10 miles, 5 hours

After about three hours of trying, we finally hitched a ride 17 miles down the road back to our route. We walked a series of dirt and gravel roads, gradually climbing about 2,600 feet from the sandy desert floor up to pinyon and juniper and eventually mixed conifer with a few bare aspens. As the soil changed from sand to a rich brown and the aspens came into view the familiar smell brought a smile.

We could see our long approach clearly as we started out and once we were up high we turned to trace our steps of the last three weeks, pointing at where Arches and Canyonlands were distantly hidden, a hint of Dark Canyon, and the clear route Dave and Jeff had just walked from Hite while I rested my knees in Hanksville.

TRAIL NOTES:
Crescent Creek had plenty of water flowing.