Dirty Devil Hayduke, Latergram My first step into the Dirty Devil went up to my hips. I turned right around and walked an extra 5 or so miles to avoid crossing it numerous times. This is the view down on it from old uranium mine roads. It seemed to be flowing hard and is said to be unpredictable with quicksand too. I just wasn’t mentally prepared to tackle it alone. Like I said in an earlier post today, I have a little issue with walking in rivers. I opted for the psychedelic (awesoooooooooome) Hatch Canyon route, and came down to my ONE Dirty Devil crossing that night. I didn’t have courage; I slept on it. That night a truck pulled up on my side. Bruce and Lani had taken 4×4 roads […] Read more
Turkeys Hayduke, Latergram Totally almost got lost in the La Sal mountains thanks to the stupid birds. Thanks a lot guys. No really though, it was cool to see the mountain teeming with wildlife in the Spring… Read more
Another Mylar Balloon Hayduke, Latergram Mylar balloon count so far: 5 (retrieved and carried out). Miles walked: >300? I don’t fucking know Read more
Dimonds Hayduke, Latergram How am I going to get into town from the middle of nowhere? Oh I know! I’m going to meet a family of Dimond alumni from Anchorage, Alaska. I am Dimond alumni (freshman, sophomore). I was big into cross country skiing and raced state at Kincaid, as well, so these sweatshirts were just blowing my mind. I got to ride in the back of a pickup 35 miles down a dirt road with these awesome Alaskans. And then their dad bought me pizza. How does this happen?! 😍😍 Read more
Free Flow Dance Hayduke, Latergram Some free flow dancing after finishing up wading down the Escalante River yesterday. I’m not scared of many things but rivers over knee-deep have almost claimed a couple friends of mine (as I watched) and I have a deep respect for their power. The Escalante was pretty low but mostly opaque and with patches of shallow quicksand. I was alone so there was nobody to laugh it off with. My anxiety was high and I had to talk myself through it; I even sobbed in gleeful relief when I discovered my phone had fallen out of my pack 20 yards back and not a mile upstream as I feared. It took all my nerve to do it once, and to do it again for a phone? I […] Read more
Escalante Admirer 2016.04.13 Hayduke, Latergram Had I known I was being watched from above, this moment’s tension would have shattered. I was leaving my nice eagle’s nest view/rest spot below Stevens Arch because I’d realized I had dropped my phone somewhere along my walk down the Escalante River. I had bolstered all my courage to wade the thigh-deep waters, and now I was bolstering more to head back and do it twice more. First I had to walk straight down off the wall. (But that doesn’t scare me – fast-moving water scares me.) My “secret admirer” captured my descent. I found my phone in the bushes at left. Then I’m sure I did a little dance and wept a little. And I was being watched. It’s weird to think about. I found […] Read more
Thunderheads Hayduke, Latergram A threat that luckily didn’t materialize. This has been a very wet desert hike so far (and I don’t mind). Read more
Out There Hayduke, Latergram Proof I’m doing just fine. 20 days without a shower, 17 days without a town stop, hiking solo. Almost wishing I could do this whole thing without stopping in town, but also sort of looking forward to a shampoo and some light beer. Here I’m atop the Waterpocket Fold, with Navajo Mountain and Lake Powell in the background, behind me — to the south. Doing great! (Total tally at town day (4/14) is 22 days without a shower and 19 days without a town stop.) Read more
Muddy Shoes Hayduke, Latergram Only 28 hours after my last post about my shoes… Sorry guys, I’ll need a new pair sooner than I thought. Read more
Storm on the Henries 2016.04.09 Hayduke, Latergram I hustled off the mountain (South Mt Ellen Summit, 11,400ft) because I saw this coming. When it hit it was drizzly at first, and I kept moving away from its dark core the best I could. But then suddenly another darker cloud came from the opposite direction and slammed hard with hail and flooding. When it hit I was in a perfect slickrock high spot with good drainage. So I called myself lucky, even though I got soaked. The next morning Mt Ellen was dappled with snow again. El Niño is busy in South Utah, too! Read more
Cornice on Ellen 2016.04.08 Hayduke, Latergram Now being run off the mountain by some dark clouds…! Read more
Shoes Hayduke, Latergram Thanks mom and little sister for getting me these shoes for Christmas – they’re taking me such cool places!! And if you’re wondering wtf is going on with my gaiters, here’s your answer: I was post holing up to my HIPS. Funny story about that. So I’m postholing, and sometimes trying my luck at crawling over the snow without sinking, so obviously there’s some grunting and deep breathing going on. It’s hard work. I’m going along like this then suddenly, somehow, I hear the voice of my mother, calling my name. “Caroline? Caroline, are you OKAY?” What? How? Apparently I had pocked-dialed my mother while postholing in the woods in the Henry Mountains. So I picked up the phone and told her I was doing just fine. […] Read more
Canyonlands Paint 2016.04.01 Hayduke, Latergram In Canyonlands if you have eyes you will see ancient native American homes and graineries and whatnot. If you get sort of obsessed you find ones that not many other people might have found, complete with 800 year-old nibbled maize stalks and really subtle art. That’s me. Each time I found a new one I’d be so bowled over I’d almost cry. It was a very look don’t touch and don’t leave footprints affair, just to find one and try to imagine their lifestyles was a special treat. These were people who knew the land. Their (lost art) integration in these sandstone cliffs is nothing short of breathtaking. Can you see the art in this photo? Read more