An 800 Mile Hike from Nevada to Colorado

From late April to early June this yr, Kate “Swept Away” Pickett and I accomplished an roughly 800 mile (1,287 km) hike throughout southern Utah.

We started our journey on the Nevada border WSW of Enterprise and completed seven weeks later at Hovenweep Nationwide Monument on the border with Colorado. Alongside the best way we traversed canyons, plateaus, badlands, and mesas, being wowed each day by the countless array of pink rock wonders and archeological gems.

Each Kate and I had beforehand spent giant chunks of time exploring Utah on foot, each on the Hayduke Path, together with a bunch of different shorter excursions. That being the case, a giant think about placing this journey collectively, was the chance to expertise elements of the state that neither one in every of us had beforehand visited. Considered one of these locations was the unimaginable Canaan Mountain Wilderness, situated between Hurricane and Kanab.

One other place that was excessive on our ambulatory agenda was Bears Ears Nationwide Monument. Each of us had hiked by way of the northern sections of this protected space, however this was our first time visiting among the archeologically wealthy southern sections resembling Cedar Mesa’s Collins Canyon, Grand Gulch, and Bullet Canyon, together with the incomparable Comb Ridge.

Highlights

Choosing a handful of highlights from an extended hike throughout Utah is like making an attempt to choose the very best pub in Eire – a nigh on unattainable process that’s nonetheless enjoyable to analysis. Listed below are some locations that instantly come to thoughts (from west to east):

• Snow Canyon
• Pink Mountain Wilderness
• Gooseberry Mesa
• Canaan Mountain Wilderness
• The Barracks
• Nice Chamber

• Bryce Canyon NP – Underneath the Rim Path, Peekaboo Loop, and Fairyland Loop.
• Powell Level
• Loss of life Hole
• Egg Canyon
• Higher and Decrease Muley Twist Canyons

• Cliff Level on the Waterpocket Fold
• Stevens Canyon
• Fold Canyon
• Coyote Gulch

• The Lizard Route out of Halls Creek
• Grand Gulch and Bullet Canyon
• Comb Ridge
• Hovenweep Nationwide Monument

Route Notes

Our route was a mix of cross nation journey, 4WD tracks, rock scrambles, river wading, dust roads, established trails, and a minimal quantity on pavement. Most of the time, directional selections had been dictated out of geological and historic curiosity, slightly than expediency.

We break up the hike into eight phases, which usually coincided with our resupply factors (see under). Within the coming weeks I’ll do a stand-alone submit for every stage (or two), which can embody maps, images, fundamental route descriptions, and random musings. The stage breakdown (with approximate distances) was as follows:

• Stage 1 – Utah/Nevada Border to Ivins/St George / 60 mi / 3 days / By way of Dixie Nationwide Forest and the Pink Mountain Wilderness.

• Stage 2 – Ivins/St. George to Mount Carmel Junction / 135 mi / 7 days / By way of Snow Canyon State Park, Pink Cliffs Conservation Space, La Verkin, Gooseberry Mesa, Canaan Mountain Wilderness, and the Barracks.

• Stage 3 – Mount Carmel Junction to Bryce Canyon Village / 83 mile / 4.5 days / By way of Diana’s Throne, Pink and Peekaboo Canyons, Nice Chamber, Skutumpah Canyon, Grand View Path, Underneath the Rim Path, and the Peekaboo Loop.

• Stage 4 – Bryce Village to Escalante / 80 mi / 3 days / By way of Fairyland Loop, Pine Lake, Powell Level, Water Canyon Path, and Canaan Peak.

• Stage 5 – Escalante to Burr Path Highway, Capitol Reef NP / 70 mi / 4.5 days / By way of the Boulder Mail Path, Loss of life Hole, Boulder Creek, Lengthy Canyon, Egg Canyon, Lampstand, and Higher Muley Twist Canyon.

