13 miles, 8 hours

I’m sitting by a fire, sipping red tea and listening to the singing river while Dave reads beside me. I’m tired and relaxed. It was a tough day, but a fun and rewarding one.

The book describes the Escalante River portion of the Hayduke Trail as “extreme” in difficulty, and certainly it is in many ways. But we timed this hike to hit the Escalante early, well before peak flow, which is usually near the first of May. With the early start we had some cold days to get through, but we also got to the Escalante when it is flowing clear (not silty with runoff) and only shin- to thigh-deep (some Haydukers bring inflatable rafts). That makes our many crossings a day much easier. And with the current warm weather it’s pretty refreshing. There’s still plenty of bush whacking, climbing up and around boulders and sand slogging, but we’re getting used to that now.

We completed four weeks on the route today. I have to admit I sometimes had doubts I could do this. The book makes it sound completely gnarly–and it is at times. The super steep and loose slides scare me to death and sometimes make me cry. But I get past them because so much awaits and I can’t bear to miss any of it: the shapes, the colors, the vastness.

I blow on my tea and wait for the moon to rise over the high canyon wall. Some may describe the day as extreme, but this evening is going pretty easy on my soul.