Backpacking – A wee walk

2025 Escalante north backpack

October 5, 2025November 11, 2025 by aweewalk, posted in Backpacking, Escalante

We flew over from Scotland to the US at the end of September 2025 with permits to hike for 5 days down the iconic Buckskin Gulch and Paria River on the Utah/Arizona border. We have hiked here before (such as the Paria in 2016) but never the entire length of the two canyons together despite two previous attempts.

…..But it was not be this time either unfortunately due to thunderstorms and floods when we arrived at the trailhead. We visited nearby Waheap toadstools and ended up sheltering under a recess with a waterfall forming above. Buckskin in particular, being a very long slot canyon, is particularly dangerous during floods.

Och well, we had a long list of other potential hikes and quickly diverted to doing a route new to us in our much loved Escalante river catchment of southern Utah.

Our backpack was to take us over 7 days to Upper Muley Twist canyon, Lamp Stand , Egg Canyon, upper Gulch , unnamed slickrock area bordering Deer Creek, Brigham Tea Bench, lower Gulch , Escalante river ‘Ladder exit’, ‘Cosmic Navel’, Red Breaks-Spencer Flats and Phipps Wash to finish at the Highway 12 road bridge over the Escalante river.

To plan the hike, we relied on notes and maps from previous trips but also got inspiration and “beta” from the first part of Jamal Green’s ‘Via Escalante East’ Hayduke alternative from Muley Twist to the Gulch trailhead and (one of our favourite go-to sources for all things Escalante) Steve Allen’s books ‘Canyoneering 2 and 3‘. All are excellent resources and recommended.

29th September 2025 Day 1 Upper Muley Twist

We started late at about 3pm after a long but beautiful drive from Kanab and a 28 mile hitchhike from the Gulch trailhead to Muley Twist on the Burr Trail road. It took a while to get a ride even though plenty of cars stopped for us. Some stopped to asked us if we knew where ‘Singing Canyon’ was and some stopped to tell us they were going to ‘Singing Canyon’. We hadn’t heard of it and were starting to wonder how, after all the time we spent here over the last 20 years, we didn’t know about this famous canyon. Turns out is is a very short 30 meters slot next to a layby in Long Canyon. Nice photo stop, very busy by all accounts. Eventually we got a lift to the trailhead with a Catalonian tourist (who also stopped at Singing Canyon so we got to see it!)

Upper Muley Twist is a valley formed in the geological wonder of the waterpocket fold within Capitol Reef National Park. Here the usually horizontal layers are tilted steeply up and it is crawling with sandstone arches. Easy walking took us to Cap Arch, where we split west to head up a side canyon with some fun short scrambly sections around boulders to find a camp at a viewful saddle. A great short first day to get rid of those jetlag blues.

Day 2 Circle Cliffs – the Lampstand (spoiler: it looks nothing like a lampstand)

That first camp established a high standard for the rest of the hike with panoramas east to the Henry Mountains and west over the red Circle Cliffs to the golden aspen tinged plateau of Boulder Mountain.

Setting out from there, we had a bit of cross country up and down hard shale slopes onto a plateau which bore all the hallmarks of being used for cattle farming for the past 100 years. Ranching means water and we were going to rely on water from ‘The Onion Beds’, a couple of pools (enhanced by ranchers) with variable water supply. This time of year, the cows had gone on to better things so we were hopeful about the water but the recent rain had muddied the ponds to a bright orange. We took 6 liters with us anyway (never reject water in the desert) and followed jeep tracks north through pinyon juniper, sandy washes and gravelly plain towards the “Lampstand”.

Lucky for us the ranchers had put in a new, spring fed water supply near the Lampstand and we didn’t have to drink the Onion Beds water after all. Next to the covered spring was another stock pond (cow spa). The recent rains had filled this up with plant debris as well as water and there was a writhing mass of sinister looking little animals on the edge of one of the ponds. Turns out they were tadpole shrimps, a species that has been around 220 million years or so, since the dinosaurs. They are famous for being able to survive long periods of desiccation, an evolutionary marvel …but still quite creepy.

A few brief showers kept the air cool and clear as we climbed a little through colourful Chinle rock on old mine tracks to camp at ‘Pink Pass’ above Egg Canyon. There were incredible petrified (fossilised) trees nearby and the whole area was a vivid technicolour delight.

Day 3 Egg Canyon and The Upper Gulch

Egg Canyon in the morning provided a mellow, meandering walk down through purple and blue Chinle rock layers that looked like velvet in the glow of the light reflected into the canyon from the orange Wingate cliffs above. The canyon widens after a junction with the Gulch from the North, cottonwood trees come in and the well-named Water Canyon joining from the west was delivering a clear stream of water out of its grassy(!) mouth. From there the waters flowed down The Gulch all the way to the road bridge including a tranquil waterfall at a narrows with attendant dragon fly (there seems to be one at every pool this time of year).

Arriving at The Gulch TH and our car, we saw the first hikers we had seen since just after our start at Upper Muley Twist. Being short on food and needing to plan our next few days, we chose to drive back to Escalante town, resupply and return the next day to continue our hike southwards. Altogether this was a really enjoyable hike mixing tracks with cross country and loads of scenic variety.

Day 4 The Gulch -Slickrock and Boulders

Back at the Gulch TH, we aimed to climb straight up some broken cliffs to allow us to traverse ridges and washes between the lower Gulch and Deer Creek to the west. We spent time zig-zagging around ledges to find a way up through the rock layers, splitting up to search in different directions. Eventually we found a scrambling way almost straight above the trailhead onto a small sandy dome with panoramic views over the surrounding canyons and hills (this would be trickier to do if descending down in the other direction).

