beefy backpack on the side of the wash. It gave me the chills. This was a panic move and who knows where or how far he could have gone. His water bottles were empty so I filled those, and wrote him a note, while QB drew an arrow with rocks. We were at the backpack for about 20 minutes when the hiker came running back towards us. He had dropped the pack because it was so heavy and gone onto look for his friends or water even climbing to a higher vantage point to look for them. Luckily, 2 miles north of where he dropped the pack he came to a road where some cowboys had a camp set up. They gave him water and told him they’d drive him into town so he went back for his pack and that’s where he found us. It was getting on in the day and his headlamp was on it’s last legs plus he had just gone through a hell of an ordeal so QB and I decided to get him back to his crew. She walked with our new friend while I ran ahead and after about a mile ran into a 3 man search party that had been walking up Hack Canyon. Soon they were all reunited and QB and I turned back to carry on our way. When we got to the cowboys we delivered the message that the hiker wouldn’t need the ride after all and these guys hooked us up with some ice cold cokes! They were out here taking tourists on a cattle drive similar to City Slickers. I can only imagine how far the missing hiker would have gone if he didn’t see these guys. At this point the wash had turned to a jeep road so QB and I walked another hour until finding a spot to camp for the night.

11/7/19…..Hayduke Day 42…..31 miles

Last night we realized our stove is broken. Actually it’s QB’s stove but it’s still broken. Our original plan for today was to hike about a regular days worth of miles and camp a few hours short of Colorado City then go in and out of town tomorrow doing a quick resupply. Now with our broken stove we needed to get to a gear store and there happened to be one in Kanab which was in range again as the Hayduke kind of horseshoes around the town. As interested as I was in Colorado City I was ok with skipping the Fundamentalist Mormon town and going back to Kanab.

This morning we got an alpine start and were up and crushing miles below the stars by 4:30. There was really nothing to it, just long dirt roads all day with nobody out here. By sunrise we were out of Hack Canyon and walking along the Arizona Strip. It’s pretty boring out here but the walking is fast. We had walked over 30 miles by 3pm and started hitching east towards Kanab on AZ HWY 389. After about 5 minutes a guy in a pickup pulled over and we rode in the back for a half hour to Fredonia where we got picked up by Noah and Gracie who took us another 10 minutes into Kanab. We quickly bought a new stove and food for the next few days then made it to our favorite trail angel’s house. Richard was out of town but Lynn hosted us and of course cooked a delicious dinner, Mediterranean veggie tarts. I couldn’t have asked for anything more than a home cooked meal, a hot shower, and a comfortable bed.

Going the extra mile today(literally) put us back up ahead of schedule and with only 70 or so miles to go we are well within range to finish this thing.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on insta for more pictures @endlesspsummer and QB @sarahikes

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Posted on November 12, 2019 by endlesspsummer

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10/25/19…..Hayduke Day 29…..9 miles

QB and I got back on the Hayduke today after a nearly 2 week hiatus. Let me catch you up real quick. On October 12th we started hitching to Las Vegas from Jacob Lake, AZ. In Vegas we rented a car, drove to Southern California to explore Death Valley NP, Joshua Tree NP, and climb Mt San Jacinto. We returned the car to Las Vegas, walked up and down the strip then flew to New York to attend QB’s friend Aneesa and her now husband Kevin’s wedding. After a very brief visit to the east coast we returned to Vegas and were picked up at the airport by QB’s folks Nancy and Dave. The 4 of us did a little road trip around the southwest going to the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon Dam, Zion NP, and Bryce Canyon NP. This morning we parted ways in Bryce and started hitching south while Nancy and Dave continued on their tour of the southwest towards Moab.This morning we watched the sunrise then beat the bag out of another continental breakfast before saying our good byes with QB’s parents and putting our thumbs out. Oscar and Milo were our first ride and they brought us out of their way about a half hour to Junction, UT where we were picked up by Breck who got us another 40 miles into Kanab. In town we stopped at the PO and resupplied at the grocery store. We’re getting very familiar with this town. From Kanab we got a ride from Opie, a helicopter pilot, to Fredonia, AZ then waited awhile before getting picked up by Drew and Nate, two hunters in a tiny Suzuki Samurai. These guys got us up to the store at Jacob Lake where we had a quick sandwich then started walking back the two miles towards the trail. Braxton and Brenna who were taking their time driving from Alaska to Virginia gave us a short lift the rest of the way in their van.

