This site has blogs from Brian and Martina’s longer walking trips in the great outdoors. We have done 3 multi-month hikes in the USA over the years and there is a blog of each here; the Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail and the Hayduke. Plus lots of other stuff including Canada, the UK, Austria, Spain...There are some se kayaking posts too.
We stay in the village of Fortrose, Scotland- near to the highlands, home of some great mountains, coastal and island scenery. We get out into the mountains most weekends or more but escape from the variable weather to sunnier climates abroad whenever we can! That includes rock and ice climbing, camping, sea-kayaking, hiking and lots of sheep farming as well – in both our home country of Scotland and on trips afar. You can see these activities from our photos link on the menu.
Introduction For all Martina and I’s backpacking over the years, we have actually done very little long distance walks in our home country of Scotland. I guess one of the reasons is that we have explored Scotland extensively as part of hillwalking, climbing, kayaking and other trips such that there is less of a sense of discovery for us here. Not to say that Scotland isn’t fantastic with its beautiful mix of hills, sea and islands, ever changing light and accessibility throughout the year. And there is still plenty new for us to see, particularly around the coasts. But Scotland also does have challenges for backpacking over many days, with principle adversaries being wet weather with boggy underfoot conditions and, in summer- the midge!
The Isle of Skye though has a potentially wonderful backpack of about 7 days duration and 80 miles (130km) called the Skye Trail. Brian thought he would give it a go in the autumn of 2022….
Skye Trail Map from Cicerone
What’s it like? The Isle of Skye sits off the north west coast of Scotland. Its both mountainous and has a rugged coastline and the trail goes through both. There are some tremendous landscapes and, maybe I am biased, but the scenery is world class in places. In the south are the Cuillin mountains which are the most rugged in the British Isles. In the north is the Trotternish Ridge where the trail traverses a long undulating ridge with splendid views and other worldly rock formations at either end. The coastal sections are equally good, particularly around Elgol in the south and Flodigarry to Rubha Hunnish in the north. That’s a lot of excitement to pack into 7 days! I have a short description of my hike below as well as some notes on planning further on.
My hikesouth to north
Day 1 Broadford to Torrin This was a short easy day. I started late from Broadford around 4pm but still made it just short of Torrin to camp at the bay of Camus Malag before joining road. The trails are dry making for relaxed walking over to the coast at Boreraig, with its town ruins evidence of Highland Clearances described in Walkhighlands. There is a lovely coastal path round to Loch Slapin and the views of the mountain Blabheinn (pronounced Blaven) in particular are spectacular. A really enjoyable mellow start.
Day 2 Torrinto Elgolto Camasunary This is another short guidebook day and I hiked on from Elgol for an extra few hours to camp to the north at Camasunary Bay. I started with a road walk through the small settlement of Torrin (the cafe was closed unfortunately!) and round the head of Loch Slapin. Good views to the mountains here and there is roadside camping opportunities next to the sea but you may need to share with campervans. The route leaves the road at the Blaven trailhead following a trail south for about 4km to return to the tarmac.
[Note that you could do a wild alternate here by hiking to the summit of Blaven, then down its south ridge to Camasunary. The panoramic views are great, but its a 3000 feet climb with rough ground on the descent and some scrambling. One for good weather. Maybe on balance I would recommend the Coruisk – Sgurr na Stri alternative below instead].
I had showers and rainbows as I hiked through Kirkibost [a shortcut alternate takes you direct to Camasunary from south of here on a landrover track but its not as good as the normal route]. then a series of again viewful tracks south above the coast to near Spar Cave. I didn’t visit the cave but I think it would be a superb diversion-note you need a low tide to access it.
Another quiet road headed east over to Elgol. More great views out to sea and across to the Isle of Rum here.
I stopped at Elgol for a late lunch before turning north on a excellent trail to Camasunary. This was the best section so far as I headed along the, at times exposed, trail looking to the Cuillin mountains. You could camp at Glen Scaladal, there is some beach plastic ‘flotsom and jetsom’ but its still a good spot. I stopped beyond at Camasunary Bay to camp (there is also a popular bothy here you could stay at). Superb day.
Day 3 Camasunary to Sligachan The normal route here is straightforward following Glen Sligachan north on a good trail. This provides everchanging views to the Cuillin peaks above but stays low in a valley and misses the Cuillin’s themselves which is a pity.
I took a somewhat more interesting route round the coast to Loch Coruisk via the ‘Bad Step’, then along the south of Loch Coruisk, up over the Cuillin ridge at the pass Bealach na Glaic Moire then after some scrabbling scree descents I connected with trails on the west of the mountains to Sligachan. Description and map of the options below
My day started with a crossing of the river west of Camasunary over some stepping stones about 300m inland from the sea. I managed to stay dry which was a bonus as I have been soaked here before as it’s tidal and the river rises a lot during wet spells. Next up was a grand rough trail round the coast to the outlet of Loch Coruisk. This is atmospheric territory and reaches a crescendo at the ‘Bad Step’ – a sloping slab of rock perched above the sea. It is short and requires a Grade 2 (US Class 4 maybe) scramble using a crack line as a hand rail. Once past that I followed a faint trail through a short section of boulders and deep vegetation before exiting out over a shallow pass to Loch Coruisk. This was a fantastic spot with the loch walled in by imposing mountains.
There was a strong wind funneling down the loch and it was tough going along the lochside with lots of bog then a steep haul up to the high pass, Bealach na Glaic Moire, on the Cuillin ridge itself. I stopped for lunch hunched down behind a boulder from the gale force winds but the views were superb. The descent involved some (to be honest unpleasant) steep scree before I picked up a good trail above the crowded ‘Instagram spot’ of the Fairy Pools. I sped on over the pass, Bealach a’ Mhaim, with heavy rain showers preventing me stopping for a brew of tea to relax. There are beautiful waterfalls on the way to Sligachan which are quiet- unlike the Fairy Pools -and would be great for a dip if it was a bit warmer! Another superb day.