We were able to continue following the high ground on lovely rocky slabs (slickrock), dotted with rounded, black, volcanic boulders (guaranteed to put a smile on your face) before descending to cross a small canyon dip called ‘Sand Holler’.

Heading south west we found a few large potholes of water along a drainage dotted with Ponderosa pine before reaching a scenic, slabby saddle (we had camped here and scrambled up the peak to the north in 2017). This time we wanted to climb a steeper set of slabs south following an alternative route described by Steve Allen in Canyoneering 2 ‘for the slickrock aficionado’.

The initial climb felt a bit ‘out there’ though on a huge expanse of slabs and we had a bit of back and forth-ing to find a line of least resistance. Once up, we dropped at a lesser gradient into a unnamed valley system of rock slabs and water potholes to camp.

There are no adequate words in the English language to describe the beauty of the slickrock landscape that we moved through for the rest of this day and the next morning on this route: the sweep, the shapes, the colours, the ever so clearly visible imprint of deep time in the sandstone, the blue sky, the many many stars, the silence at night, the climbing of the moon, the blaze of the sunrise on the rock (you can almost feel the earth rotate under your feet!).

Day 5 More Slickrock to The Lower Gulch

We walked up a nearby peak for a glorious sunrise before continuing down more stunning slick rock slabs towards Deer Creek, then undulated over small slabby ridges on its east side before stopping for a rest above Boulder Creek narrows (crossing another previous hike, this time in 2019).

From this spot there are a few route options and we chose to cross over to the rim of lower Gulch canyon next via slabby ‘Tanks’ drainage and sandier Brigham Tea Bench, pleased to find a cairn or two marking a scrambling descent down into the narrow canyon.

*‘Varnished streaked wall’ in The* *Gulch*

The Gulch is scenic with steep red walls but the going got a bit tougher partly because the recent rain had made the walking very muddy and slippy and because the section towards the Escalante is quite overgrown and becomes more so, the close one gets to the big river. There was also a disappointing amount of fresh cattle trails and dung in the Gulch. We were also getting tired and still acclimatising to the desert heat so we were very happy to see the Escalante (like an old friend) flowing strong and pretty clear and offering us a lovely camp with cottonwood trees above (and a wash in the moonlight).

Day 6 Cosmic Navel and Spencer Canyon

Our aim today was to explore the Red Breaks-Spencer Flats areas above the west side of the Escalante river, but first we had to find a way out of the Escalante’s canyon bed. Our route involved wading down the river for a short distance past ‘ladders canyon’ (it reputedly had at some point ladders installed to climb out – we did not check their state of repair), then a scramble through the cliff bands. First on a rough trail up a bouldery gully, then a traverse left to find the easiest line up slabby rocks to the top (we had read of this exit route in Steve Allan’s book and involved “Moki steps” and were glad to find it an easy exit for us).

Making our way southward cross country we came across some pristine fluted sand dunes before ascending another slickrock valley dotted with big potholes full of water. Our destination for lunch was the weird rock feature known by various names including the ‘Cosmic Navel’. We saw other people here, our first since leaving the car at The Gulch TH. It’s an easy hike from a trailhead accessible by 4WD and we were here on the weekend so it was busy. It’s also very unusual and beautiful but equally impressive were the extensive red and white slick rock slabs to the north that we continued our days hike over after lunch.

Following a sandy drainage down northwards we made it to the top of the intriguing complex Spencer Canyon system, which appears mountainous from afar and has unusual criss-cross defiles as seen on the map below.

Once we had located some more very healthy looking water holes we decided to camp nearby and explore the edges of the canyons into the evening. It would be good to return and scramble down into the canyon bottoms here – one to return to!

Day 7 Big Spencer Flats and Phipps Wash

Walking west we followed a grove of Ponderosa trees formed in a line. The unusual presence of the Pondies here is highlighted by Mr Kelsey in his guidebook (which we love and honour) where he gives the precised number of trees he saw when he traveled here as 18 – we can report that some have fallen and some have sprouted and grown up since he put pen to paper so if anyone was to update the book, a recount would need to be done!) along a small valley slot before slowing down on a trail consisting of deep sand. Then a better dirt road (Old Sheffield Road) which made for easy walking across a flat plain with wide panoramas.

A car drew up (we were not hitch-hiking at this point) and the agitated driver exited the car and asked us if we had a vehicle that could help tow their friends car out of sand and mud a few miles away. It took a few repetitions of the words “we have no car, we are walking” before he was convinced that we were no use to him.

The canyon of Phipps Wash was our next target and we ended up skirting its small but steep headwall cliff to the west before dropping down into it’s upper bowl. This top section of Phipps contained yet more gorgeous colourful rock slabs as well as old horse shoes and cow bones. Once below the main pour overs, perhaps for the first time this week, the temperature got a little hot for us and we needed to rest in the shade under cottonwood trees. It got so hot that we didn’t even fancy going up to Phipps’ arch this time (we had been here in 2022 while having a break from Hayduke II).

There was almost no water in Phipps Wash (apart from a few smelly stagnant pools) which was a surprise because of the recent rain and the comparative abundance of water everywhere else. Also we had found good running water here in 2018 and 2022. This helped us make up our minds to put our heads down and hike out to the road at Escalante bridge on Highway 12 in the late afternoon to give us some time to hitch back to our car.