Back on the Hayduke we were still on the section that coincides with the Arizona Trail across the Kaibab Plateau. The hiking up here isn’t too exciting but it’s peaceful and easy. It’s deer hunting season and we’ve been walking by lots of hunting camps. I really hope I don’t get shot. I hope QB doesn’t either. Probably should get her a matching orange hat next time we’re in town. We walked for a few hours and set up at sunset which came super early, around 5:30 Arizona time.

10/26/19…..Hayduke Day 30…..28 miles

Our first 10 miles or so today we walked through a burn(a section of forest that had previously burned in a wildfire). This apocalyptic looking area is exposed to the elements, luckily it wasn’t too windy or sunny, it’s just a little ugly. There were lots of hawks hunting, so that was cool, nothing like a bird of prey to spike my tone.

Eventually we reached a ponderosa forest and walked through that for much of the afternoon before reaching a view of the East Rim of the Grand Canyon. In April of ‘18 while we were hiking the Arizona Trail, a lot of the trail was still covered by multiple feet of snow. We decided then to walk the road that’s parallel to the trail which had minimal traffic because the north rim of the GC was closed. With no snow on the trail today a lot of the hiking was uncharted terrain of the AZT for us.

Late this afternoon we met up with just the 3rd other Hayduke thru hiker we’ve seen. We’d been in touch with Clax online and knew he was close. He did a massive day to catch us and then the 3 of us walked a couple hours together until sunset. We reached a road where the Hayduke splits from the AZT and found a couple flat spots to camp beside it.

10/27/19…..Hayduke Day 31…..7 miles

We parted ways with Clax this morning as he went right to go pick up his Grand Canyon permits at the North Rim ranger station and we followed the Hayduke to the left along forest roads for 7 miles. It was super windy this morning up on the plateau, like ridiculously uncomfortably windy, like hurricane force wind. It sucked. When we got to the edge of the canyon and the trailhead for the dastardly Nankoweap Trail we met Talitha walking uphill. We hoped that below the rim would be a lot less windy but Talitha, who was just down for a day hike, told us it was pretty miserable. The Nankoweap Trail is supposedly the most difficult trail in the Grand Canyon. It drops steeply and follows narrow ledges with huge drops off to the side. I haven’t been looking forward to it. I especially don’t want to be walking down it while also competing with massive wind gusts. Neither does QB. It was only 10 am and we weren’t going to wait around on the edge of the canyon so we asked Talitha for a ride out of there and she was super willing to help us out. She works tracking California Condors in the area(one of my favorite subjects) and drove us all the way back to Jacob Lake.

Back at the Jacob Lake restaurant/gas station/gift shop/hotel again we ran into Chris and Sanjay the 4th and 5th other Hayduke hikers we’ve met. These guys have been just behind us for awhile and we’ve been in touch with them the whole trip sharing info and finally met them in person. We talked with them for awhile about how our hikes have been going(we’ve all taken much different routes so far) and of course we had a few mutual friends. Because of the cold weather predicted for tonight the 4 of us all got cabins for Jacob Lake and elected to stay indoors. I really would have liked to be below the rim tonight but descending the Nankoweap in the wind was out of the question.

10/28/19…..Hayduke Day 32…..23 miles

It snowed overnight. Just a couple inches, but still. We met Chris and Sanjay for breakfast and then went our separate ways. Those guys are getting back on trail right by Jacob Lake whereas QB and I are trying to hitch back to where we got off yesterday.

The temperature was in the single digits when we got out to the road and put our thumbs out. The maple syrup leftover from breakfast in my beard and mustache was freezing solid.