Along Loch CoruiskThe ‘Bad Step’Showers on the west side of the CuillinsBack down to Loch Coruisk and Elgol from the passHeading to the ‘Bad Step’ (April 2021)
I think a better variant between Camasunary and Sligachan that I would recommend to maximise the drama and scenery is via Coruisk – Sgurr na Stri.
Red- normal route
Purple – Coruisk – Sgurr na Stri recommended variant
Purple dashes – My route September 2022
Purple dots-A better alternate to my route following the Druim nan Ramh ridge but with a scramble at the top
Coruisk – Sgurr na Stri From Camasunary cross the river and take the coastal trail to the west past the ‘Bad Step’ (Grade 2 scramble) to Loch Coruisk. Take the trail north over a pass before descending down into Glen Sligachan and the main Skye Trail. Better still is to also cut back south on a trail to the summit of Sgurr na Stri for some brilliant views. Return back to the trail to Glen Sligachan.
Sgurr na Stri summit April 2021Looking down to the Loch Coruisk outlet fromSgurr na Stri
Day 4 Sligachanto Portree This is the least interesting day of the hike, more of a connector between the Cuillin mountains and the Trotternish ridge north of Portree. On the plus side the views can be good reducing the slightly dull 10.5km of road walking. I set off from Sligachan campsite in dark cloudy weather and followed the pleasant path along the north shore of Loch Sligachan. Views are good (again!) and you see the Raasay ferry setting off on its short voyage. Unfortunately the sky’s opened once I hit the minor road so it was heads down from there into Portree for me!
Back south to Raasay and Scalpay
Day 5 Portree to The Storr trailhead It was raining hard in Portree and checking the forecast showed more rain for the next three days so I reluctantly stopped at this point and intend to return to backpack the remaining 3 days in better weather!
I did do this section in May 2021 though. A good trail leads round Portree harbour and bay- I saw both sea eagles and golden eagles on the climb out onto the ridge to the north. Views back to the Cuillin mountains and over to Raasay are splendid. It gets a bit boggier descending north but there is a short road you meet above Bearreraig Bay. I took the steep path down to the bay past the hydro station to its cool beach and fossils. A short but excellent day with Portree bay and a ridge walk.
Portree
Day 6 The Storr to Flodigarry – Trotternish ridge Again I have hiked this ridge in the past and it is a brilliant undulating grassy ridge walk with expansive views. To the east are the hills of the mainland and the isles of Raasay and Rona. To the west are the island chain of the Outer Hebrides. At both ends are the weird rock formations of The Storr in the south and The Quirang in the north. Try and savor all of this on a good weather day.
Looking south down the Trotternish Ridge from the QuirangThe Quirang
Day 7 Flodigarry to Rubha Hunish and Duntulm A mostly cross country coastal walk to Sky’s most northerly point Rubha Hunish which has a wild spacious feel looking out across the sea to Harris.
Coast east of Rubha HunishLookout and bothy aboveRubha Hunish
Planning Walkhighlands has an excellent web guide. Cicerone also a has a detailed guidebook available in paper or eBook. I think the Harvey Maps Skye Trail paper map is also very useful. No permits are required, you can wild camp easily outside the towns and access to drinking water isn’t a problem. There are good bus services down the length of the island connecting the start and finish, as well as Portree and Sligachan. Check the guides or use an app such as Google Maps.
Approaching Loch Coruisk
Best direction I don’t think it matters too much. However if you are flexible then checking the forecast wind for the week (see links below) and hiking with the wind might prove a good idea.
If you are not wild camping then you have a long, exposed day along the Trotternish ridge between The Storr carpark and Flodigarry in the north. It might be best to do this near the end of the trip and thus hike northwards so you have time to ‘warm up’ before tackling this stage. If you are wild camping it doesn’t matter as you could pitch your tent along the ridge.
Hiking terrain There is a huge mix! From trails, cross country along ridges and coast – and some stretches of tarmac. Expect some bog, especially in wetter periods between Portree and Flodigarry.
I reckon there is about 28km of the 130km total length on tarmac, with the longest stretch being 6.5 miles (10.5km) between Sligachan and Portree in the middle. On the plus side the roads are quiet and the views are mostly extensive, but its a bit more than I would like on a trail.
Best times I will be honest, Skye has a pretty wet climate with the prevailing weather bringing damp air from the Atlantic on south westerly winds. I had a quick look at the web and for example the town of Portree on the Skye Trail has about double the precipitation (1815mm average annual) compared to Tuolumne Meadows in the USA on the Pacific Crest Trail. I suspect Portree is one of the driest parts of the Skye Trail as well! But there are dry spells and mixed cloudy, showery weather can provide clear air and beautiful, atmospheric views.
But when is best? Here are some factors to consider…. April to July is the driest time in Skye. For me from November to February is too dark, wet and boggy. The biting insect called the midge makes itself felt from some time in May to September. Tourists flock to Skye in summer and they won’t impact your hiking but they do make it more difficult and expensive to get accommodation if you need it. So I would say April, May, early June along with late September and early October are the best times to plan in advance – with May perhaps being optimal. That said Skye has very variable weather and can be good or bad any month of the year. Ideally to me it would be best to plan your hike in advance but have some flexibility to look at forecasts before you set off such as: Met office Portree, The Storr, Mountain forecast for North West Scotland
There are a number of long distance hiking trails to the south of us in England. We have done some bits and bobs of these over a period of about 5 weeks and overall had a great time.
Coast to Coast Trailabout 2 weeks across northern England in 2015 and 2016 through the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks.
South West Coast path in Cornwall. We have hiked 2 weeks of this trail in 2019 and 2020 out of about 6 weeks in total.
Cumbria Way crossing the Lake District National Park in 2022 for about 70-80 miles, north to south between Carlisle and Ulverston on Morecambe Bay.