We totally lucked out again with a generous lift (sharing a back seat with an elderly Alsatian dog who took up half the seat while we shared the other half) and within the hour were back reunited with our hire car at The Gulch TH. These 7 days were absolutely packed with amazing sights and glorious cross-country off-trail walking over beautiful slickrock slabs. The Escalante area never lets let us down!

We also have a photo gallery here at pbase

Skye Trail Alternatives

May 26, 2025July 19, 2025 by aweewalk, posted in Backpacking, scotland, Scrambling, Skye

I have hiked and scrambled many alternatives to the standard Skye Trail over the years and describe them here. To be honest the standard route is great as well, but particulary the first alternative, Coruisk-Sgurr na Stri is fantastic if you are up for it. You can click the map below for an interactive version.

All require solid navigation skills – and some scrambling for 1,2,3 and 4. If you are considering any of these you should do your own planning with maps and further resources such as Ralph Storer’s ’50 Best Routes on Skye and Raasay’ book (lots in there for a lifetime of great adventures on Skye). ‘Skye Scrambles’ by the Scottish Mountaineering Club is also good…..

Red- Main Skye Trail

Purple- Alternatives

1. Coruisk – Sgurr na Stri

A superb trip that requires good navigation skills with a short scramble. A few hours longer than the main Skye Trail.

Leaving the Skye Trail at Camasunary I headed west along the lovely beach then crossed the river in September 2022 (tidal and I had to wade) and followed the rough coastal trail to the west past the ‘Bad Step’ (Grade 2 scramble) to Loch Coruisk. I have been here many times over the years and the scramble looks a little intimidating being perched above the sea but has good solid handholds and is a very short crossing of a steep slab (maybe 10 meters?)

I took the trail north over a pass before descending down into Glen Sligachan to connect again with the main Skye Trail.

Better still is to also cut back south near the pass on a trail to the summit of Sgurr na Stri for some brilliant views. Return back to the trail to Glen Sligachan.

2 Loch Coruisk and Bealach na Glaic Moire

This route includes the same scramble (Bad Step, Grade 2) but mostly the challenge is navigating over some pathless, rough mountain territory. Not recommended in misty weather.

This is an interesting and atmospheric mountain route round the coast to Loch Coruisk via the ‘Bad Step’ (Grade 2 scramble) as per route 1, then along the south of Loch Coruisk, up over the Cuillin ridge at Bealach na Glaic Moire (pass of the big glade) then a scrabbling scree descent to connect with trails on the west of the mountains to Sligachan.

I followed route 1 in September 2022 to Loch Coruisk then left it by crossing the loch outlet using stepping stones (very tricky if the river is high) and picked up a rough trail along the south side of Loch Coruisk.

The going was very rough, steep and slow all the way up to the Bealach but the views are superb and this route takes you into the heart of the Cuillin mountains and over the crest to the north side.

On the descent I carefully traversed right along a grassy shelf to find the top of the steep scree descent to easier grassy ground and alpine meadows.

From the grassy ground and river, I trended right away from the river gorge on a faint trail down to pick up a better trail heading northward skirting the edge of the hills to the gentle Bealach a’Mhaim. A good path now follows the river with lovely waterfalls to Sligachan.

3 Druim nan Ramh ridge

This route is a varient on routes 1 and 2 needing the ability to scramble (Bad Step, Grade 2 plus another short Grade 2 near the top of the Druim nan Ramh ridge) but again the challenge is navigating over some pathless, rough mountain territory. Not recommended in misty weather.

Purple dotted line above. This is a varient on the above two routes and involved following the long ridge on the north side of Loch Curuisk. I took the Bad Step route as per 1 (Grade 2 scramble), then the trail north over to the pass, then split north west along the Druim nan Ramh ridge. This offered great views and was easy until near the top before the junction with the main Skye ridge. The least difficult route involved some Grade 2 scrambling avoiding the ridge on the left looking up for the final stretch. The book ‘Skye Scrambles’ by the Scottish Mountaineering Club was helpful. I arrived at Bealach na Glaic Moire as per route 2, bivouaced for the night then I followed that route to Sligachan.

4 Blaven south ridge

This ascends Blaven, a 3,000-foot mountain with some scrambling and navigation required.

We have only done this route as part of a day trip, and it would be tougher carrying backpacking equipment if on the Skye Trail as it involves a steep 3,000 foot ascent from sea level. That said, Blaven is a great mountain, visible and distinctive from afar, that calls out to be climbed with fab views.

5 Camasunary short cut

A good quality trail. We have hiked this a few times. It’s included here as it offers a shortcut between Camasunary and Kilmarie if required. Although by doing so you miss the fine coastal walk between Elgol and Camasunary on the main Skye Trail.

6 Spar Cave

This is the one alternative, more of a side trip, that we haven’t done…although we would love to as the cave looks fantastic. Note that access to the cave is tidal but Walkhighlands provides all the details.

7 Storr ridge

This is the southern continuation of the Trotternish ridge on the Skye Trail. It’s less frequented though and involves some similar trackless and occasionally boggy ridge walking.

From Portree you need to walk up the A855 main road for about 1.5 miles before heading out cross country up the hills.

This is worthwhile and there are some really nice views including hiking to the top of the hill, The Storr above the Old Man of Storr, but to be honest I think the main Skye Trail route is better.

8 Quiraing north ridge

This is a route I did about 20 years ago northbound by splitting from the Quiraing trail before it descends to Flodigarry and following a trail to climb onto the north end of the Quiraing ridge.

I traversed some really scenic tops before descending boggy ground north west to the road at Kilmaluag. A short local road north took me to Kilmaluag bay and connecting with the main Skye Trail for its final flourish along the coast to Rubha Hunish.