After a mile of walking down the road, Vince and Jim picked us up. They’re from Kanab and Vince, a trail runner, knows our friend Lynn. These guys took us 25 miles down HWY 67 to where they’re gathering firewood and QB and I took a left down the dirt road toward Saddle Mountain trailhead. We thought for sure we’d get a ride back to where we hitched from yesterday but no cars ever came. Instead we walked 14 bonus miles on snow covered roads. Neither of us had expected this would happen and I wasn’t thrilled about it. I guess maybe we would have done things differently yesterday had we thought it would be so difficult to get back. At least it wasn’t windy out. By the time we got to the trailhead on the edge of the canyon we were more than ready to be done road walking.

I have been thinking about the Nankoweap Trail for about a month now and it’s been keeping me up at night. It looked really scary and parts of it were really scary. There’s trail the whole way and for the most part it was decent but at times it gets quite narrow and a false step would drop me thousands of feet to the canyon floor. It was pretty but it was scary. I’ve hiked on gnarlier terrain before but I guess I built this up in my head and it lived up to the hype. Eventually we got through the high exposure stuff and we really started to descend, something like 5500 feet in a slow going 8 miles from the rim. We got to Nankoweap Creek in the dark and set up camp. I feel very relieved to be down here in the Canyon in the relative warmth of the lower altitude and with the wild and wooly Nankoweap Trail in my rear view mirror.

10/29/19…..Hayduke Day 33…..11 miles

This trail has been dealing us a little string of bad luck lately. Let me explain. Two days ago the wind forced us to retreat back to town and not drop into the canyon. Yesterday we think the snow prevented anybody from driving out to the trailhead therefore shutting down any opportunity of hitchhiking and adding 14 miles to our day. Today we got shutout trying to hitch across the river.

This morning we walked along Nankoweap Creek for 3 miles until it reached the mighty Colorado. From the mouth of the Nankoweap for 8 miles along the river there was no trail, just a nasty bushwhack. It was scenic, sure, but it was very difficult. Occasionally there would be animal paths here and there but there was lots of bushwhacking through thorny bushes and cacti, scrambling on loose talus, and some tricky route finding. For awhile we were in 1 mph terrain. Then we still had to get across the river. Our trail continued on the far side of the Colorado at the mouth of the Little Colorado River and the only way to get across was to get a ride, but no rafts came. Maybe tomorrow.

Today wasn’t all bad though we’re in the Grand Canyon for Christ’s sake so it’s beautiful plus QB and I got in for a swim so that was fun. Oh and if you were wondering swimming across the Colorado is not an option.

10/30/19…..Hayduke Day 34…..12 miles

Finally a change of fortune today. We packed up early and waited on the beach by our campsite making sure not to miss any opportunity to get a ride across. Around 12 a party of about a dozen rafters on 4 boats floated by and were happy to be able to help us out. They brought us across the river and to the mouth of the Little Colorado River.

QB and I thanked our new friends then walked up the LCR about a quarter mile looking for a place to ford it. This river is a striking turquoise color and was moving pretty quickly. The bottom was invisible but luckily it was only chest deep. We packed all our stuff inside trash bags within our packs, held hands so we wouldn’t get swept away and crossed. It wasn’t that bad or cold. On the far side of the LCR we gained the Beamer Trail and walked that for the next 10 miles.

I won’t say that the Beamer Trail was absolutely terrifying but it had its moments. The trail follows along a bench that has a 500 foot cliff on the right hand side going straight down to the river. There was a fair amount of times where a false step would have been my last. Other than that it contoured in and out of hanging side canyons and provided absolutely magnificent views of the Canyon. In the distance we could see the Desert View Lookout Tower on the South Rim. Last week we were up there with Nancy and Dave looking way down at this trail and I guess I had mistakenly thought the trail was a lot lower. After about 6 miles the Beamer Trail drops down to river level and is much more relaxed. At some point we crossed the intersection with the Tanner Trail and picked up the Escalante Route(not technically a GC trail but felt pretty good to me). We walked a couple miles of this before finding a place to camp for the night under a tiny sliver of a moon and a gazzillion stars.

