Hello lovelies,
On Thursday I am jumping back on the Hayduke “Trail”, continuing from where my footsteps ended last year in the town of Hanksville. I’m going to be hiking with Tangent — one of the three trail friends I shared the pleasure of suffering dehydration with in the Grand Canyon in 2023.
Physics and I hitching into Hanksville in April 2025 (Link to last year’s video)
This route will take me from the small uranium mining outpost of Hanksville through Capitol Reef and Escalante National Monument, before meandering into the town of Tropic. From Tropic it’s a short sojourn through Bryce Canyon where the snow is melting rapidly. Hopefully to our benefit?
We’ve added some “might as well!” detours from the default Hayduke to drop into Buckskin Gulch and Pariah Canyon. We will then manifest as true desert creatures as we traverse across the absurdly water-barren Pariah Plateau and the Vermillion Cliffs. The Jacobs Lake Inn will greet us with open arms and, hopefully, our resupply boxes.
From Jacobs Lake, the trail descends into Grand Canyon National Park and follows the Colorado River along the Nakoweap Trail. After striding along this 100-mile rafting corridor through the park we will eventually climb a very steep cliff to reach the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, worn, dirty, and possessing that fine leathery texture only a long desert hike can yield.
Depending on timing, Saturn’s orbit, and decisions made by Poseidon’s most-recent wife, I will either make my way back to Sacramento from here or continue north and back across the Grand Canyon to once again be at the North Rim, and eventually reach Zion National Park.
Assuming all goes well and my body suffers no catastrophic failures, I will be back in Sacramento in May!
This route is possibly the last major trail on my Western US bingo card. It involves exciting slot canyons, scrambles across some of the jankiest, most brittle rock you’ve ever looked at, and down climbs into spaces that wash out and suffer accessibility changes after every flash flood. There are long water carries, hitchhikes with strangers off of second-tier jeep roads, and resupply strategies that rely on tourists with water to stay hydrated.
Between dodging the lack of water, radioactive water, arsenic-laden water, and water with enough magnesium sulfate to make Imodium blush, I’m excited for the good times ahead!
I have no idea if I’m going to send any updates to the list, but you’ll get nightly check-in points and my map will be available! Itinerary, links, etc. are all in the signature block of the email.
May you stay hydrated,
Jeff