• Stage 6 – Burr Path Highway to Bullfrog Marina / 140 mi / 9 days / By way of Decrease Muley Twist Canyon, Pink Slide, Waterpocket Fold, Stevens Canyon, Fold Canyon, Escalante River, Bobway Canyon, King Mesa, Coyote Gulch, Stevens Canyon, Baker Route, Halls Creek, Lizard Route, and the dry as a bone northern reaches of Lake Powell.

• Stage 7 – Bullfrog Marina/Halls Crossing Marina to HWY 163 (close to Bluff) / 140 mi / 7.5 days / By way of Moqui Canyon, Collins Canyon, Bullet Canyon, Grand Gulch, Kane Gulch Ranger Station, Fish Canyon, Owl Canyon, and Comb Ridge Rd.

• Stage 8  – HWY 163 to Hovenweep Nationwide Monument / 95 mi / 3.5 days / By way of Comb Ridge (Websites included Wolfman Panel, Double Stack Ruins, Procession Panel, Cathedral Ruins, Monarch Cave, Chilly Spring Cave, and a few secret squirrel panels), Tank Mesa, Dry/Sizzling/Crappy highway stroll on HWYs’ 191 & 262 (or marginally higher adjoining dust roads), and Black Steer Canyon.

Maps & Sources

• The first on-line useful resource for the route was a hiker by the title of Jamal Inexperienced. For the previous 20 years, Jamal has been placing collectively lengthy distance mountaineering routes all through Utah, and his web site and YouTube channel, are a treasure trove of logistical and cartographical data. Within the phrases of my outdated pal, Paul “Mags” Magnanti (who did his personal cross-Utah route in 2017), “it’s onerous to think about anybody has hiked extra extensively round Utah than Jamal.”

• Two different helpful web sites for people interested by planning a cross-Utah ramble are the aforementioned Pmags.com, and Doingmiles.com. The latter incorporates a great deal of data on a bunch of various hikes, not solely within the States, however different locations around the globe as properly.

• Through the starting stage, I pieced the route collectively on the Gaia GPS web site, utilizing a mix of the USGS, Nat Geo, Gaia Topo, Public Land (US), and Satellite tv for pc map layers.

• On the navigation entrance, we used a mix of the Gaia app on our iPhones (downloaded layers had been USGS, Nat Geo, and Gaia Topo), overview paper maps, and my trusty outdated Suunto M3.

Water

As with every lengthy hike in Utah and the 4 Corners area, water was one of many major concerns when planning the journey. Of the assorted map layers, USGS proved most helpful in figuring out potential sources (e.g., tanks, springs, windmills). Jamal Inexperienced’s web site was additionally useful on this regard.

As a result of there have been varied sections of the route the place we couldn’t discover any pre-trip beta, we erred on the facet of warning at any time when unsure. We each had a most capability of 9-10 liters, which we employed on just a few totally different events. That stated, total, the H2O state of affairs was nearly as good as we might have hoped for through the journey. On that notice, we had been assisted by a few well timed storms, which allowed us to acquire adequate water from potholes and streams that might have in any other case been hit and miss.

Resupply

A mixture of mail drops and shopping for as we went. We additionally left a cache at Burr Path Rd, to separate up the lengthy stretch between Escalante and Bullfrog Marina.

• St George – Field
• La Verkin – Purchase (Davis Meals & Drug Grocery store)
• Kanab (Hitched in from Mount Carmel Junction) – Field
• Bryce Metropolis Publish Workplace – Field
• Escalante Publish Workplace – Field
• Burr Path Highway – Cache
• Bullfrog Marina – Field
• Blanding Publish Workplace (hitched in from Kane Gulch Ranger Station) – Field
• Bluff Publish Workplace (quick hitch in from Jct. Comb Wash Rd/HWY 163) – Field

Within the case of St George, Kanab, and Escalante, we had buddies/household who had been sort sufficient to obtain and maintain bins for us.