10/31/19…..Hayduke Day 35…..25 miles

The Escalante Route brought us up high over the river and had a handful of big climbs and descents. At one point it brought us along the rim of a side canyon then we turned a corner, dropped into the canyon and were in a section of narrows for a mile back to the Colorado. There wasn’t as many dicey spots as the Beamer Trail but the Escalante Route did provide a couple of b-hole puckering moments, specifically while climbing up and over Papago Slide. It was also a slow trail or at least we moved slowly. On a day we had to really boogie we couldn’t seem to make miles for the first half of our day.

After we crossed Hance Creek we were now on the Tonto Trail. This brought us up high up onto the Tonto Plateau and far away from the Colorado River. For the rest of the day we would walk the Tonto Trail on the rims of huge side canyons.

We came across Tank, the first and only eastbound Hayduke hiker we’ve seen and now the 6th other thru hiker we’ve met.

If you’re wondering what we did for Halloween, QB and I wore the only costumes we had on hand; each other’s clothes. Then we listened to Dirtbag Diaries ‘Tales of Terror’ and night hiked for an hour. I was hoping I would see some tents to trick or treat at because I’m extremely low on food but no such luck.

11/1/19…..Hayduke Day 36…..18 miles

We realized yesterday that the P.O. at the South Rim of the GC closes at 3:30 on Friday(today) and is closed for the weekend. Because the store there is super expensive we mailed a box of food and originally figured we’d be there either Tuesday or Wednesday. That’s why we walked an hour into the dark last night and then got going this morning before sunrise. We had 14 more miles of the Tonto Trail and then a 4 mile climb up to the South Rim.

Finally some consistently cruiser trail. The Tonto Trail was a breeze and even though the South Kaibab Trail climbs 3000 feet in 4 miles and stinks like mule piss we motored right up it. We even saw a condor! I spotted it perched up high on a rocky point and then as we rounded a corner we saw this majestic bird soaring in circles way up in the sky.

The main corridor of the GC consists of the South Kaibab Trail, and the Bright Angel trail on the South Rim side and the North Kaibab Trail on the North Rim. These trails are steep, well manicured, and very very busy. Grand Canyon is an absolutely massive place but the overwhelming majority of people are concentrated in the main corridor. As we got onto the South Kaibab Trail we started to see lots of people all the way up to the rim. Once on the rim we caught a shuttle to the P.O., got to the backcountry office to rearrange our permits, then supplemented our food at the grocery store and ate a big meal. Tonight we’re staying at the hiker/biker site at Mather CG(I think all National Parks have these extra cheap sites for people like us) there’s laundry and showers across the street and I’m just about all the way rejuvenated. Tomorrow we’ll begin our next week of zigzagging first North and then West through the Canyon.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on insta for more pictures @endlesspsummer and QB @sarahikes

Posted on November 8, 2019 by endlesspsummer

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adventure, Arizona, arizona trail, Beamer Trail, Canyon, canyons, colorado river, desert, fall Hayduke, grand canyon, hayduke, hayduke 2019, hayduke trail, hdt, hike, Hiking, hitchhiking, little Colorado river, mountains, Nankoweap Trail, sunrise, sunset, thru hike, Thru hiking, thruhike, thruhiking, travel, traveling, travelling

10/9/19…..Hayduke Day 25…..0 miles

This morning Josh caught up to us as we were breaking camp and apparently he also had himself a ballgame going through Starlight Canyon yesterday. Since we were camped almost on top of HWY 89 the 3 of us started hitching right away. The first pickup truck drove by us then turned around and picked us up. Josh and I sat in the back and it was a mighty chilly half hour drive into Kanab. I’ll take it though!

In town we immediately got down to the first order of business, breakfast. We ran a couple errands and got in touch with our friends and local trail angels, Richard and Lynn. Last spring, after QB and I finished the Arizona Trail, Richard and Lynn hosted us in their beautiful house, Chateau Relaxo. Because Kanab is a trail town for both the Hayduke and the Arizona Trail they’ve become vital to the trail community here. They’re super nice and have provided us with a very enjoyable place to stay and are also a wealth of knowledge about the area and the trail.