Given the choice though I think the main Skye Trail has more merit with greater variety and drier ground for walking!

Skye Trail

May 9, 2025August 20, 2025 by aweewalk, posted in Backpacking, scotland, Skye

Introduction The Isle of Skye has a fantastic backpack (if you get reasonable weather, see planning below) of about 82 miles (132km) and 4-7 days duration called the Skye Trail.

The Isle of Skye sits off the north west coast of Scotland and has wonderfuly diverse geology and scenery. The trail traverses both mountains and coastline with some tremendous everchanging landscapes and, maybe I am biased, but the scenery is world class.

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 the 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 around 80 miles!

2025 southbound hike blog below
2022 northbound hike blog
Skye Trail Planning notes below
Skye Trail Alternative routes
Walkhighlands has an excellent web guide with descriptions and maps of the Skye Trail plus an off-line app

My hike May 2025 Southbound

Day 1 5th May 2025 Rubha Hunish to Flodigarry and the Quiraing

Skye’s bus service is helpful for accessing the Skye Trail at various points along the way, and I was able to leave my car at Sligachan and take buses north to Portree, then to the start at Shulista.

It had been very sunny here for the last few weeks which meant that the ground was pretty dry as I walked north at 1pm on an improved trail. The lookout and bothy at Rubha Hunish stands at a panoramic headland, with particularly good views north west to the Outer Hebrides over the small, wild looking island group of Fladda-chuain.

Next I headed east along the top of the cliffs on a surprisingly good line of faint dry trails with lovely views down to sea stacks and the hills of the mainland on the horizon.

Back down to sea level I passed the picturesque bay of Gobhlaig / Balmaqueen with its old church and then more gentle scenic cliff top walking along to the posh looking Flodigarry nestled in a rare woodland for these parts.

About 10 minutes walking along the main road gave access to the wide trail climbing up to the Quiraing, a wonderful series of peaks and pinnacles, and amazing to think its caused by landslips which are still active. This is a justifiably popular walking area but by the time I stopped for dinner about 5pm it was deserted. I took water and headed steeply up away from the trail to find a campsite in an incredible spot in amongst the towers. A really scenic first day.

Day 2 Quiraing, Trotternish, Old Man of Storr

Ravens were vocal in the early morning with their croaking echoing between the rock walls. I carried on southwards to cross a road and car park to start the hike along the long undulating Trotternish ridge. This provides superb walking with panoramic and subtely changing views all round to cliffs, islands and hills. I was glad I had saved this for a good weather day to appreciate this 14 mile high level stretch to the next road at The Storr.

Following the route was straightforward (in the clear weather I had anyway, it would be much trickier in mist), with a use trail along the cliff edge of the steep east facing slopes. It was also mostly dry underfoot, but my trail running shoes still got soaked on intermittent boggy seeps. Carrying a couple of spare pairs of socks and switching over to try and dry off the feet helped a bit though.

I saw a few hikers out today, maybe about 15 others mostly heading northwards but it still felt like a fairly wild experience. This changed as I neared The Old Man of Storr- another crazy, stunning set of pinnacles and popular tourist spot. I descended down past The Storr on a good maintained trail to the road and carpark packed with people. Well, it is justified, as it’s another incredible place that has been used in a few movies….

I left the hubub and crossed the road to follow another lower, more mellow ridgeline south over the hill ‘Sithean Bhealaich Chumhaing’ -a Scottish Gaelic name that is a bit of a mouthful but I think it means ‘fairy hill of the narrow pass’. This is a relatively unfrequented area of Skye but is incredibly scenic as well as providing a good chance to spot eagles.

With little wind, I was able to set up a splendid camp right on the ridge with grand views all round, especially south to the Red and Black Cuillen mountains where I was heading.

Day 3 Portree and Glen Sligachan

I had a couple of hours walking in the morning into the largest town in Skye, Portree. Descending down from the camp the views of Portree bay opened up with a small cruise ship arriving. There is a lovely walk along the north shore of the bay into Portree itself and I got some food, along with a visit to the Inside Out outdoors shop for some glue to repair (hopefully succesfully!) my inflatable sleeping pad.

I walked out of town along the road and then cut down back to the edge of the bay for about a mile giving enjoyable hiking with plenty of waders and geese around. From there, it was time to hike the road for a couple of hours- albeit a minor single track road with few cars and more views, which I didn’t mind at all.

Eventually the road ran out and I joined a cool trail on the north shore of Loch Sligachan to arrive at Sligachan campsite for about 5pm. I had intended camping here but first I had a veggie burger at the nearby hotel. The sun had just come out and this is a lovely spot to sit outside. But…. I decided to head out along Glen Sligachan in the nice evening light to find a wild camp.

All the tourist buses stop here quite rightly for the views into the Cuillin mountains, and I do like the newish statue of early mountaineers Mackenzie and Collie looking up to the hills. Anyway I soon was hiking a quiet trail along Glen Sligachan between the jaggy Black Cuillen on the right and more rounded Red Cuillen on left.

I have previously done some alternatives to this glen walk in the past, described in Skye Trail Alternatives. These are fab, but to be honest this walk down the glen looking up to the hills is also pretty good, as well as being dry underfoot and easy to navigate. Camping spots were few and far between but I found a good spot down by two lochs, Lochan Dubha (the Black Lochs).

Day 4 To Elgol, Torrin and Boreraig

A sunny morning and I hiked easily out of the glen to the shore at Camasunary, stopping to have a look at the luxury MBA Bothy here. A great spot, but I wouldn’t have exchanged it for my wild camp last night!

