Dave has had a rest day here in Hanksville with me and tomorrow morning we will hitchhike back down to where the route crosses the highway and we’ll start the next section.

I’m hoping the rest has been enough to keep my knees going. I don’t want to miss another day of hiking, there is just too much beauty out there.

We may not be able to post again for another three weeks, but in the mean time I’ll be writing and taking pictures.

While I sat in a motel room in Hanksville Dave hiked section four in three days with his friend Jeff, another wind energy engineer. They started out from Hite in the cold wind and climbed the Red Benches. As the day went on the wins diminished and they enjoyed expansive views of the Henry mountains and distant buttes. The route finding up there was challenging but fun–there is no trail to follow. The second day they descended to Fidler Canyon and then up the Dirty Devil River for six miles, crossing many times in knee-deep water. Luckily the weather had warmed up by then! The third day they walked through terrible sand-driving winds to the junction with the road where I picked them up using Jeff’s car.

TRAIL NOTE:
Just accept that you are going to get your feet wet and get in there. Trying to avoid it will only delay your progress. The water was knee-deep and said to be terrible to drink–we did not try it.

I woke up this morning with very swollen and stiff knees. It’s been coming on for a few days. I have been here before, and don’t want to make the same mistake of muscling through. It just makes it worse. On the Great Divide I dealt with pain all the way through the two-month bike tour. This time I decided I need to take a break now and let my knees rest and calm down before I try continuing. Since Jeff was here, he and Dave hiked on and I took Jeff’s car forward to wait for them in Hanksville. It was a really cold day, but finally sunny and promising to warm up, so hopefully Dave and Jeff are having a great time out there.

I think I can get my knees ready to continue on but this route is really demanding, with lots of steep climbs and descents and scrambling around on boulders and pour-offs. It’s not just hiking.

It’s discouraging because I’ve done so much to prepare for this–for several months I’ve been hiking with weight in my pack, spent lots of time in the gym doing intense weight workouts a couple of times a week and lots of running/walking/hill climbing. There’s not much more I could have done to be ready. I just don’t have the best knees.

9.5 miles, easy

The walk was all on roads today, mostly dirt. It was COLD and windy all night. It snowed a bit during the night but nothing stuck. It was cold all day too, and my knees, which have been feeling a bit sore and stiff, were really unhappy walking in the cold. Now the wind in Hite is just raging and we’re hiding on the leeward side of the ranger station.

Tonight our friend Jeff is driving down from Salt Lake City to meet up with us and hike this section starting tomorrow. Should be really fun!

9 miles, moderate

We enjoyed a bit of a sleep-in today, then walked on down Dark Canyon to where the Sundance Trail begins. We took a lunch break here and then headed up the trail through a huge talus slope from the river to the top of the canyon. We climbed 1,200 feet in 1.2 miles on this loose “trail” full of big boulders to climb over and loose scree. It went by pretty quickly, and I was really glad to b e going up on this trail instead of down, it’s way more stable feeling.

TRAIL NOTES:
The Sundance Trail has been re-routed up on top where it crosses the dirt road. The book has you going straight and now the trail goes left and follows the road. We took the old route since Dave has been on it before, but the cairns have been removed, and where it goes over large sections of slickrock you’ll just have to head in the right direction. It’s probably best now to follow the newly routed trail, but we estimate it adds 2-3 extra miles based on the topo, though it is dirt road so should be easy miles.

7.5 miles, slow but technically easy

Getting down through Young’s Canyon today was slow but beautiful. There were several more pour-offs to navigate around today, and the climbing can be fun but I hate to slow down all the time. I get in a groove walking and just want to keep moving forward. This is not just walking though, this whole route has numerous obstacles, and each one has to be figured out. There’s always a lizard looking up from behind a bush to see if you’re gonna bust a move.

The confluence of Young’s and Dark Canyons is deep and colorful, with spring water flowing from Young’s and a healthy flow already in Dark Canyon. Too bad it was a chilly day, because there were miles of beautiful clear water flowing through long, deep pools cut into the rock at the bottom. We walked on ledges just above the water for most of the way, and there were several pools you could jump into, and slides where you could follow the water through the rock.

We saw people for the first time today since about five miles from Squaw Flat Campground in Canyonlands, some kids of different ages, maybe a scout troop, and a big group of college kids.