Lynn picked us up from the library and brought us first to the supermarket to resupply then back to their house. We met Birdy at their home who is starting a southbound AZT hike this evening. Tonight QB cooked us all a delicious meal and we enjoyed a proper day off trail.

10/10/19…..Hayduke Day 26…..14 miles

This morning Lynn baked us all muffins before we got up(awesome right?) then drove me and Sara to the BLM field office in town. We were trying to get permits to hike to ‘The Wave.’ This is an iconic southwest image that I’m sure you’ve seen, either on a computer screen saver or your high school science book cover. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, google images to refresh your memory(when you’re done reading this whole blog of course). Everyday at 9am they hold a lottery for 10 permits for the following day. This is quite a production. 140 people showed up and most of them, including me, were big losers. No big deal, there’s plenty to see out here and QB and I are planning to take a little side trip into some slot canyons tomorrow instead.

My friend Eileen and her family happen to be out in Utah from Massachusetts and as luck would have it today they were traveling right through Kanab. The Brennan’s picked us up at the BLM office, took us to breakfast in town, and then drove us back to the trail on their way to Page. It was so nice and really fun! Plus it’s always so refreshing to hear a familiar Boston accent.

Back on trail QB and I walked south through Buckskin Wash to the Wire Pass trailhead. It was mostly uneventful but we did find some petroglyphs that Richard gave us directions to. It was easy walking and there was cool stuff to see, especially the last mile when it got really narrow. On the way out we met Eric and Gina. Eric’s a Seattle area firefighter and these two are road tripping to Arizona for a University of Washington football game. They gave us a ride all the way back to Richard and Lynn’s house in Kanab. We usually don’t do this(stay 2 nights in a row with trail angels)but we’re in no rush right now and it’s supposed to be in the 20’s tonight! And Lynn told us beforehand she was making Shepherd’s Pie. The deal was sealed. We got back just in time for dinner and then homemade peach cobbler and ice cream for desert. Like I said, these are the ultimate trail angels.

10/11/19…..Hayduke Day 27…..17 miles

Lynn made breakfast burritos for QB and me this morning then drove us all the way out HWY 89 to the corner of the dirt road that leads back to Wire Pass Trailhead, so nice! We got a hitch from Jolie, a local guide, the rest of the way. Since we didn’t get permits for The Wave or get an overnight permit for Paria Canyon we decided to take a little side trip today. First we backtracked a mile and a half to Wire Pass then took a right and walked down into Lower Buckskin Gulch. This is a massive slot canyon that goes something like 9 miles to the Paria River. We only had a day permit so we walked about 5 miles into the slots and turned around. It was really cool, I would definitely recommend this hike to other lottery losers.

Back at the trailhead we walked a mile south on the road and crossed into Arizona. This is the end of or beginning of the Arizona Trail, at Stateline Campground. In the spring of ‘18 QB and I hiked the AZT North and finished here. I remember walking downhill the last few miles through a ton of sagebrush, pinyons, and junipers while looking over at the massive amount of red rock on the Utah side. I had wished the trail would just keep going last year and I guess we could have kept walking but we didn’t. This year we did that in reverse, walking up through the sagebrush until finding a flat spot on the side of the trail to camp.

It’s supposed to be wicked cold tonight but luckily we planned ahead. We both picked up another layer at a thrift store in Kanab so I’ll be very cozy in my stylish $4 argyle sweater.

10/12/19…..Hayduke Day 28…..23 miles

The air was rather crisp this morning, nothing crazy though. It would eventually warm up as the sun got higher. Walking today was uneventful. The Kaibab Plateau section of the Arizona Trail, north of the Grand Canyon, is flat and fast. We walked cruiser trail through a sagebrush desert packed with junipers and pinyons and when we gradually climbed higher we started seeing some ponderosa pines. When we reached HWY 89A we put our thumbs out and got picked up by Sev, a Frenchman living in his van who brought us to the store at Jacob’s Lake.