The Cumbria Way is a 70ish mile long route north-south through the Lake District National Park in northern England. Brian hiked this over 4 days and 80 miles in August 2022 with some variations to ‘bag’ and camp on hill summits.
Overall I found it a nice, mellow hiking route with plenty of lush bucolic Lakeland scenery. It provides great opportunities to hike variations as I pleased with an almost unlimited labyrinth of trails criss crossing the lakes which could be connected up.
The trail has two distinct characters; the first and last 15 miles or so are outside the Lakes and are at low level, crossing farmland, often along field edges with views to the distant hills. The central section from Caldbeck in the north down to about Coniston Water goes through the heart of the Lakes and offers classic beautiful scenery.
The going is on trail the whole way, but it isn’t that well waymarked and I found that I needed to keep a map at hand at each of the many trail/road/field intersections. The trail can be hiked in either direction and I hiked south from Carlisle but the guidebooks and most other hikers go from Ulverston north.
Most people do the trail in 5 days and stay in towns along the way; either B&Bs or campsites. It is possible to wild camp – as I did for 2 of the 3 nights – as long as you ‘stealth camp’ responsibly i.e. pitch in the evening and break camp early in the morning and follow leave no trace principles.
I used the Cicerone guide which had pretty good background but would be more useful for a northbound hike as that is how it is written. I love the Cicerone guides in general but this one is quite text based and was tricky to read going in the other direction. In retrospect maybe the Harvey strip map of the route would have been more useful. I also downloaded Ordnance Survey topo maps to my phone (I used the OutdoorActive Android App) which was very handy.
Getting to the start and finish is straightforward as both are well served by railway. Trains run a number of times every day between Carlisle and Ulverston and take between 2 to 3 hours (you can choose to pay £40 for the 2 hour fast route or £18 for the slower 3 hour route- you make your choice!). Here also are a couple of good web sites on the trail:
I parked my car at a Council site near Carlisle train station (a bargain at £3 per day) and set off south at about 3pm. Camping spots are a bit tricky in this first section leaving Carlisle so I decided to push on to Caldbeck 15.5 miles away which has a great wee friendly site including a ‘hiker biker’ area. This day pretty much follows the Caldbeck River all the way to Caldbeck itself. It starts in the city of Carlisle but soon is out in at least suburban and then semi rural territory on a mix of paved cycle ways, trails, fields and dirt roads. A trail closure (temporary hopefully) north of the town of Dalston was a bit of a surprise and I ended up doing a longer route round finishing with 2 miles along the grass verges of a busy B road. Not great hiking but I got past the closure quickly at least.
Day 2 Caldbeck – Keswick- Walla Crag
Caldbeck is a lovely village with a campsite, 2 cafes, pub/hotel and friendly village store. From here the route climbs into the ‘fells’ of the Lake District to High Pike with panoramic views south to the hills to come, out east to the Penines and back north to Scotland. There’s a cool small wooden hut on the way – ‘Lingy’ – maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association which would be a good overnight stop.
Caldbeck store with comfy cushion seats- perfect!Lingy BothyInside Lingy BothyHigh Pike
I deviated off to ‘bag’ Knott, another hill nearby that I hadn’t climbed before. It was well defended though with boggy, tussocky ground so was hard going! Back on the Cumbria Way I passed Skiddaw House then followed a viewful balcony trail around Lonscale Fell into the ‘bustling’ town of Keswick.
Approaching Keswick
I just realised that it was the Friday of a Bank Holiday weekend- and it was mobbed! I had some dinner and shopped for a couple of days food to make it easy to wild camp, then happily left town at about 6pm.
I took an alternate to the main Cumbria way by heading along some hill tops on the east of Derwent Water, rather than the official route which goes down the west side at low level. This also provided a great camp spot near Walla Crag….
Walla Crag camp
Day 3 Walla Crag to Lingmoor Fell
After a very still night with some mist down below, I had some midges around at breakfast but set off south with great views around and to Derwent water below. I soon made it down to Ashness Bridge with a short quiet road walk through forest then steeply down to the Borrowdale Hotel at the south end of Derwent Water. Above was a climbing cliff, Shepherds crag I have been to in the past with some classic routes.
Looking down to Derwent Water
There were good trails round the foot of Derwent Water and I soon rejoined the Cumbria Way again on mellow low level walking into the small cluster of rustic houses at Rossthwaite for a fine snack/ lunch stop at the café.
Ashness BridgeBack to SkiddawRossthwaite
From there I headed out into more open hill country up Langstrath (the well named long valley). I sped past a couple of waterfalls that were thronging with people, but I did have a quick cooling dip in the river a bit higher up. The going got hot as I went over Stake Pass with it’s glacial drumlins and down to Langdale with more excellent climbing crags above.
Herdwick sheep shelter from the sunLangdale
The hills again beckoned for tonight’s camp and I traversed Lingmoor Fell to the south of Langdale. Here I experienced a first for camping on hill tops- I needed to put in my ear plugs to dampen the sound of music floating up from a party in the valley below!
Lingmoor Fell
Day 4 Lingmoor Fell to Ulverston
Another still, warm night and I quickly descended to Little Langdale then along lanes and trails to pick up the Cumbria Way again at High Park.
Back to Lingmoor Fell
I noticed my first Cumbria Way trail sign here- hoorah! Rolling lower level fields and woodland made for quick walking into the town of Coniston for early lunch. Hiking south of the town alongside Coniston water I took a well needed dip to cool down – superb! From there the Way headed over moorland covered in thick bracken and heather but thankfully with a clear path through the vegetation. I now had the ‘bit between my teeth’ and decided to push on to the end of the trail that day. The air was hot and muggy but the ground was dry and the walking was easy into the pretty town of Ulverston.