We found a great camps spot on a ledge above the trail by the river, and we were treated to a late-afternoon dose of warm sun and a break in the breeze–warm enough to set up a camp shower behind a big rock in the sun.

8 miles, difficult

We started up Fable Valley, then took a side canyon for a few miles with several pour-offs to climb or hike up and around. The terrain today was all rugged, climbing out of one canyon to descend into another. When on top, the views were colorful and vast, and today’s continued windy and stormy skies provided a dramatic background. The final leg today was to descend a huge section of what the book called “suicidal scree”, and even though we followed what could loosely be called a trail, it was pretty free-form. Dave loves this stuff, goes skipping down it practicallly. I take forever, but he’s good about waiting.

We made it down into Youn’g Canyon and have a lovely creek to sing us to sleep.

TRAIL NOTES:
We found Ryan Choi’s notes on this section to be really helpful.

9.5 miles, easy and moderate

The wind was COLD and gusty all night, whipping and whirling around our tarp, which we set up when it looked like rain. The morning was cool as well, but no rain so far. It took a while to get out of camp with the cold wind hindering our rituals.

We had a beautiful day of walking despite the wind (which makes me crazy) and after a few miles we ascended to higher levels of the rocky, rugged landscape. Up and over a hill and a ridge and we are in the heart of a gorgeous canyon system with layers of the Earth’s shell right out there for us to see. Deep red heart of the Earth exposed to the ribs.

TRAIL NOTES:
The water holes mentioned in the book just before mile 29 of section 3 should not be counted on. What once were water holes “guarded by a pair of duck” is now a completely trashed mud pit, a wreaking cow toilet you’ll want to avoid.

It was cool and cloudy this morning waking up in Butler Wash. We kept track of our location in this long and windy wash by tracking our turns and referring to the topo map pretty often, then had some cross-country orienteering to do. Dave is the real navigator, but I’m doing more as I learn more and it’s pretty fun. We did some rock scrambling and climbing which kept it interesting today, and the scenery changed throughout the day as we climbed up into pinyon and juniper out of the sandy bottom. Cooler weather is coming and a bit of rain looks possible. We’ll enjoy it while we can, as we know the heat is going to dominate most of this hike through the desert.

The miles in this section are harder and slower than the first two sections with rugged terrain and lots of sand. It’s not strenuous so much as it just takes a bit more out of us. We were 8 hours today from camp to camp, including breaks adn photos. We’re learning that all miles are not created equal.

Our bodies are really adapting to the hiking. We’re tired at the end of the day, but not sore or stiff to the extent we were the first few days. This part of each trip always fascinates me as I feel my body responding and adapting to what I’m asking of it.

TRAIL NOTES:
We saw a pothole of water at the top of Butler Wash, which may last a few weeks. We also found water in the spring at section 3, mile 24.7 piped into a tub with lots of cat tails growing in it.

10 miles, moderate effort with ups and downs on slickrock and sandy slogging

We were off-route by starting from Squaw Flat Campground within Canyonlands this morning, but it was a beautiful diversion as we walked some of the best trails to make our way through and back to the route. We headed West to Chessler Park and beyond, gradually approaching and then crossing the needles formations we’ve been seeing for a few days now. As the needles got closer and we worked our way higher, we were thankful for the high clouds and cool breeze. Then we made our way South on a sandy jeep road and then through the sandy wash bottom.

Weighed down with 8 days of food (~24 pounds) and water for a dry camp tonight and walking tomorrow (~ 42 pounds), we were a little slower than our usual pace, but it wasn’t bad. The scenery distracted us at every turn – red rock in every direction. What beauty.

TRAIL NOTES:
If you’re coming into Canyonlands and are getting a re-supply package at the Needles Outpost, leave the route and take the dirt road that you can see on the topo going South before you head up the wash to meet the main Canyonlands road, you’ll save a few miles. Don’t go cross-country because the criptobiotic soil – the Canyonlands rangers are very sensitive about this. You’ll probably want to camp at the Needles Outpost because the Squaw Flat campground usually fills by 10:30. If you’re staying for a rest day, then move to Squaw Flat early to get a good spot so the next day you can walk through the park as we did on your way out.