After today we are taking a little hiatus from the Hayduke. Pay attention because I’m only going to explain this once. We have to go to a wedding in New York on the 19th. We’re flying from Vegas the morning of the 18th and returning the 20th. On our way back we’ll be joining QB’s parents for 4-5 days on their road trip thru the southwest and then getting back to the Hayduke around 10/25-26. Had we gone up to Bryce and if that trail was open the timing would have worked out swimmingly. If we continued on the Hayduke south into the Grand Canyon we’d be able to hitch to Vegas but since the North Rim of the Canyon closes mid October, we wouldn’t be able to hitch back and would have to re walk a bunch of miles. Did you follow all that? So tonight after eating sandwiches at Jacobs Lake we started hitching west. Tanner picked us up and drove us 20 miles to Fredonia, AZ then Leticia and Elizabeth picked us up on their way home from a fair in Navajo Nation and drove us an hour to Hurricane, UT. A good rule of thumb is to stop hitching at sunset so we got the last room in town and ended up with a sweet deal on a gigantic suite at the Rodeway Inn. Tomorrow we’ll try to get to Vegas, rent a car, then take a little side trip somewhere we’ve never been.

I probably won’t be writing this blog for the next couple weeks but I’ll most likely be putting pictures up on Instagram. Feel free to follow me @endlesspsummer and QB @sarahikes.

Thanks for reading!

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Posted on October 18, 2019 by endlesspsummer

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adventure, Arizona, arizona trail, AZT, canyons, hayduke, hayduke 2019, hike, Hiking, Jacobs lake, Kanab, mountains, slot canyons, southwest, thru hike, Thru hiking, thruhike, thruhiking, travel, traveling, ut, Utah

10/2/19…..Hayduke Day 18…..zero miles

Zero miles today but not for lack of trying. Our plan was to lay around half the day, take care of a few little errands, then hitch back to the Hayduke this afternoon and get a few miles in. From the town of Escalante it’s 5 miles down rt 12 to Hole in the Rock road then another 35 miles down a bumpy dirt road to our trailhead. We unexpectedly waited for about an hour before getting a ride the first 5 miles from Isabella and Claudette, a pair of French tourists, and then waited almost 2 hours before getting shutout at the corner of rt 12 and Hole in the Rock. This was a real rarity, I feel like I can almost always count on a hitch especially in a place like this with so many outdoor activities. It made more sense to get back to town and enjoy the rest of the day relaxing and trying again tomorrow rather than waiting out there and possibly spending the night camping by the side of the road. No big deal but it would have been nice if we had just stayed in town and took a proper zero.

We got some news this morning about our upcoming route. Apparently there was a wildfire in Bryce Canyon NP and the ‘Under the Rim’ Trail is closed. This was our whole reason to go up towards Bryce so I guess we’ll be doing some sort of alternate in the next week. This is too bad but I’m sure it will provide an opportunity to do and see something else that we otherwise wouldn’t.

10/3/19…..Hayduke Day 19…..19 miles

We had much better luck today with rides. First we met Mike at Mimi’s Bakery(make sure you stop here if you’re ever in Escalante). Not only did he offer to drive us out of town and out if his way to Hole in the Rock Road but he was super nice and insisted on buying us muffins and coffee. 30 seconds after he dropped us off we got picked up by the first car going our way and Josh, Sandro, and Anika brought us all the way to the Hurricane Wash trailhead as they were going to spend the day in Coyote Gulch. It was a fun ride and we even saw 3 coyotes, finally!

Once we got back to the trailhead, QB and I started hiking up Fifty Mile Bench, or ‘The 50’ as the locals call it. We followed dirt roads most of the way and then turned onto a trail for the last couple miles with the last mile being super steep until we got to the top of the bench. Up top it was relatively flat and we walked a few miles following cow paths to Mudhole Spring. There was good water here, a spigot and everything, and we loaded up 7+ liters each because it’s 30 miles until our next reliable source.