The next stretch is a favourite of mine, a couple hours to Elgol on a sometimes rather exposed trail above the sea- it’s worth stopping a lot to look back at the grand views to the Cuillins and Loch Coruisk… After a lunch break at the recommended Cafe Elgol (the grocery shop seemed closed) I now headed back east then north around the peninsula, first on quiet road then trail. This is a mellow stretch that affords lots of distant views to islands and sea.

After rounding Loch Slappin, I made it back down south to camp on the coast between the Highland Clearance villages of Suisnish and Boreraig. Another great day and with easier dry, walking.

Day 5 To Broadford

All that was left was an easy six or so miles back north over to Broadford- it was still pretty scenic though. What a trail, and I would do it again!

Planning

Walkhighlands has an excellent web guide and app.

Cicerone also a has a detailed guidebook available in paper or eBook.

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 mostly 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* *on an alternative*

Best time to hike 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 at least for wild camping. 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.

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 at your back 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, you have more flexibility if the weather is reasonable 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 lots of soft wet ground and 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.

Weather I will be honest, Skye has a pretty wet climate with the prevailing south westerly winds bringing damp air from the Atlantic. 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.

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:

2025 Turkey Lycian Way

March 7, 2025March 27, 2025 by aweewalk, posted in Backpacking, Lycian Way, Turkey

The Lycian Way is a long distance hiking route along or near the south coast of Turkey with a mix of mountainous and coastal terrain.

Length There are various estimates of the length of the trail, but I think it is about 280 miles by the main route and takes up to about 30 days to hike. With quite a few alternatives being recorded, route lengths can vary depending on options chosen.

Terrain The trail is generally well marked and signposted, but can be rugged underfoot at times due to the underlying karst limestone geology on this Mediterranean region. My trail ascent comparison with other routes shows it to be a ‘hilly’ trail with fair bit of ascent and descent -overall varying in altitude between sea level to a maximum of about 1,815m (with options to ascend higher).

History The trail has a variety of scenery and one particular outstanding feature is the incredible archeology and historic sites to be seen along the way. This region has been populated by Lycian, Greek, Roman and other civilisations and there is still heaps of evidence of these to be seen. Come to think of it, it would be difficult to imagine a better long distance trail to see ancient history!

Seasons I would say the normal seasons to walk here are mid-March to May and October-November. The summer would be too hot (at least for me!) although the area is a popular summer tourist destination. Winter could be good for hiking but the days would be short and the higher elevations could be snow covered and cold.

Overnights Another appealing feature is that wild camping is permitted. Along with the options of commercial camp sites I found the tenting options to be superb. Many people do the hike without a tent as well, and there are good accomodation options along the way.

My hike Brian decided to hike for a week from the western terminal at Ovicek near the city of Fethiye as a sort of sampler, and I ended up walking around 105 miles.

I hiked at the end of February to the start of March in 2025 and this is pre season in Lycia. As it turned out, the weather was great, warm during the day and cool at night. I had a day and a half of rain but otherwise it was pleasant with sun and clouds.

After a 3 1/2 hour bus journey from the city of Antalya to Fethiye, I set off late in the afternoon at the trail’s western terminal in low cloud and drizzle on Tuesday 25th February, but keen to get going.

The Way started on jeep tracks but soon I was hiking rough mountainous trails with grand, if hazy views down to the rugged coast indented with sandy bays. I pushed on until dusk at about 19.15pm after passing the cluster of houses at Faralya and fortunately found a lovely flat grassy terrace to camp. In the evening I could hear a nearby owl and the distant call to prayer from villages down the valley.

Next day I continued on rough trail in pinewoods about 400m above the sea before dropping steeply (and bushwacking after getting lost) to the somewhat grotty beach of Kabak – it was a bit too strewn with rubbish and building detriatus for me to linger, maybe it gets tidied up later in spring ready for the tourist season.

I climbed steeply up a well made path back to lovely woodland with views down to the coast and continued along high ground through forest and around rocky cliffs.

A stop for lunch at Alinca was fun (they opened the cafe for me!) and I hiked into the evening past the cluster of houses at Gey. I was working out that mosques can be seen (and heard!) from afar and provide beautiful fresh water fountains for the thirsty hiker. I stopped for the night at a irresistable small terrace overlooking a steep sided sea cove.

The trail passed right through a doorway of the ruined Lycian fortress at Pydnai next day. The huge polygon limestone building blocks were impressive along with the view north across the alluvial plain, now covered in polytunnels growing cucumber and tomatoes.

Later in the day I sheltered from rain for the night at an apartment in the nearby town of Gelemis and spent the next day visiting the ancient port city of Patara dodging downpours.

I had a few more days at lower elevations, at times along the seashore, even getting a swim (well, short dip) at one point. Interestingly the trail seemed rougher nearer the sea, with jaggy rocks and wiry bushes to weave around. Of note was the Roman aqueduct of Delikkemer, a rocky traverse past cliff tombs and some beautiful turquiose blue sea. Grand hiking.

I met a lot of dogs along the way, stray dogs (and cats) are common here. Most were friendly but some belonging to farms were pretty aggresive- maybe they could smell the fear eminating from me! Anyway I didn’t have any real problems and pretending to throw a stone at them seemed to work.

I wound up my hike at the town of Demre, home to the incredible ancient city of Myra.

Overall this was an interesting and superbly varied hike and I would love to return to complete the whole route….

Maps and Guides

I downloaded a trail gpx and with a map layer to my Android phone on the Caltopo app allowing me to navigate offline. I added in extra details that I found online to the gpx, particularly on water sources and shops. Trekopedia below was great for this.

