An 800 Mile Hike from Nevada to Colorado

From late April to early June this 12 months, Kate “Swept Away” Pickett and I accomplished an roughly 800 mile (1,287 km) hike throughout southern Utah.

Overview map of the Southern Utah Traverse.

We started our journey on the Nevada border WSW of Enterprise and completed seven weeks later at Hovenweep National Monument on the border with Colorado. Along the way in which we traversed canyons, plateaus, badlands, and mesas, being wowed each day by the infinite array of crimson rock wonders and archeological gems.

Starting level on the Nevada border.

Finishing level of the Southern Utah Traverse at Holly Tower in Hovenweep National Monument, a 5 minute stroll east of the UT/CO border.

Both Kate and I had beforehand spent massive chunks of time exploring Utah on foot, each on the Hayduke Trail, 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 considered one of us had beforehand visited. One of those locations was the unimaginable Canaan Mountain Wilderness, positioned between Hurricane and Kanab.

Canaan Mountain Highpoint

The White Domes of Caanan Mountain Wilderness.

A windblown Eye of Heaven (Water Canyon Arch) within the Canaan Mountain Wilderness (picture by Kate Pickett)

Another place that was excessive on our ambulatory agenda was Bears Ears National Monument. Both of us had hiked via the northern sections of this protected space, however this was our first time visiting a few of the archeologically wealthy southern sections equivalent to Cedar Mesa’s Collins Canyon, Grand Gulch, and Bullet Canyon, together with the incomparable Comb Ridge.

Inside the “Perfect Kiva”, Bullet Canyon.

Procession Panel, Comb Ridge.

Monarch Cave Ruins, Comb Ridge.

Highlights

Selecting a handful of highlights from a protracted hike throughout Utah is like making an attempt to select the perfect pub in Ireland – a nigh on unimaginable process that’s nonetheless enjoyable to analysis. Here are some locations that instantly come to thoughts (from west to east):

• Snow Canyon
• Red Mountain Wilderness
• Gooseberry Mesa
• Canaan Mountain Wilderness
• The Barracks
• Great Chamber

The Great Chamber (Photo by Kate Pickett)

• Bryce Canyon NP – Under the Rim Trail, Peekaboo Loop, and Fairyland Loop.
• Powell Point
• Death Hollow
• Egg Canyon
• Upper and Lower Muley Twist Canyons

One of a number of unimaginable alcoves in Capitol Reef’s Lower Muley Twist canyon.

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

A fantastical grotto in Stevens Canyon (picture by Kate Pickett)

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

Jacob Hamblin Arch, Coyote Gulch.

Route Notes

Our route was a mixture of cross nation journey, 4WD tracks, rock scrambles, river wading, grime roads, established trails, and a minimal quantity on pavement. More typically than not, directional decisions have been dictated out of geological and historic curiosity, quite than expediency.

We cut up the hike into eight phases, which typically coincided with our resupply factors (see under). In the approaching weeks I’ll do a stand-alone publish 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 / Via Dixie National Forest and the Red Mountain Wilderness.

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

Splashing via the Barracks (picture by Kate Pickett)

• Stage 3 – Mount Carmel Junction to Bryce Canyon Village / 83 mile / 4.5 days / Via Diana’s Throne, Red and Peekaboo Canyons, Great Chamber, Skutumpah Canyon, Grand View Trail, Under the Rim Trail, and the Peekaboo Loop.

Peekaboo Loop, Bryce Canyon National Park.

• Stage 4 – Bryce Village to Escalante / 80 mi / 3 days / Via Fairyland Loop, Pine Lake, Powell Point, Water Canyon Trail, and Canaan Peak.

• Stage 5 – Escalante to Burr Trail Road, Capitol Reef NP / 70 mi / 4.5 days / Via the Boulder Mail Trail, Death Hollow, Boulder Creek, Long Canyon, Egg Canyon, Lampstand, and Upper Muley Twist Canyon.

Sandy bench campsite in Death Hollow.

• Stage 6 – Burr Trail Road to Bullfrog Marina / 140 mi / 9 days / Via Lower Muley Twist Canyon, Red 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.

Walking on the Wingate above Fold Canyon.

• Stage 7 – Bullfrog Marina/Halls Crossing Marina to HWY 163 (close to Bluff) / 140 mi / 7.5 days / Via 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 National Monument / 95 mi / 3.5 days / Via Comb Ridge (Sites included Wolfman Panel, Double Stack Ruins, Procession Panel, Cathedral Ruins, Monarch Cave, Cold Spring Cave, and a few secret squirrel panels), Tank Mesa, Dry/Hot/Crappy highway stroll on HWYs’ 191 & 262 (or marginally higher adjoining grime roads), and Black Steer Canyon.

Late afternoon view from the highest of Comb Ridge.

Maps & Resources

• The main on-line useful resource for the route was a hiker by the identify of Jamal Green. For the previous twenty 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. In the phrases of my previous pal, Paul “Mags” Magnanti (who did his personal cross-Utah route in 2017), “it’s hard to imagine anyone has hiked more extensively around Utah than Jamal.”