Favorite Meals Stops

• La Verkin – River Rock Roasting Firm (Wonderful baked items, espresso, and pizza).
• Kanab – Heaps Motsa Pizza (AYCE pizza and salad for $6.99), Huge Al’s Shakes, Brown Field Cafe (late evening ice cream), and Wild Thyme Cafe.
• Escalante – Escalante Outfitters (Improbable pizza, sandwiches, and desserts)
• HWY 12 (between Escalante & Boulder) – Kiva Koffeehouse – Filling and engaging breakfasts.
• Blanding – Vacation spot Awake (Nice espresso, fruit smoothies, baked items, breakfast burritos, and welcoming vibe).

Permits

Together with the America the Lovely Entrance Go, in a single day tenting permits had been required for Bryce Canyon Nationwide Park, Grand Staircase/Escalante Nationwide Monument, Capitol Reef Nationwide Park, and Bears Ears Nationwide Monument.

Within the case of Bryce, it was potential for us to camp simply outdoors the nationwide park boundaries for 2 nights. We additionally stayed one other evening in Bryce Metropolis. For Grand Staircase/Escalante and Capitol Reef we obtained permits on the Interagency Workplace in Escalante. We organised our permits for Bears Ears on-line through the Recreation.gov web site.

Gear Selections

I’ll do an entire gear listing within the coming weeks, however for now, listed here are just a few of my favorite objects from the journey (together with some new ones):

• (New) ULA Extremely X Nexus Backpack – An excellent steadiness of weight, construct high quality, sturdiness, and performance. I’m a giant fan of the exterior pocket system, and the padded hip belt was helpful on a visit like this, the place largish water and meals carries had been widespread. The pack fitted me properly from the soar, and I personally discovered its consolation score of 20-25 lb (9.1-11.3 kg) to be conservative (although it will range from hiker to hiker). Tipping the scales at 19 oz (0.54 kg), it isn’t the lightest frameless backpack I’ve used, however after 800 Miles (1,287 km), it’s undoubtedly essentially the most comfy below the pressure of heavyish masses (Be aware: In anticipation of the massive carries, I nearly went with my Hyperlite Southwest 2400 (which has an inner body). Finally I made a decision on the Nexus, after taking it on a number of lengthy day hikes laden with 25 lb/11.3 kg plus).

• La Sportiva Extremely Raptor 2 – One pair of sneakers for your entire 800 miles (1,287 km). I’ve been utilizing the Raptors frequently for the previous 5 – 6 years. Arms down, my all-time favorite path working shoe for rugged environments.

• (New) MacPac Nitro Alpha Direct Fleece – I’ve had the Nitro for simply over a yr, however this was the primary lengthy hike I’ve taken it on. Double thumbs up. When mixed with the Houdini windshirt, I used to be superb right down to round freezing.

• Sony a6400 Digital camera – I’ve nonetheless obtained lots to find out about optimising the 6400 for various circumstances, however on a journey like this in such a singular place as Utah, the burden penalty was properly price it.

Acknowledgements

As is at all times the case with this sort of lengthy hike, there are a bunch of oldsters who helped to make it potential:

• Before everything, Kate, whose deep affinity for the Utah wilderness is matched solely by her uninhibited sense of surprise and curiosity.

• Kelli, Thomas, Wendy and Kent – Thanks for the wonderful hospitality pre and submit hike. An additional shout out to Wendy for driving us out to our place to begin west of Enterprise.

• Thanks to our buddies Lynn and Fran in Kanab and Escalante for his or her kindness and hospitality.

• We solely needed to stick our thumbs out a handful of instances through the journey, however whenever you’re mountaineering by way of areas wherein hitching isn’t precisely the norm, you possibly can’t assist however really feel further appreciative. On that notice, a particular because of Chuck, Gary and Tabitha, Morgan, Chad, and the “daughter of Utah.”

• Joel, Sean, and Rachel – the crack archeological restoration workforce at Hovenweep Nationwide Monument.

• And, final however not least, Paul and Joan. Not solely did Mags drive 2.5 hours to choose us up from Hovenweep (bearing a cooler stuffed with recent fruit, drinks, and yoghurt!), however he and Joan had been additionally sort sufficient to host us in Moab for the following few days. We couldn’t have requested for a greater finish to the journey!

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