April 20 One of the more unexpected challenges I’ve faced so far is the struggle to leave my hotel room in the morning, on those days I’ve slept in town. I couldn’t find the motivation today to get out of bed, so it was a very late start for the day. Something about having to … More Hayduke Day 22

March 31 Patience, patience, slow. I’m walking out to Hole-in-the-Rock road today which will lead to Escalante and my first off day since I started, three weeks ago. My ankle is sore, and the trekking pole I bent in yesterday’s fall comes to resemble my body, my life. It performed the task of holding up … More Hayduke Day 21

March 30 I wonder at all the marvels that must have burrowed their way into the Waterpocket Fold over all the millennia. Pocked, smoothed, dented, gorged–the place makes up new words to describe all the assaults waged against it by time. Here’s a canyon below me, just there. Here’s a giant tinaja, somehow nestled deep … More Hayduke Day 20

March 29 By morning my tent looked like a sorrowful birthday balloon, droopy and spent. In pre-dawn, I could tell the winds had ushered in low clouds and colder air, so I packed quickly to make sure everything was safe and dry inside my pack in case rain began to fall.Not only did the morning … More Hayduke Day 19

March 28 Things come and go so quickly out here. Train your eyes on a target and then it blurs by–turn around and the horizon has swallowed it. Where are the Henries? The La Sals? The arches and monuments of Arches and Canyonlands? Today I charged up the Burr Trail switchbacks and crossed the Waterpocket … More Hayduke Day 18

March 27 I could see the Henries dawning, softly, and I rolled back over. Maybe just a little more sleep… But no, my alarm is going off and it says, “Go see new things,” so I have to oblige. The small stream near my camp shut off quietly overnight, the snowmelt staved off for a … More Hayduke Day 17

March 16 March 26 A real struggle of a day. Of course, it started out promising with an easy hitchhike out of Hanksville from a baseball Cardinals fan whose also an aspiring PCT thru hiker. We had easy conversation the whole way back to trail. But apparently I wasn’t ready to get back to walking … More Hayduke Day 16