Hayduke Trail Tips

(updated fall 2019, fall 2020, winter 20/21, spring 2022, spring 2023, summer 2024, winter 2025)

I recommend getting the Hayduke Trail book. Read it. Carry it. Read it again whenever you’re puzzled or bored. I photographed every page and stored it on my phone. I’ve read every sentence in this book at least five times. There’s a lot of helpful and interesting bits buried in there, yet it’s pretty cursory at the same time. I admire the person who hikes the Hayduke using only this book, map and compass. Really that’s all that’s needed, and what an immersive experience! If you do that, please reach out cuz I want to meet you. 🙂

Reading the book before bed each night gave me a general idea of the next day’s plan, so I could focus more on enjoying the area and less on making sure I was matching the (possibly wrong) GPX. For example, I knew I would be climbing down X canyon to confluence with Y canyon, heading north about five miles, watch for spring on right, etc. I only had to pull out maps if I started to doubt myself. Which still happens. But frankly, this trail is now trail the whole way and you’ll likely be following footprints the entire time, so if you still get lost… I don’t know what to say.

GPX

There are GPX tracks available online but GPX tracks can cause trouble. For one, so many people have their noses in their phones they are missing obvious signs of trail: beaten path, markers, blazes, trimmed/cut trees, direction and aim (and maybe footprints, if you trust them).

Braided/threaded trail is created by folks either dead-set on keeping on their GPX cursor or unwilling to trust the existing tracks (or by roaming dogs and children).

Another problem with that is more often than not, the person who created the GPX is a semi-famous fast-packer who hikes 40+ miles a day and gave two shits about the scenery or whether his route was safe for humans or ecology or private land owners. Ahem. And so while so many people are nose-down trying to match a GPX, they’re on the wrong route, missing the easy route right under their noses, and the scenery.

Often if you feel like something is wrong or too hard on the route, you’ve passed a discreetly-marked turn or the spot where footprints in the sand abruptly changed directions. Don’t hesitate to turn around, back up. This little tidbit (being willing to backtrack) might be one of the best pieces of advice I have to offer.

Paper Maps

Devices can die. Yikes.

I carried backup 11×17 20lb. full color paper maps for difficult/remote sections, which I also loved to read before bed, and used for diary-writing. Don’t be caught without maps!

It’s rewarding to have a general sense of where to go (from looking at the map), then look around at the ground below to see where others (human or animal) have gone before. Humans have always followed other humans, who initially followed animals, who followed routes to food and water. Once you know what a trail looks like — any type of trail, even faint or nearly-extinct trail — it’s not only more difficult to get lost, but discoveries abound! These days, I follow old tracks to tent circles, piles of broken arrowheads, and even petroglyphs near my house. Get good at tracking, fight GPX dependence, never trust the cairns, and you’ll go great!

Seasons / Timing

There’s some talk about WHEN to hike the Hayduke, with some people suggesting starts as early as February. Hey man, each to his own… but I feel like hiking the Hayduke in shoulder season is even more difficult, uncomfortable and dangerous. Why difficult? Because shorter days, less sunlight. Can you tackle a difficult climb or crossing in the dark, or time it so that you always hit tricky sections in the light? Uncomfortable because the desert gets freakin’ COLD. The minute the sun goes down, you’ll wish you were in your sleeping bag, and you won’t want to get out of that bag until the sun is up again. What little water you have will freeze at night, as will your wet shoes. Ask me how I know.

Snow

The Henry Mountains and the Kaibab plateau see decent amounts of snow, and are both remote (the Kaibab for one is a total ghost town until May 1). I’ve been in a blizzard on the Kaibab (near North Rim GCNP) in mid MAY, one which shut down the Park electric grid and nearly caused mutiny amongst Park visitors. Had I had any emergency during that time, I’m not sure my first-world problems would have ranked very high. For the sake of your sanity, as well as that of your family and locals and search and rescue and first responders, consider hiking the Hayduke at the appropriate (non-shoulder and non-monsoon season) times, when there is ample daylight, warmth, and less snow.

Monsoon

In 2024 Monsoon hit in mid-June for some reason, rare but not impossible. Two Texans died in the Moab area – swept away with barely a trace. With weather changing, it’s good to keep freak incidents like this on your radar.

Quicksand

Update December 2025: An “expert” hiker decided to hike section one of the Hayduke in December and learned the hard way how changes in water viscosity near freezing temperatures makes quicksand a lot more dangerous. Usually I’d never mention quicksand as a concern, but here we have it, a weird search-and-rescue open/close case making (sensationalized) national news.

Water

I’ve seen several well-known, experienced hikers fail at finding water in the desert, even when it’s right under their noses. It’s pretty scary this can happen.

Before you come out on the Hayduke, please think a little bit about your water plans.

Ask yourself:

• How much water does your body need to cover 15 miles with 7500′ combined vertical gain/loss on a 90º breezy day?
• How much water would you need if you encountered someone else struggling, or had to take an unexpected layover day in a dry area?
• How would you deal if your bladder burst (or you lost a bottle or bottle cap), and you lost all your water?
• Are you aware of sources off-route?
• Do you know tricks for finding water that might not be marked on your map (such as converging, descending animal tracks, recent rain + geology, patches of greenery, smells, sounds)?
• Would you drink someone else’s cache, or break into a closed establishment, if you were desperate for water?
• Would you drink water with dead animals floating in it, or your own urine, if you were desperate?