I do like to have a paper map or guide as well though, as I dislike looking at my phone all the time. So I created and printed a Word document – with maps from Caltopo and helpful descriptions I had collated.

I also took along relevant sections of the Kate Clow Lycian Way 2014 guidebook (updated 2022 version now available). The guidebook is definately worth buying but I didn’t find it that useful for navigation unfortunately and deferred to my notes and the Caltopo app.

The Step by Step Lycian Way guidebook looks excellent as well, although I don’t yet have a copy I would buy that before going back to the trail.

Links to information

Trekopedia Very detailed and excellent guide to the trail, alternatives, accomodation, historic sights. I used this for planning but unfortunately the app wouldn’t work on my Android phone. It would have been great if it had!

Culture Routes Society From Kate Clow who conceived the trail (a fantastic job, thank you!), lots of info including recent trail updates.

Doing Miles hike in 2011 Reliable and interesting notes from US hiking couple.

Arizona Trail Part III Tucson to Mexican Border

November 11, 2023January 14, 2024 by aweewalk, posted in Arizona, Backpacking, brian dickson, Mexico Border

Section 7 Molino Basin Trailhead to Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead 12th November 48 miles Oh that was a great stop in Tucson, and feeling refreshed I got an Uber back out to Molino Basin via Safeway for a food restock, bagels and coffee. I sat outside the supermarket at the trolley bay charging my phone at a mains socket, sifting food and munching bagels. It was wonderful and I had 3 people come up to me and chat asking about the Arizona Trail, maybe they felt sorry for me looking a bit trashy!

At the trailhead I was restarting where I left off following a well made undulating path southward with ever closer views of the next ‘sky island’, Mica Mountain. It was pleasant coolish hiking at between 18-22C and I made quick time to camp in the dark at the edge of Rincon Wilderness Boundary a little of the way up the climb. Away by 6am next morning in the dark I enjoyed the steady climb into Saguaro National Park and up to the top at about 8,600 feet. I had seen a torch light a few miles below me to the north and it was nice to know another hiker was out there too.

Boy but it was cold up there, it felt well below freezing and I happily headed downhill through the trees and out below into open saguaro cactus country.

Section 8 Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead to Patagonia 15th November 67 miles After a stopover with Josh and Suzanne, two kind people who let me stay with them near Colossal Cave, I kept going across I10, the last of the east-west highways, and onto lower flatter terrain again. I made good miles from here to Patagonia, assisted by some weather including clouds overhead and even the odd thunderstorm to cool things down.

Highlights included spotting a bobcat, 2 bikepackers and some pretty good water sources along the way. Hitching into Patagonia turned out to be easy and rather inevitably I headed straight to a diner for an extended brunch!

Section 9 Patagonia to Mexican Border 19th November 53 miles Well refreshed again after another welcoming town of Patagonia, I left for the final push to Mexico with Swig and Firecracker, hitching a lift back to the road crossing.

Conditions got cold and windy once we climbed up to about 8,000 feet on the flanks of Miller Peak for one bitterly cold last camp. On the last day 20th November, I nipped up to the top of Miller Peak which was covered in frost before the steady descent to the border. Finishing there with other hikers Swig, Firecracker and Cheese Curd was fun, but it felt a little anti climatic with the weird section of high metal fencing and the super high winds…… But 800 miles of Arizona was a really great experience overall and it was superb to share it off and on with so many cool people!

*Survivorman’s last night cowboy camping to the end*

Next Arizona Trail IV AZT hiker info and bonus trips

Previous Arizona Trail 2023 – II Flagstaff to Tucson

Photo gallery here….

Arizona Trail 2023 – I Utah state line to Grand Canyon and Flagstaff

October 3, 2023July 6, 2024 by aweewalk, posted in Arizona, Backpacking, brian dickson, Grand Canyon

In October-November 2023 Brian walked the 800 mile Arizona Trail southwards from the Utah stateline down to the Mexican border. I wild camped most of the way, but also stayed at designated campsites, with ‘trail angels’ and some motels in town. Overall it was an excellent experience! Here is a short (ish) description of my hike, some pictures, my impressions and links to more info.

*‘Lentil’ at* *Ribbon Falls, Grand Canyon*

Background The Arizona Trail (AZT) is a well defined and maintained trail heading north-south across the state of Arizona. It traverses a mix of desert, high plateau and mountain ranges up to about 9,000 feet (called Sky Islands), crossing two National Parks; the iconic Grand Canyon and less well known Saguaro outside the city of Tucson.

With blazingly hot summer temperatures at low levels and deep snow in winter on the higher sections, the best seasons to walk the whole way (‘thruhike’) are spring and autumn.

Reasons for hiking Martina and I have hiked many times in southern Utah which borders onto the north of Arizona. We have also been in the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona a few times before as part of our two Hayduke Trail adventures in 2014 and 2022, and as another wonderful 2018 loop hike in Kanab Creek area. From these we were aware of the Arizona Trail and have even hiked the northern 100 miles or so as it overlaps the Hayduke.

With Martina starting a new job, Brian chose the AZT as a less risky solo adventure than the cross country, scrambling Hayduke routes whilst providing the opportunity to hike in new areas to the south of our previous travels.

Hayduke in orange and Arizona Trail in blue below…

Section by section

Section 1 to South Rim Grand Canyon 3rd October 2023 I set off from the Utah -Arizona stateline with a heavy feeling backpack and slight trepidation in pleasant cool sunshine and an initial stretch of about 90 miles hiking to reach the north rim of the grand canyon. The trail was well made and I soon climbed up from scrub desert through pinyon-juniper trees to the higher Kiabab plateau dotted with tall ponderosa pines. Trying to take it easy for the first few days to look after my feet and avoid injury, I kept to a moderate pace and under 20 miles per day. Camping was pretty straightforward making use of plenty of clear flat ground under the shelter of trees.