With heavy packs we walked cross country following cow paths until descending into Monday Canyon. For the next 7 miles we walked slowly through this canyon choked with boulders and trees. It was tedious and very slow going. There were lots of pour offs that were too steep to just jump down so we had to maneuver around them and navigate lots of boulders. There may have been a way around all this but we didn’t find it. Eventually the sun started to set so we found a flat spot and set up for the night. I think there’ll be more boulder choked canyon hiking for the morning.

10/4/19…..Hayduke Day 20…..24 miles

From our campsite we were only a few hundred feet down Monday Canyon to the confluence with Rogers Canyon. These canyons were similar, both dry and full of huge boulders and pour offs that we had to work around. Rogers Canyon eventually let up on us and we walked on sandy wash until taking a right and walking up Navajo Canyon. For awhile Navajo was sandy and easy walking and then this one too was choked with boulders and dry falls. We found it easier to navigate walking up canyon opposed to down as we were able to see from a distance which routes go and which don’t.

After half a dozen miles we turned left onto a faint 4×4 road and climbed up that for awhile. This track joined a regular dirt road for a mile then left that climbing higher and providing vast views of the Grand Staircase(the Grand Staircase is a vast 200 square mile geological feature, not one particular formation.) We descended on this 4×4 road down into Reese Canyon for some nice easy walking. This was a sandy wash that we cruised along until reaching the junction with Last Chance Creek. At one point QB discovered 5 or 6 of what just have to be fossilized dinosaur prints. If only there was a paleontologist around. See for yourself and let me know what you think:

Turning up Last Chance Creek Canyon we reached decent water for the first time since yesterday afternoon. There was a good amount of water in Rogers Canyon earlier in the day but it was pretty nasty looking. Unfortunately QB slipped and busted her ass in a big puddle of it. I felt bad and everything but sure glad it wasn’t me. After getting water this evening we saw a massive tarantula crawling across our path. Shortly after that we found a rocky shelf on the side of Last Chance Creek to cowboy camp. Hopefully that tarantula doesn’t try to crawl in my fartsack to cuddle.

10/5/19…..Hayduke Day 21…..25 miles

For the first half of the day we cruised up canyon alongside Last Chance Creek. We didn’t see any wildlife but plenty of evidence of animals. There were lots of coyote tracks, surprisingly a few black bear prints, and a good amount of cat tracks. Either a very large bobcat or a small lion.

We took lunch around noon and were caught up to by Josh, the first other Hayduke hiker we’ve seen. In 2017 we all crossed paths briefly in Wyoming while hiking in opposite directions on the CDT. This guy is absolutely flying and told us about 3 other hikers he passed behind us. Earlier this summer he broke the FKT on Vermont’s Long Trail and held it for 6 weeks, and also made a substantial attempt at the PCT record. He’s super fast but was in no hurry today so joined us for the rest of the afternoon.

Today was the easiest day of hiking we’ve had out here. This afternoon we followed Last Chance Creek a little further then took a left on Paradise Canyon where we walked for about 6 miles. There’s a little slot canyon off route that we went to check out, Yellow Paradise Slot. It was very cool and although we couldn’t have made it through and back to where we were headed, it was well worth the side trip. This evening we loaded up on halfway decent water from a seep then took a left onto a dirt road that we followed for 3 miles before finding a place to camp.

10/6/19…..Hayduke Day 22…..26 miles

This morning QB, Josh and I cruised through a long road walk for 13 miles until getting to the Grosvenor Arch trailhead. We passed a group camping on the side of the trail eating breakfast and they hooked us up with fruit, orange juice, and water. They just happened to be a group of paleontologists out looking for fossils. What are the chances? It was confirmed that the footprints we saw the other day were actually dinosaur fossilized prints most likely from a duckbilled dinosaur(with a more scientific name). Our new friends also showed us some dinosaur bones and how to identify them.

A few weeks ago at Grosvenor Arch, QB and I cached a bucket of food and 3 gallons of water and it was still there in it’s hiding spot untouched. We took an extended lunch as people were coming and going from the arch and while there were joined by Scampie, another Hayduke hiker. We’d never met but had mutual friends and now the 4 of us, which we considered must be the Hayduke Bubble, carried on down the dirt road. After a mile Josh got a hitch into Tropic because he had new shoes coming in so the bubble was back down to 3.