• Two different helpful web sites for people taken with 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 all over the world as properly.

Ascending from Grand Gulch/Halls Creek through the “Lizard Route.”

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

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

Looking west in the direction of Stevens Canyon from the Waterpocket Fold.

Water

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

Because there have been varied sections of the route the place we couldn’t discover any pre-trip beta, we erred on the aspect of warning each time 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 pretty much as good as we may have hoped for through the journey. On that be aware, we have been assisted by a few well timed storms, which allowed us to acquire adequate water from potholes and streams that will have in any other case been hit and miss.

A really welcome water supply on an in any other case dry stretch alongside the Waterpocket Fold (37.56471, -110.92024).

Resupply

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

• St George – Box
• La Verkin – Buy (Davis Food & Drug Supermarket)
• Kanab (Hitched in from Mount Carmel Junction) – Box
• Bryce City Post Office – Box
• Escalante Post Office – Box
• Burr Trail Road – Cache
• Bullfrog Marina – Box
• Blanding Post Office (hitched in from Kane Gulch Ranger Station) – Box
• Bluff Post Office (brief hitch in from Jct. Comb Wash Rd/HWY 163) – Box

In the case of St George, Kanab, and Escalante, we had buddies/household who have been form sufficient to obtain and maintain containers for us.

Enjoying the views over St George from Red Mountains, earlier than descending to our first city cease (picture by Kate Pickett).

Favourite Food Stops

• La Verkin – River Rock Roasting Company (Excellent baked items, espresso, and pizza).
• Kanab – Lots Motsa Pizza (AYCE pizza and salad for $6.99), Big Al’s Shakes, Brown Box Cafe (late night time ice cream), and Wild Thyme Cafe.
• Escalante – Escalante Outfitters (Fantastic pizza, sandwiches, and desserts)
• HWY 12 (between Escalante & Boulder) – Kiva Koffeehouse – Filling and attractive breakfasts.
• Blanding – Destination Awake (Great espresso, fruit smoothies, baked items, breakfast burritos, and welcoming vibe).

The meal that by no means was………..hoping towards hope that Veyo Pies (Washington County) would open 1.5 hours sooner than scheduled (picture by Kate Pickett).

Permits

Along with the America the Beautiful Entrance Pass, in a single day tenting permits have been required for Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, and Bears Ears National Monument.

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

Leaving Bears Ears National Monument through Tank Mesa (Photo by Kate Pickett).

Gear Choices

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 Ultra X Nexus Backpack – stability of weight, construct high quality, sturdiness, and performance. I’m a giant fan of the exterior pocket system, and the padded hip belt was useful on a visit like this, the place largish water and meals carries have been frequent. 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 fluctuate 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 snug below the pressure of heavyish hundreds (Note: In anticipation of the large carries, I nearly went with my Hyperlite Southwest 2400 (which has an inside body). Ultimately 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 Ultra Raptor 2 – One pair of footwear for all the 800 miles (1,287 km). I’ve been utilizing the Raptors commonly for the previous 5 – 6 years. Hands down, my all-time favorite path operating shoe for rugged environments.

• (New) MacPac Nitro Alpha Direct Fleece – I’ve had the Nitro for simply over a 12 months, 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 nice right down to round freezing.

• Sony a6400 Camera – I’ve nonetheless acquired so much to find out about optimising the 6400 for various situations, however on a journey like this in such a singular place as Utah, the load penalty was properly value it.

One of the perfect campsites of the journey within the Canaan Mountain Wilderness (Shelter – Tarptent Stratospire 2, Quilt – Katabatic Alsek 22)(Photo by Kate Pickett).

Dropping into Coyote Gulch from King Mesa (Backpack – ULA Ultra X Nexus, Trail Running Shoes – La Sportiva Ultra Raptor 2)(Photo by Kate Pickett).

Acknowledgements

As is at all times the case with this type of lengthy hike, there are a bunch of parents who helped to make it attainable:

• First and foremost, Kate, whose deep affinity for the Utah wilderness is matched solely by her uninhibited sense of marvel and curiosity.

• Kelli, Thomas, Wendy and Kent – Thank you for the superb hospitality pre and publish hike. An further shout out to Wendy for driving us out to our start line west of Enterprise.

• Thank you 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 occasions through the journey, however once you’re mountaineering via areas by which hitching isn’t precisely the norm, you’ll be able to’t assist however really feel further appreciative. On that be aware, a particular due to Chuck, Gary and Tabitha, Morgan, Chad, and the “daughter of Utah.”

• Joel, Sean, and Rachel – the crack archeological restoration crew at Hovenweep National Monument.

• And, final however not least, Paul and Joan. Not solely did Mags drive 2.5 hours to select us up from Hovenweep (bearing a cooler stuffed with recent fruit, drinks, and yoghurt!), however he and Joan have been additionally form 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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