I chatted with 3 other hikers starting that same day; ‘Lentil’, ‘Good News’ and ‘Kidnapper’ – their ‘trail names’ – I decided just to be ‘Brian from Scotland’! That number of hikers was quite typical throughout the trail where I would be aware of other hikers each day, sometimes meeting them but often hiking on my own occasionally seeing signs of others such as their footprints.

The highest plateau elevations (up to 9,000 feet) were really fun with grassy meadows and gorgeous golden aspen trees amidst fir and pines. Temperatures were cool during the day and a chilly sub-zero (Celsius) at night, coating the tent with a layer of ice in the morning. Wildlife was surprisingly good; horned toad, lynx, woodpeckers, elk, deer and the ubiquitous ravens with their croaking and gurgling vocals.

Reaching the north rim of the Grand Canyon felt like a minor but significant success as the first completed section of the trail and the chance to stock up on food at the small store, pick up a camping permit for the crossing of the canyon and meet a few other hikers congregating there.

The map below shows the AZT in blue taking a scenic 26 mile direct crossing of the grand canyon via the ‘corridor trail’ ….. as opposed to the orange line of the Hayduke, a 5-6 day rollercoaster of excitement from North to South Rim. The Hayduke then also has another 7-8 day adventurous and stunning section in the canyon heading west to Kanab creek and beyond.

‘Bonus’ Grand Canyon loop 11th October I made an ‘on the spot’ decision to do an extra loop before leaving the Grand Canyon southwards on the AZT. My reasons were that it seemed a pity to depart the canyon after such a brief visit, I heard of a cool area around the Hermit Trail that I hadn’t been to before, and it gave me the chance to do some bigger climbs but shorter miles than the next couple of weeks of long, flat plateau hiking on the AZT. Fortunately I was able to pick up up a last minute permit easily at the backcountry park office and I set off…..

I had 3 1/2 days down the canyon (Bright Angel, Tonto West, Granite Falls and a bit of Boucher Trail) and in summary it was lovely, beautiful views, cool temperatures and away from the crowds.

Section 2 Grand Canyon South Rim to Flagstaff 14th October This section was always going to be tough for me as it was a long 115 miles of flattish high plateau to the next resupply in the town of Flagstaff – it wasn’t playing to my strengths as I like hills! That said the initial hiking through ponderosa pines was mellow, the water sources were sufficient and I was able to hike longer, up to 23.5 miles each day. The undulating terrain gave huge wide vistas, especially to Humphreys peak (the highest in Arizona that we walked up in 2017) and great sunsets and sunrises at camp. I was however relieved to arrive in Flagstaff to take a day off from hiking, sort out gear and food logistics, clean up and rest my battered feet.

Next Arizona Trail II Flagstaff to Tucson

Previous US South West & Hayduke

Photo gallery (or click image)

Cornwall 2023 – South West Coast Path

May 18, 2023June 13, 2023 by aweewalk, posted in Backpacking, Cornwall

We returned to Cornwall in May 2023 for a third section of the South West Coast Path, this time walking from Falmouth to Plymouth in about 5 days.

In summary the weather in May was kind to us with mostly bright sunny conditions. The trail in this section of Cornwall continued to be really scenic passing through some superb small villages and harbours.

Day 1 Falmouth to Nare Head 13th May 2023 After 6 days sailing from Falmouth and living on board the boat as part of a ‘Competent Crew’ sailing course we both thought that a land based camping trip would be a pleasant contrast and ‘next step’.

Happily we were able to pick up our South West Coast Path progress to date from 2020 by starting the directly from Falmouth harbour with two ferries over to St Anthony on the east side of Falmouth Bay.

The bright sunny weather helped the transfer from ‘sea legs’ to ‘landlubbers’ and we enjoyed the boat trip over to St Mawes and connecting 2nd short ferry to St Anthony to the start of our hike. There was a rustic old church in St Anthony set amongst lush green vegetation. The hiking beyond took us up above the coastal cliffs on good trail past the cluster of houses at Portscatho. We were happy with a shortish day after a late start and found a decent wild camp above Nare Head with a steady breeze on the promontory.

Day 2 Nare Head to Portgiskey 14th May 2023 The outer of the tent was soaked with condensation overnight and we were glad to stop at Pebbles Cafe mid morning for 2 cups of tea in the garden and a well needed tent drying session.

The heat picked up during the day, but a slight breeze helped at Hemmick Beach to accompany our pastie lunch. Next up, Dodman Point is a peninsula with significant coastal tidal currents where we had applied a dose of healthy respect during our recent sailing trip. It was a less exciting walk but the views were open back to St Mawes and over to the china clay ‘mountains’ above the town of St Austell.

After dinner in Mevagissey we walked on in the evening looking for potential camping spots. They were thin on the ground though, but where there is a need something usually pops up and this time it was old ruin at the tiny rocky bay of Portgiskey.

Day 3 Portgiskey to Fowey 15th May 2023 Another sunny day, but with a welcome chilly breeze, where we started with a grand beach walk to Pentewan then some mellow cliff top walking round Black Head to a beach side stop at Lower Porthpean. Picturesque Charlestown was our next stop with coffee and date cake. Cool memories for us as we had stayed at the inn here in 2001 on a rock climbing trip during a spell of heavy rain.

