April 21 Mileage: 30 514 miles hiked Sandy wash, jeep road, sandy wash. All of it in the warm still sun amongst the sagebrush, no shade. Smooth slickrock cliffs won’t tell their secrets. Two metal cattle tanks within a mile of each other- at least one is supposed to have water. Instead, they are both … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 35: there’s never really not water

April 20 Mileage: 20 484 miles hiked It’s cold af in the woods where we are and our sleeping bags are damp with condensation and the full moon is so painful silver-bright and supposedly there are mountain lions and I sleep so, so well. Except I dream that I inherit the one-story brick house my … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 34: O ponderosa forest

April 19 Mileage: 13 464 miles hiked I sleep terribly in the big warm soft amazing motel bed. I’ve gotten to that point on trail where I can only sleep well on the ground. Oh, the irony! Eventually the good sun rises as it is wont to do and I eat many titanium potfuls of … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 33: Bryce is nice

April 18 Mileage: 14 451 miles hiked I wake up when it’s still dark. I haven’t slept enough. Why does this happen sometimes? I’m so comfortable, on my tiny neo-air with my head on my mosquito net full of extra clothes and my feet balanced on my food bag. Everything is lined up just so, … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 32: pain level 9/cruisin into Tropic

April 17 Mileage: 25 437 miles hiked I hike out of Hackberry canyon as if in a dream- wearing all my layers, waiting for the sun to crest the high canyon walls, mesmerized by the patterns and swirls and scuffmarks and divots and colors on the rock, and then the sun does crest the high … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 31: Paria river of wonderment

April 16 Mileage: 27 412 miles hiked Yesterday was rain, today the wind has its turn. Walking on a dirt road over the open land in the cold cold wind while stormclouds threaten and blow away. The sun never warms us. I have 1/3 a liter of water for the 10 miles to our water … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 30: wherein I transcend the need for water/wind/round valley narrows/hackberry canyon

April 15 Mileage: 28 386 miles hiked In town I saw in the weather forecast that there was a storm on the way. In the morning, this storm arrives. Cold wind, low clouds. Rain. We’ve lucked out on this hike so far- we’ve been zeroing during every serious storm. (We’ve also taken a lot of … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 29: zen and the art of wash walking

April 14 Mileage: 10 358 miles hiked Our friendly local shuttle-for-hire, Al, an enthusiastic dude with an expansive knowledge of the area, drives us the two hours back to the lower end of Last Chance Creek canyon where we left our footsteps. Thank you Al! En route I eat the three things that seemed appetizing … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 28: back at it/last chance creek

April 12 Mileage: 3 348 miles hiked I wake in the middle of the night, shivering and burning and aching with fever. The stormclouds have blown away and I can see the stars, twinkling companionably in the sky. I start to cry. “What’s wrong?” Says Dan, rolling over. “I’m really sick,” I say. In my … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 26 and 27: 2 sick 2 hike, part 2

April 11 Mileage: 21 345 miles hiked Rogers canyon is, unfortunately, just as slow as Monday canyon- truck-sized boulders, mud, tamarisk, etc. This is hard on morale, especially first thing in the morning. And sans caffeine, since I don’t have enough fuel to make tea. I feel not awake enough to make an intelligent decision … Continue reading Hayduke trail day 25: make your own alternate day