Route We had plenty of time to spend in Arches NP to align with our permits for the next section so took a longer indirect more scenic route in parts than the Hayduke. We walked from Moab Canyonlands Airport, across H191 to Tower Arch, then NE across Salt Valley to the Devils Garden, back SW across salt Valley following the pipeline to the Hayduke and Courthouse Wash.
Our route in purple and joining up with the red actual Hayduke in places
Willow Springs 03/27/22- Good pools before and small flow around the junction with Willow Springs.
Upper Courthouse Wash 03/27/22- Good flow down to Sevenmile Canyon then dry to near the road. We had a fair bit of bushwhacking after Sevenmile but may not have found the best route.
This year we followed the Hayduke route down Upper Courthouse Wash as opposed to 2014 where we took an another route described by Nic Barth ‘Arches Slickrock Alternate’ (green on the map). This slickrock line was way more enjoyable and scenic in my opinion – but did involve some Class 4 downclimbing down into the canyon.
Lower Courthouse Wash 03/27/22- Pretty mellow hiking but with more beaver activity this time than we saw in 2014.
Moab to Needles
Route We followed the Hayduke but with a few alternates as described. HT30.2 We did the Amasa Back alternative which was nice and recommended. We started at Kane Creek, where there was a trail from the Trailhead to a bridge over the creek a few hundred meters up from the Colorado River (the Colorado river backs up into Kane Creek making it awkward and muddy to cross). There is a steep scramble down from the high point into Jackson Hole on an old trail, but other than that it is trail or jeep roads with good views. Stopped at Base Camp and chatted to Tom who kindly let us fill up with water as well as admiring the tortoise! There were 2 river access points to the Colorado River for water south of Base Camp after HT4.5, see below.
HT6.8 This is Chicken Corner and hard to miss, see pic! We took a direct alt (purple line below) south up a mellow wash with a couple of 2-3m high scrambling steps to short cut the HT (red below) which is an indirect jeep road. Worthwhile- its shorter and more interesting than the jeep road I think.
HT11.3 We left the HT just south of the pass at HT11.3 for a grand alternative down Hermit Canyon based on the Kelsey Canyonlands guidebook. We then followed a lovely limestone bench above the Colorado River narrowing to a meter or so in places.
There likely was access to the Colorado River for water from the bench, both at the bottom of Hermit and at the first canyon south of Hermit, but we didn’t check either out so can’t confirm that.
There is also the cool Tangren old horse camp on the way (please leave everything in place). We couldn’t find the spring to the east of Tangren as described in Kelsey though, …. I have doubts that it still exists.
We continued on the bench along the rim to Lockhart Canyon. Here we thought we could cross Lockhart and continue south to connect with the Hayduke at Rustler Canyon. There was a small cairn at the rim of Lockhart looking like we could drop down into the canyon. However we didn’t fancy it, the top looked too loose and rubbly for us!
Instead we followed the rim of Lockhart east easily on the same bench. Continuing along the rim of the north fork back to the Hayduke at HT20.9 and the foot of the Nic Barth Lockhart Cliff descent and a big pour off (black line below). This Hermit alternate taking you above the Colorado River is scenic and varied. Contact me if you want more info.
Overview map showing our Hermit Canyon route in purple along the Colorado river (Hayduke in red)
HT20.9 There was a small clear flow of water coming down a slabby gully within the first half mile south of HT20.9 but I suspect this would be short lived after the rain we had about 4 days before so I wouldn’t rely on it. HT25.4 Lockhart had a good flow for about 1/3 mile
HT32.3 Rustler dryfall. there was a small pool just above the dryfall but Rustler was dry below. The direct route under the chockstone was fun!
HT35.1 Indian Creek. Pools of water in this stretch but no flow.
HT39.3 ‘We hope so’ wash. About 1/4 mile south of HT39.3 there is a large pothole of water just under a small dryfall (as mentioned by Jamal Green in Across Utah). We took a side route out to the Colorado River neck lookout. Nice view and a short diversion starting from 200-300m before the pothole in ‘We hope so’ wash. Would be a nice camp spot too…
Needles to Hanksville
Route We took a northerly alternate from the Hayduke over the Colorado River at Spanish Bottom, through the Maze, Hans Flat and Happy Canyons to join the Hayduke at Poison Springs.
Red=Hayduke, Purple=2022 Alternate via The Maze, Black=2014 Alternate via Ernies Country and South Fork Happy
In 2014 we took another alternate and what both have in common is that from Needles in Canyonlands National Park, we end up at the Colorado River at a place called Spanish Bottom. From the north bank of the river we climb up again over remote plateau and end up in the well named Happy Canyon and then cross the even more appropriately named Dirty Devil river. Credits for our 2022 route go to Jamal Green who describes it on his excellent Across Utah website.
Needles visitor centre to Colorado River – We saw no water on the trail from Big Springs down Cyclone Canyon then Lower Red Lake. We took water from the Colorado.
Maze – Standard descent from west of Chimney rock to Pictograph canyon – small pothole on scramble descent and small potholes at canyon bottom about where marked by Kelsey as a spring.
Maze- Wash north of the Harvest Scene, on the west side of the canyon junction -small seep flow
Maze – Foot of the Maze Overlook trail – Good water in pools with a small flow.
North Trail Canyon – Small pothole just before steep zig zag exit. We didn’t notice any water between Maze Overlook and here.
Hans Flat Ranger Station- Sells gallon jugs and open between 8 and 4.30.
North French Springs Fork – Medium pothole of water in wash above steep constructed trail descent. Well used by feral donkeys though and we didn’t take.
North French Springs Fork- Constructed trail descends steep section round a nose to the boulder filled wash at bottom and then continues criss crossing wash to easier ground after boulder section. Makes for a relatively easy passage.
North French Springs Fork- Slickrock pothole area down wash mentioned by Jamal Green was dry.