QB, Scampie, and I walked a few more miles of dirt road before dropping into a narrow slot canyon, Round Valley Draw. This place was very cool! A few times we had to relay pass our packs down so we could down climb some steep narrow chutes. It went on for awhile as a tight slot canyon then got a bit wider before reaching Hackberry Canyon. We walked down Hackberry for a few miles and found a spot to camp beside the wash.

10/7/19…..Hayduke Day 23…..21 miles

Dang it was cold last night! And this morning. I think we’ll be setting the tent up from here on out, the stars have been incredible but cold wind in the face in the middle of the night has been uncomfortable. Plus my sleeping pad deflated on me all the way down to nothing a couple times last night. I’ll have to rectify that situation in town.

The first few miles today were nice and fast through Hackberry Canyon. Eventually a trickle of water started to develop at our feet and before long it was ankle deep. Trying to avoid the water meant bushwhacking so after a little bit of that we decided to just walk down river and deal with cold feet. The canyon was pretty enough though but the high walls kept the sun from reaching us until 9:30. We passed Watson Cabin, a relic from another time, being refurbished by the BLM, that was cool and worth checking out. I wonder if one can camp in that thing? Not that I would have.

This afternoon Scampie got out ahead of us and since we’re taking different routes going forward, the Hayduke bubble was back to two, QB and me. The two of us walked down Hackberry Canyon until it became a dry wash then reached the Paria River where we took a right. In the Paria the water was low and silty and the river bed was very wide. The Paria River begins up near Bryce but because of the trail closure there we only followed it a half dozen miles or so until we reached the mouth of Kitchen Canyon. We took a left and began an alternate through Kitchen Canyon where we were hoping to find clearer water but without any luck. The water is super silty so we put it in our platypus bags and hopefully some of the red dirt will settle overnight. We camped in this very pretty, bright red canyon. Our shoes are wet and doubtful that they’ll dry by morning when I’m guessing it will be mighty cold out. Not tonight’s problem though.

10/8/19…..Hayduke Day 24…..23 miles

Most of the dirt in the water bags settled to the bottom overnight, so that worked out well but even better than that was the nice clear water flowing out of a side canyon a few minutes into our morning. Shortly beyond that, Kitchen Canyon goes to the right and this alternate follows Starlight Canyon to the left. We followed Kitchen Canyon a short distance to where it dead ends at a tall and super silty waterfall giving the appearance of chocolate milk pouring over a canyon wall, Yum!

Starlight Canyon was very cool, until it wasn’t. There were big red walls, bright yellow cottonwoods, and even a slot canyon section. The walking was difficult with a fair amount of bushwhacking and running water but the scenery made up for all that. We followed Starlight for 4 slow miles then hit a dead end. The beta we had on it wasn’t much but we were following a gps track that looked like it went straight up this 15 foot drywall we were staring at. To the left and the right of the dryfall were massive walls of a series of cliffs on each side but we attempted to give the left wall a shot as it was the less daunting of the two. After getting up about 20 feet of tricky climbing we had nothing above us but a high exposure class 5 route. Maybe the person who created this alternate found a better way but we didn’t and I guess we also didn’t research it enough. So began a bushwhack backtrack, the worst kind of backtrack. Retreating, we took a right down the first significant canyon, walked up that a bit and took a good look at the topo maps. There seemed to possibly be a way up a series of steep grassy ramps and there was! We had to do some class 2 scrambling up some rocky stuff but we found a ridge and were able to follow that all the way up to a jeep road that ended up rejoining the alternate that we were on. Not only that but we had amazing views looking back over the Grand Staircase from high up.

Following the jeep road for 5-6 miles brought us to a dirt road that we walked for about 10-11 miles to route 89. It was mostly uneventful besides a couple stopping in their Land Cruiser to give us cold water and me almost tripping over a gopher snake. We got to the highway right around sunset, tried hitching to Kanab for about 15 minutes, then gave up and set up the tent behind a bluff near the road.