From Charlestown we had a bit of a ‘suburban’ romp, passing a line of holiday homes then a golf course. We managed to get a bit lost in the golf course tracks, but did correct our course before hiking through the edge of urban streets of Par.

The heat returned again in the afternoon as we passed the impressive bright red and white ‘daymarker’ tower at Gribbin Head. From there we turned north into the small town of Fowey for a bit of a luxury stay under cover at the Ship Inn.

Day 4 Fowey to Looe (Bay View Campsite) 16th May 2023 A slightly later start with breakfast at the Ship Inn then a lovely ferry across to pretty Polruan. From there we had a wonderful rollercoaster hike along the clifftops with blue sea and sandy beaches below. Along the way an eerie sound from the sea turned out to be a buoy with a bell that dongs with wave action – there to warn boaters of the offshore rocks.

The town of Polperro was a great lunch spot- about as cute as Cornish towns can get, quite rightly attracting a few tourists.

We dragged ourselves on though to the town of Looe, catching another tiny ferryboat from West to East Looe – ferrys are a great highlight of the Coastal Path, and as a bonus provide a luxury enforced rest from walking! That night’s camp was at a ‘proper’ campsite – Bay View Farm- living up to its name with extensive views back down to the sea and Looe.

Day 5 Bay View Campsite to Picklecombe Point 17th May 2023 Nice weather again. We were able to hike along the shore for a while at Seaton, before climbing steeply back up to the official path after Downderry. After the wonderfully named Portwrinkle we crossed a military firing range (not in use!) before some road walking past some cool wooden holiday homes around Freathy.

Across from Rame Head we reached the seaside houses of Cawsand and Kingsand where we stopped for some dinner sandwiches looking out into The Sound of Plymouth now with some busy boat traffic.

Day 6 Short day and ferry into Plymouth 18th May 2023 After camping in woodland across the Sound from Plymouth, we had a short walk down to the ferry, the Devon/Cornwall border, then into central Plymouth.

A rather lovely hike with good weather meaning that we had now hiked the whole Cornish coast part of the coastal path…hoorah!

Rest of Europe

April 10, 2023June 8, 2025 by aweewalk, posted in Austria, Backpacking, brian dickson, Canaries, Climbing, Day walks, Dolomites, Europe, France, Germany, GR131, GR221, Gran Canaria, Greece, Italy, Mallorca, mountain huts, Norway, Otztal Alps, Rock climbing, Spain, Stubai Alps, Switzerland, Tenerife, Turkey, Zillertal Alps

Europe outside Great Britain has it all for us, from the Alps and Dolomites to sunny winter destinations around the Mediterranean.

Italy

2024 Dolomites Alta Via 9 (and AV1 north section) backpacking (blog)

2023 Dolomites Alta Via 2 backpacking (blog)

2013 Dolomites climbs and scrambles (photos)

2007 Dolomites climbs and scrambles (photos)

2001 Dolomites climbs and scrambles (photos)

1994 Dolomites Alta Via 1 backpacking (photos)

Spain

2023 Gran Canaria backpacking GR131 (blog)

2023 Tenerife backpacking GR131 (blog)

2023 2017 Majorca backpacking GR221 (blog)

2023 Costa del Sol and Granada area walking

2020 2018 2016 2013 2011 2005 2000 1996 Costa Blanca climbing, walking (photos)

2007 1997 Majorca climbing

France

2015 Pyrenees backpacking (photos)

2012 Provence climbing and walking (photos)

2011 Pyrenees Ariege climbing and walking

2007 French Alps Chamonix and Ecrins climbing (photos)

1997 Corsica GR20 backpacking and climbing (photos)

1993 Pyrenees Pic du Midi to Perdido backpacking (photos)

1 989 Vanoise and Mt Blanc climbing (photos)

1988 Pyrenees Andorra backpacking

Austrian-German Alps

2024 Karwendel and Stubai short hikes (blog)

2018 Austrian Alps hut to hut thru’ Zillertal, Stubai and Otztal (blog)

2011 Austrian and German Alps climbing (photos)

Switzerland

2008 Swiss Alps Bregaglia climbing (photo s )

1991 Swiss Alps Bernese Oberland climbing (photos)

1990 Swiss Alps Zermatt area climbing (photos)

Norway

1994 Jotenheim hut to hut ski tour (photos)

1988 Hardangervida hut to hut ski tour (photos)

Greece

2017 Kalymnos climbing (photo s )

2016 Crete backpacking (photo s )

2015 Kalymnos climbing (photo s )

Turkey

2025 Lycian Way backpacking -a one week sampler (blog)

2012 Geyikbayiri rock climbing and Istanbul (photos)

Iceland

1995 Geyser, Gullfoss, Pingveller hiking

Hayduke hiker notes spring 2022

August 10, 2022August 10, 2022 by aweewalk, posted in Arizona, Backpacking, brian dickson, Buckskin Gulch, Escalante, Grand Canyon, Hayduke, Utah, water, Zion National Park

Arches National Park

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;

firstly Via Escalante West

then Stone Donkey to Hogeye

then a short hike down the Paria River before going up Kitchen and Starlight Canyons. Jamal Kitchen/Starlight text here and Kelsey’s Paria River Guidebook had useful information on upper Starlight, the cave and Mollies Nipple.

*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).

We did this hike in the opposite direction in Autumn 2018.

The site ‘Favorite Hikes in and around Zion National Park‘ gave us the original idea and the associated book is worthwhile purchasing too.

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.

Post Hayduke explorations…

May 31, 2022July 29, 2022 by aweewalk, posted in Backpacking

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