Happy Canyon- Small seep 1 mile below French Springs Fork junction. Good pools and seeps 3 miles below. We also saw these in April 2014. Happy Canyon narrows had some small potholes which may be better than the muddy water in the Dirty Devil…
Poison Spring Canyon- Good flow about 1 mile below and 2 miles above the spring.
Henry Mountains
Route We hiked from H95 past Little Egypt then joined the Hayduke before Crescent Creek. We then took an alternate dirt road south over Copper Ridge to Airplane Spring. Due to Brian’s blisters(!) we then turned about and hiked back to H95 but this time following the Hayduke from Crescent Creek to H95.
Little Egypt – This is an alternative route south of the Hayduke Trail from H95 as described by Nic Barth. The hoodoos and mining cabins were interesting and worthwhile as an alt.
Crescent Creek– Good flowing water as the jeep track nears the creek bed. Nice camping on the west side of the river too.
Airplane Spring on a lower alternate on the south slopes of the Henry Mountains had reasonable water in two wells inside the fenced off area.
Escalante to Kanab
Route The route we took between Escalante town and Highway 89 was really enjoyable and recommended with a particularly great sequence of canyons in the middle in the area of the Paria River. We pretty much joined up 3 alternatives described by Jamal Green along with some information from Michael Kelsey’s guide;
Our route in purple, and red where joining the Hayduke
Alvey Wash- 04/25/22 About 5.5 miles south of Escalante town on Smokey Mountain dirt road- there was water running here where the wash narrows.
Mossy Dell- 04/25/22 This is about 19 miles from Escalante town and mentioned as a water source by Jamal but we couldn’t find any water here unfortunately.
Collet Canyon forks- 04/25/22 The jeep road crosses a few forks of upper Collet Canyon but all were dry for us. It looks like they might flow for a bit following rain.
Headquarters Springs- 04/26/22 A number of small flows of water here. We couldn’t find the cabin marked on the map though…
Corral south of Grosvener Arch- 04/26/22 Two good full tanks of water here, see map below.
Round Valley Draw, HT Section 8 mile 2.9- Our second time down these narrows and this is an excellent scramble.
Hackberry Canyon, HT Section 8 mile 11.2- 04/27/22 Water started from about here. Bear in mind its a tough walk down canyon from the narrows of RVD to this point in deep soft sand. Also this area was fouled by cattle making the water a little less inviting!
Hogeye Creek- 04/28/22 Excellent water flow in two shady sections in the middle of Hogeye down to maybe half a mile before the Paria River.
Paria River- 04/28/22 This was flowing quite clear between Hogeye and Kitchen.
Kitchen Canyon- 04/28/22 Very, very muddy flow. The canyon is so rubbly and loose that it looks like it the water flow is full of mud and silt from the side walls sliding into the wash.
Starlight Canyon- 04/29/22 Lovely flow of good water up the length of this canyon to where we exited at the cave.
1/2 mile to north of Kitchen Corral Spring (HT 43.4) – 04/30/22 Good small flow 1/4 mile east of Hayduke Trail dirt road along side canyon on jeep road. Go over barbed wire to small spring that is piped off so the canyon looks dry before you get to the spring.
H89 Buckskin to Jacob Lake
Route We followed the Hayduke in this section for the first time(!) with the exception of the enforced fire reroute on the AZT below…
Water- we relied on a single wildlife guzzler source on the AZT about 4 miles south of the Utah-Arizona state border, which seems reliable. That said there was a fair bit of activity at the state border with a few northbound AZT hikers finishing each day in May so there could be a fair chance of picking up water from people here to meet AZT hikers.
AZT diversion- there was a rerouting of the AZT north of Jacob Lake due to burn areas impacting the trail. See sign below…
Whilst on the AZT, the AZT water report provides good hiker updated water reports.
Jacob Lake to Grand Canyon South Rim
Route We mostly followed the Hayduke in this section apart from at the end where we hiked out of the Grand Canyon to the south rim on the Grand View Trail. This shortened the route a bit and we had already hiked the remainder part along the Tonto Trail and up South Kiabab Trail in 2014.
South from Jacob Lake the Hayduke follows the well maintained and relatively popular Arizona Trail (AZT) for about 30 miles. AZT water report
Its dry from leaving the AZT til hitting Nankoweap Canyon about 8 miles down from the North Rim on Nankoweap Trail. This trail is really scenic and makes for a superb hike. Nankoweap Canyon looks like a perennial stream with a gushing spring source just 10 or 20m downstream from where the trail hits the stream.
Once you hit the Colorado River there are a number of places to access the river for water. You can’t do this anywhere though so best keeping an eye on the map. The Nankoweap Granaries are definitely worth the side trip.
The route along the Colorado River between Nankoweap and the north of the Little Colorado can be pretty slow going over boulders with bushwhacking so allow plenty of time and best to start early if its going to be hot. We have managed to get lifts across the river to the Little Colorado outlet pretty easily within a few hours both times we have been there.
Hance Creek had a good, if small, flow of water.
Overall, from Jacob Lake to South Rim is a brilliant hiking expedition. We were there in May and at that time a challenge is the heat down in the bottom of the canyon.
Grand Canyon South Rim to North Rim
Route We followed the Bright Angel and North Kiabab trails. These are popular and make for easy hiking for anyone who has hiked the Hayduke or variants to here. We camped at Cottonwood but I guess could have made it the whole way rim to rim if we weren’t able to get a permit.
The temperature was in the low 40C range at Phantom Ranch and to avoid that we had a really early start from South Rim then spent a while cooling down at Ribbon Falls (a must see anyway).
North Rim to Kanab Creek
Section 13 miles 27.9-37.4 I think the section down Saddle Canyon to Upper Tapeats Campground is one of the toughest sections of the Hayduke, although with some great scrambling and scenery. We were here mid May and it took us about 10 hours but that included about 1-2 hours time wasted scrabbling about at a wrong exit from Saddle Canyon.
