Labyrinth Canyon 2024.05.10 Hiking, Latergram If you had told me in 2019 when I was hiking and packrafting around the mouth of Labyrinth Canyon that someday I’d be exploring the canyon deeper in a much larger boat, with a man and a dog, and that I’d be starting to enjoy it, I’d have laughed in your face. Lake Powell was at that point pretty depressing, I thought. Laughing in the face of a conservationists’ dilemma, their collective pain–my pain–this year I decided to let go and enjoy what I could of this odd situation Glen Canyon finds itself in (underwater). If I had decided during my Pacific Crest Trail through-hike to let go of the sadness of walking through burned sections of forest, and instead celebrate the char and ashes as a […] Read more
Navajo Canyon Camp Hiking, Latergram We spent quite a bit of time setting anchor here (two anchors, actually) because weather was coming. And boy did weather come! At one point we had hiked about 1000 feet above the boat to sight-see. Looking down on the boat, while wind gusts pushed us around like little sails, we prayed it would stay in place. When we got back it was just how we put it, the anchors buried under about a foot of sand, at 45ยบ anchors from the bow. But what’s the worst that could happen? Oh, it would be pretty bad actually: the boat would blow into and scrape up against sandstone walls, which are effectively rock-hard sandpaper blocks. The perils of navigating this man-made lake are sometimes intense, but my captain […] Read more
Navajo Steps 2024.03.24 Latergram We found this spot using one of Kelsey’s books about hikes along Lake Powell, but only barely. It was hard to find at the lake level this march. We motored past the steps a couple times before finally catching a glimpse… on the way back to the boat. In the spring light, no shadows were cast by the steps, which in other lights, must be more obvious, because they are definitely well cut into the sandstone. The steps are very steep in parts, nowhere near as steep as other moqui steps I’ve seen, but still, they caught me feeling pretty nervous at points. We’ll be back to finish exploring this set, and another set of steps put in at the early part of the 20th century by […] Read more
Tortuga Canyon 2024.03.20 Latergram Back at the Lake again after a trip to The Sphere in Vegas to see U2. Oh, man, what an experience. They played the Achtung Baby album, which was absolutely the sound track to my angsty early teen years (alongside the Cure). I didn’t know they were only going to play tracks from that album, so it was a wonderful surprise. Plus the Sphere – whoa, next level. We were so close to the stage I could have thrown a flower at Bono or Edge’s feet, no joke, and then after the concert, Larry Mullen’s fleet rolled up next to me at the Venetian parking circle at and his security guards bumped me out of the way as Larry slipped right past me. I was oblivious in […] Read more
New West vs. Old West 2019.08.30 Hayduke I’ve been struggling with thoughts about conservationism, conservationism against the prevailing tide, and my tiny place in the thick of things, as well as a sore knee, since I got back from walking Utah in early June. Some reading, and going through my photos, is helping me finally collect my thoughts. I can’t remember where I was when a friend forwarded me a link from the Canyon County Zephyr, but I was definitely in Utah. I was probably in the backcountry still somehow indulging in LTE “connectivity,” but unable to read much because I was busy walking. But with a few clicks and paragraph licks, I distinctly gleaned a sense of being the outsider where I was. I looked up from the phone and had lost my […] Read more
Do As I Say 2019.05.10 Hiking, Latergram I had LTE. @vanillabazan (who picked me up hitching outside Kanab in 2016) DM’d to ask me if I was in Last Chance Bay. I replied “I’m just rounding the corner into it!” As I rowed in, I was struck by some headwinds. I decided to pull ashore for a break & to make plans. Each crossing on the Lake was an endeavor against wind, choppy water, zippy boats, and my nerves. Drowning would be easy. I was so nervous. I chewed gum to relax. I chewed it until it was hard. I lay down behind a rock to dodge the sun, and stared at the dead mussels still glued to it, and the red rock’s white calcium coat. A raindrop hit my knee, soon another, and […] Read more
A Walk from Hite to Ticaboo 2019.04.29 Hiking Who even knows where Hite and Ticaboo are? You do? That’s awesome, you’re familiar with the epicenter of Utah’s slickrock coolness! Or maybe you have spent some time on a boat on Powell Lake. Boaters in southeastern Utah would be rudderly (utterly – get it?) familiar with these two tiny outposts. Not familiar? Let me show you. They’re both sorta out of the way places, and pretty much nobody walks between the two places. I thought about hitchhiking past this section, but I heard that Swett Canyon was neato, and was curious about getting a little closer to the southern foot of the Henry Mountains. I did not plan this part of my Colorado Plateau traverse beforehand; it was a problem to tackle in real time. It […] Read more
Out There 2016.04.12 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