I ask because these are things that can happen, and it’s good to have a plan…

Things we leave behind

When we hike, there are some things we leave behind, other than footprints. Some are absolutely unavoidable, like poop. Others, well…

Caca Poo

It is illegal to dig cat holes in Grand County, Utah (Utah Ordinance 604). That means catholes are illegal in Arches clear until approx mile 35 of the Hayduke. That means, turd in a bag and carry it to a nearby receptacle. Imagine if you are caught by a ranger without a permit and without a bag of poop! Haha, funny, but it gives something to think about: the shitty impact hikers leave behind, giving Counties incentive to set laws…

In other areas dig a plenty deep hole (at least 4″ deep and wide), stir your poop with the sand/dirt to give it any chance of breaking down someday, and less chance of being dug up by an animal.

Do NOT leave behind toilet paper. Pack your toilet paper out.

Graffiti in the Wild?

Need I also remind Hayduke hikers to not leave graffiti? Unfortunately I do. This seems obvious, but I’ve found “tagging” along the route. Don’t leave ANY human trace, not even stacks of sticks or pine cones spelling words. If you must build something for a photo, take it down before you leave. Let folks behind you experience the outback as you found it, or cleaner.

Pack out trash, even if it’s not yours and even if you’re “ultralight.” Leave all valuable relics you find behind, where you found them. Geotag nothing. There will likely be well over 200 hikers on the Hayduke in 2020, compared with <50 in 2019.

Your impact COUNTS. WWHD?

Don’t be a Karen

Please do not cairn this route unless you are very lost and have no other way of back-tracking. Some folks seem to think they’re smarter than other hikers, sorta like they’re the only one who “gets it,” and the only one who has found the “correct way.” Great, fine, but do not leave permanent record of your supremacy (you may later cringe to discover you were wrong). Only remove cairns when you are 1000% positive they are 1) OLD and 2) WRONG.

Most hikers enjoy the challenge of finding their own way, and all hikers are annoyed when a cairn leads them astray or reminds them they’re not really in the Wilderness, or alone. Also, moving rocks can devastate delicate ecosystems and small animals, and building random/inaccurate cairns can be deadly to hikers lost in the desert.

Fires

As if any self-respecting thru-hiker would have a fire! Pssshaw. But, gotta mention it because some kid showed himself having fires in a Hayduke film (Amazon Prime) right on the slickrock (sandstone). SOoooOO flippin’ uncool!

If you need to build a fire because of an emergency that’s one thing. Otherwise, only have fires in fresh, existing fire rings, and never on bare slickrock or cryptobiotic soil patches. Do not cut or pull wood off of desert trees. Do not build new fire rings unless you’re in legitimate emergency.

If you’re struggling to stay warm, here’s a tip: before bed fill your bladder (Hydrapak reservoir-style) with not-quite-boiling water. Bring that to bed with you. I’ve survived 10º nights in the Henries this way, with only that, an emergency blanket, and a down quilt I made. While I’m giving hydration-bladder-with-hose tips, remember that if a friend ends up unconscious in a life-or-death hydration emergency, fill the bladder with about 300mL of electrolyte mix and, rip the tip off the bladder hose, and shove that tip right in their butt¹ to give a life-saving enema.

Caches

Caching is illegal in National Parks without Park approval.

Caching in the Fall season carries more risk than caching in the Spring, since by that point animals are hunkering down and aggressively searching for food and water. Animals will chew through store-bought gallon jugs of water, especially in the Fall or dry periods. Animals will chew into caches left above ground, even when “disguised” and “smell-proof.” Some animals can smell food several feet underground, so it isn’t unheard of to find your cache dug up. It is best to use sturdy buckets with good seals. Bury them, and then pack them out when you are done!

Please don’t be a jerk. If you need someone to sweep your caches and you’ve got cash, get in touch with me and I’ll head out.

Cellular Connectivity

LTE coverage comes off the La Sals, Navajo Mountain, and Humphreys Peak, such that when you are in clear view of any of these prominences you should have decent cell signal. Good signal on most of the Arizona Strip, and obviously good signal when inside the parks’ congested zones. You’ll be in range more than one might expect while on this route. FWIW, I have managed to get InReach signal out from very deep, narrow canyons (even Buckskin gulch), but only with persistence.

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Ready, I hope!

If you’ve got a budget and want someone with deep knowledge of the areas on and around the Hayduke to follow and assist you along, I’m available for hire for one client/group starting Spring 2026. I am based in Moab, Utah. I will follow you along the trail, section-by-section. I can take care of logistics such as permits, water and food caching, shuttles, hotel booking, side trips, gear management and repair, and health tracking as desired/required. Or maybe you just need a delivery/cache/shuttle somewhere between here and the Henries.

1. Yes–this is an enema. Use some chapstick or spit for lube and get the tube in 2-4 inches. Do what you gotta do. Watch your friend come back to life. Aren’t you glad you were carrying a CamelBak bladder? 😜 ↩︎