The initial descent down Saddle Canyon (28.6-30.2) was cross country with some scrub in the dry bed of the creek but wasn’t too hard at all. Maybe with more people on the Hayduke it is gradually getting easier.
We missed the correct exit from the dry canyon bed at 30.2 to traverse around the dryfall and headed uphill too early. There are a few smaller dryfalls you get to first which have cairns on the left side but you need to go down past these to more cairns before the bigger dryfall. The route from there back into Saddle Canyon involves traversing on the left, west side onto a ridge then descending its west side to a small side wash and back into Saddle Canyon. It was pretty slow going, scratchy bushwhacking but had some cairns and signs of traffic.
Once you are back into Saddle Canyon at mile 31.0 the character changes straight away to scrambling and hiking inside the slickrock canyon. There were a few drop offs where we were happy to have a team to assist each other and lower packs- it would be trickier solo. The cord to lower packs was definitely useful. We didn’t really get too wet in the slickrock potholes, maybe knee deep. A superb canyon.
The scrambling ends at 32.6 with the Stina Canyon junction. From memory there were two small potholes at 33.1, the junction with Crazy Jug Canyon. The next few miles were very hot down a rubbly dry streambed and slow going. The going gets nicer about 1/2 mile before Tapeats Spring though with cottonwoods, shade, pools and running water.
Once we met Tapeats Spring the river changed character to a raging and loud cataract! There is a trail which helps a lot, starting on the south side and crossing the river at reasonable places with some scrambling along the way. We maybe had knee deep water (but very fast flowing) after a dry spell, any more might have made progress difficult. The area is really dramatic and scenic and a stand out of the Hayduke if you have low enough water levels!
Hildale to Zion
Our route deviated from the Hayduke to cross Canaan Mountain from Hildale to Rockville.
Our 2022 route in purple, Hayduke in red and some other alts in black
This is a marvelous hike has a real Hayduke flavor to it with a mix of trails, cross country, route finding and superb scenery. Its downside is that it misses out the ‘Barracks’ on the Hayduke which is also top class (we were there in 2014).
Water is available in the well named Water Canyon, then there are some big potholes in the slickrock wash at the top of Water Canyon. Sawmill Spring had water about 10 minutes downstream from the spring itself and there was some seeps and pools in the slickrock below that.
It is now late May and near the end of the season here for us in southern Utah as the temperature is getting a bit too hot. We picked up a rental car though and did some day trips in around the Zion and Bryce National Park area…. We have been to Bryce Canyon before, but it was hard to resist the mellow pleasant hiking in this popular park with cooler temperatures high up above the lower canyons
Bryce Canyon
Parowan gap north of Cedar City. Southern Utah. An impressive array of pretty abstract looking petroglyphs etched into the rock.
Zion National Park, looking south to the peak of North Guardian AngelEnjoyable scrambling up slabs on North Guardian AngelMellow green pastures in western Zion National Park approaching a cave with pictographsLooking back out from a pictograph cave in Zion NPThese pictographs are etched out of fire blackened walls in the cave and it seems of unknown ageMore pictographs in the cave, this time using white pigment and some crazy looking creaturesYou can just see the tent, lower center, on rock slabs south of Hop Valley near Zion National ParkMartina, Heather and Dan. We were grateful to take part in a canyoneering trip arranged by Heather and Dan to Spry Canyon in Zion National Park. Thanks for inviting us!Some superb scrambling on slabs to approach Spry Canyon The descent of Spry Canyon involved about 12 rappels (abseils), lots of scrambling and a few dips into dank pools! Grand rock scenery here at the first rappel.The canyon narrowed upBrian abseiling (abseil 3 of 12 ?)Brian trying vainly to avoid one of the deep poolsDan descending into a pothole of cold waterMartina abseils off an overhangM at the M&M super store in Las Vegas Flying out of Las Vegas…
For the last section of our Hayduke hike we headed north from the Utah Arizona border to Zion National Park. Typically for us, we deviated from the actual Hayduke route to instead cross an area to the west called Caanan Mountain. Although to be fair to us, the final route used by the Hayduke in Zion NP (Weeping Wall) is currently closed due to rockfall so variants are pretty valid.
We hiked north through the streets of the town of Hildale from the Utah-Arizona state line into Water Canyon and the Caanan Mountain area.
We soon left the town for a steep ascent up Water Canyon
Into higher ground over beautiful cross-bedded sandstoneThe scenery just got better and better – Zion National Park in the backgroundColourful campsite on flat ‘slickrock’
In the morning we did a side hike up to the high rim of Water Canyon to see its arch…
Looking back down Water CanyonSome great hiking on the rock slabsWe can’t afford to be choosy when it comes to water! We carried this with us but thankfully later found a better supplyAmidst surreal black iron accretions on top of cream coloured sandstoneLooking south across the ‘Arizona Strip’ to the edge of Grand CanyonAn old winch or ‘Windlass’ used to lower timber down the 1000ft cliff to the plains below2nd night camp with grand views to Zion National ParkMorning hiking with Indian paintbrushLooking towards Zion before descendingSlow going with hot energy sapping sand, cross country and rubbly descents…desert now in full bloom……bloom…Back into town to pick up a rental car!
Many thanks for all the help we have received with planning and logistics for this hike from Charlie Neumann, Joe Mitchell, Li Brannfors, Monica Stapleton and Jamal Green; and for support, inspiration and shared enthusiasm from fellow Hayduke hikers Heather K, Nathan K, Mike Tyler, Ryan, Peter, Race, Not Guilty, Sprinkler and ‘Butcha; also the numerous wonderfully generous Americans (and two Danes) who gave us lifts in their cars to town and those we met who gave us fruit, water and kind words of encouragement!
Hiker Notes
Our route as mentioned above deviated from the Hayduke to cross Canaan Mountain from Hildale to Rockville. You can click on the overview map below to enlarge it. (Our route in purple, Hayduke in red and some other alts in black).
This is a marvelous hike has a real Hayduke flavor to it with a mix of trails, cross country, route finding and superb scenery. Its downside is that it misses out the ‘Barracks’ on the Hayduke which is also top class.
Water is available in the well named Water Canyon, then there are some big potholes in the slickrock wash at the top of Water Canyon. Sawmill Spring had water about 10 minutes downstream from the spring itself and there was some seeps and pools in the slickrock below that.
The attractively named “Swamp Point” high on the edge of the North Rim (no swamp, just a few mosquitoes) was our departure point back into the Grand Canyon after resting, eating and watching out for the endemic Kiabab Squirrel in the campground near North Rim Lodge.
Just below the rim lies Teddy’s (Roosevelt) Cabin, a cool ‘bothy‘. Apparently the great man stayed here on a cougar hunt – the cabin was built (and named) afterwards. From this piece of civilization our route headed into the wilds, sans trail, bushwhacking and scrambling down Saddle Canyon and then Tapeats Creek.
Teddy’s Cabin
Firstly we bushwhacked our way down through the scrub in upper Saddle Canyon. This was slow going but not too difficult until we took a route out to avoid a big dryfall. We climbed out the canyon too early and got into some nasty scrubby, loose sand scrambling before we returned back to the canyon and finding a set of cairns for a better route.
Upper Saddle CanyonOld burn area with lots of wild flowers
After a few hours of that, the walls of the lower part of Saddle Canyon suddenly rise up and form smooth alcoves above and slick chutes and channels under foot and we found ourselves sliding and scrambling down polished half pipes and overhangs into dark pools of water. By that time we were joined by a fourth hiker (Peter) and were able to assist each other, passing packs down the steep drops. Superb and exciting stuff, unfortunately I then stored the camera away in a waterproof bag for safety!
Hayduker Peter with huge Bighorn sheep skull we found in Upper Tapeats Creek
After the shady but steep narrows of Saddle Canyon, we joined Tapeats Creek which was dry and hot at mid day. But after a couple of hours of sizzlingly hot hiking with a few rests in the shade we thankfully reached pools of water, then flowing water and then to a roaring clear river which we had to cross numerous times.
Travelling through this terrain without trails is hot sweaty and challenging and we took 12 hours to cover 11 miles that day, arriving at our intended camping spot near the junction of Tapeats Creek and Thunder River at dusk. We were welcomed by a large pink rattlesnake who slithered away and happily was not seen again during the night!
Next morning at 5 am we climbed up 1,400ft to Thunder Spring, a roaring cascade of spring water gushing straight out of the limestone cliff. We knew the day would be hot, so the early start maximised the comparatively milder morning temperatures (and beautiful morning light).
Leaving Surprise ValleyThunder Spring
We rested for a couple of hours at the oasis-like Deer Creek in the welcome shade of cottonwood trees and descended the beautiful Deer Creek narrows before reaching the banks of the Colorado River itself around 11am. We were not alone: Deer Creek is a must-see side trip for river rafters.
Deer Creek narrows At the Colorado River
We found ourselves a shady cave under some big boulders and tried to sit out the heat. The forecast at river level had been for 107 F (41.6 °C) that day and the next.
We passed the day reading, venturing out only occasionally to dip in the pool below Deer Creek falls and to talk the boaters arriving at the beach. In the afternoon we (Brian and Martina) decided that it was way too hot to enjoyably continue hiking down the canyon (an off trail route requiring boulder hopping on the steep riverside most of the way for 8 miles or so, we had done this in 2017 but in cooler temperatures).
Camping on the way out of the Grand Canyon
So we hiked back uphill that evening and, with a 3.30am alarm the next morning and a helpful bright moon we continued upwards when it was cooler, all the way to the North Rim on the scenic Bill Hall trail. About a 4,700ft climb in all. There we got a lift with some friendly hikers from Idaho to the town of Hurricane, Utah.
Final ascent on Bill Hall trail up to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Heather and Peter have hiked on (hardier than us!). We are hopping forward and with the help of a cooler weather window hope to continue our route into Zion National Park…meantime we are enjoying a decadent town stop!
Hiker Notes
Section 13 miles 27.9-37.4 I think the section down Saddle Canyon to Upper Tapeats Campground is one of the toughest sections of the Hayduke, although with some great scrambling and scenery. We were here mid May and it took us about 10 hours but that included about 1-2 hours time wasted scrabbling about at a wrong exit from Saddle Canyon.
The initial descent down Saddle Canyon (28.6-30.2) was cross country with some scrub in the dry bed of the creek but wasn’t too hard at all. Maybe with more people on the Hayduke it is gradually getting easier.
We missed the correct exit from the dry canyon bed at 30.2 to traverse around the dryfall and headed uphill too early. There are a few smaller dryfalls you get to first which have cairns on the left side but you need to go down past these to more cairns before the bigger dryfall. The route from there back into Saddle Canyon involves traversing on the left west side onto a ridge then descending its west side to a small side wash and back into Saddle Canyon. It was pretty slow going, scratchy bushwhacking but had some cairns and signs of traffic.
Once you are back into Saddle Canyon at mile 31.0 the character changes straight away to scrambling and hiking inside the slickrock canyon. There were a few drop offs where we were happy to have a team to assist each other and lower packs- it would be trickier solo. The cord to lower packs was definitely useful. We didn’t really get too wet in the slickrock potholes, maybe knee deep. A superb canyon.
The scrambling ends at 32.6 with the Stina Canyon junction. From memory there were two small potholes at 33.1, the junction with Crazy Jug Canyon. The next few miles were very hot down a rubbly dry streambed and slow going. The going gets nicer about 1/2 mile before Tapeats Spring though with cottonwoods, shade, pools and running water.
Once we met Tapeats Spring the river changed character to a raging and loud cataract! There is a trail which helps a lot starting on the south side and crossing the river at reasonable places with some scrambling along the way. We maybe had knee deep water after a dry spell, any more might have made progress difficult. The area is really dramatic and scenic and a stand out of the Hayduke if you have low enough water levels!
After a day’s rest in South Rim village, we descended once more into the Grand Canyon and hiked to the North Rim on the popular Bright Angel and North Kiabab trails. The forecast was for temps of a sizzling 97 F down at the river so we decided to set off early….
5am, descending into the Grand Canyon on the Bright Angel TrailLush springs provide a green interlude at Indian GardenBridge over the Colorado on the approach to Phantom RanchSmall wildlife Ribbon Falls, a short way from the main trail and a shade and water refugeWe sat behind the falls to cool down with frogs a croaking!
We set off early again from Cottonwood camp to avoid the heat climbing up to the North Rim. The steady climb was made easier by a good well trodden trail…
Looking back to the South Rim from the patio of North Rim Lodge (on the day before the road into the North Rim opens)
At the small lodge of Jacobs we joined forces with Heather whose three hiking partners have all left the trail for various reasons. Good to have more options when it comes to the point where we have to draw lots about which member of the expedition to eat when we run out of food, for we were now heading back out on a pickup truck to the tough part if the trail: the Grand Canyon!
Heading back to the trail in styleThe Arizona Trail (AZT) a “proper” trail to follow
But first the trail keeps following the AZT on the plateau up to 9000 feet altitude through aspen (still mostly leafless), fir, spruce and pine forest with open alpine meadows in between. Winter is only just retreating here.
Snow melt and springs galore!Crystal SpringCamped near water at SourdoughKiabab Plateau
We reached the edge of the Grand Canyon at Nankoweap on our second night out, with gale force winds and we camped in relative shelter amongst aspens at the edge of the cliffs dropping down into the Grand Canyon. Next morning we started our 6,000 foot descent to the Colorado River at dawn.
Dropping down towards Nankoweap canyonPrickly pear paradise low down in the Grand Canyon near Nankoweap riverAgave utahensis var kaibabensis
The heat ramped up as we descended down to the inner cauldron of the Colorado River. We camped that night at the bottom of Nankoweap canyon on the shore of the Colorado Rivet itself with stormy gusting winds whipping sand and river water at us.
We were not alone however as there were two big motorised commercial river boats moored on our beach with about 25 clients. A private boat trip with 6 small rubber rafts was moored in the next bay downstream. In the evening we walked up to a viewpoint and afterwards chatted to the private rafters. They were a group of friends, relatives and acquaintances from all over the US. Their figurehead “Uncle Dave” was very welcoming and, once we had sourced a life jacket for each of us, generously invited us to travel 9 miles down river the next day with them..
Heather and Martina with boatman Brian (Big Dill)
After a fun (and wet from rapids) morning on the river with our boater friends, we got off at the Little Colorado River confluence with the Colorado and said our farewells.
View of the turquoise blue Little Colorado RiverCollared lizard posing by the trail
Our target for camping was Lava Canyon rapids and the trail stayed high above the river on balcony ledges until we got there. The wind was back and buffeting but at least helped keep us coolish in the 30C heat. We chose to camp in a dense grove of trees that provided shelter from the wind. When it got dark and the wind abated we sat on the beach for a while with our rafting friends camped opposite us on the other side of the river.
Camping opposite Lava Canyon Rapids
Because the mid day temperatures are way above 30°C, we start hiking at dawn now (5am). The best time to hike for beautiful light as well!
Hiking at first lightThe green corridor of the Colorado River
Tributaries to the Colorado River form a labyrinth of deep canyons that we followed until we can cross them, making for a wriggly but beautiful route. Some scrambling added to the interest- this is a great hike in the depths of the Grand Canyon.
Heather cools down with a hair rinseLunchtime tea beside the ColoradoLooking towards Hance Rapids, our next campsite
By chance, we met up with our boating friends again at Hance Rapids on the Colorado River where they had moored and we camped too with good access to water from the river. We were invited to their evening campfire circle and dinner.
Hance Rapids boaters camp
After 5 nights and 6 days hiking we arrived at the South Rim on May 11th. Fresh food, showers and rest beckon! Next we will hike back down into the canyon bottom and up to the North Rim to continue our hike…..
Dangers of the Hayduke!Long climb out to Grand Canyon rimHiking up to the South Rim via Hance Creek, Horseshoe Mesa andGrand View TrailTopping out of the Grand Canyon on the South rim after 6 days, dusty but happy!
Hiker Notes
Route We mostly followed the Hayduke in this section apart from at the end where we hiked out of the Grand Canyon to the south rim on the Grand View Trail. This shortened the route a bit and we had already hiked the remainder part along the Tonto Trail and up South Kiabab Trail in 2014. This part was also our least favourite hike due to the heat and paucity of water!
South from Jacob Lake the Hayduke follows the well maintained and relatively popular Arizona Trail (AZT) for about 30 miles. Good AZT water report website.
Its dry from leaving the AZT til hitting Nankoweap Canyon about 8 miles down from the North Rim on Nankoweap Trail. This trail is really scenic and makes for a superb hike. Nankoweap Canyon looks like a perennial stream with a gushing spring source just 10 or 20m downstream from where the trail hits the stream.
Once you hit the Colorado River there are a number of places to access the river for water. You can’t do this anywhere though so best keeping an eye on the map. the Nankoweap Granaries are definitely worth the side trip.
The route along the Colorado River between Nankoweap and the north of the Little Colorado can be pretty slow going over boulders with bushwhacking so allow plenty of time and best to start early if its going to be hot. We have managed to get lifts across the river to the Little Colorado outlet pretty easily within a few hours both times we have been there.
Hance Creek had a good, if small, flow of water.
Overall, from Jacob Lake to South Rim is a brilliant hiking expedition and if there in May, the main challenge is the heat down in the bottom of the canyon.
A wee walk 