Grand Canyon Bison 2017.10.04 Hayduke, Latergram Learn more about the GCNP bison plan, and possible lethal culling, here. I felt a little guilty rousing these giants from their sand baths. After all, they became a part of me overnight after I gave up on finding clean water and drank a broth of their poop from a drying-up spring gone foul. It was a bad water day from the start. Despite some other hikers offering to leave me behind half a gallon of jug water, I walked out of my way to a spring and filled up 3L to last me to the next spring (which later turned out to be dry). When I got to the jug it reeked of mold and despite attempts to flavor it with Mio, it still was moldy […] Read more
Wilson Update 2016.05.16 Hayduke, Latergram An update on my sweet hiking companion, Wilson (the mini basketball). I was informed by a couple Grand Canyon backcountry rangers (Eston & Della) that Wilson was part of a sports ball stash that has been there for some reason for many many years. I packed Wilson out thinking the balls were trash. Whoops! (Pack it out anyway) So, while meeting with Steve Bridgehouse, a ranger at GCNP 15+ years, I realized Wilson should stay in the park. I gifted him to Steve. Although Steve lives in solitude and professes he sometimes goes days without using his vocal cords, he accepted Wilson and placed him on his bookshelf in his office. Wilson might not get talked to, but he will have knowing company. Steve is very curious […] Read more
Wilson 2016.05.11 Hayduke, Latergram I’m alive. At South Rim Grand Canyon after five nights camped below the rim. I’ve now been hiking alone for 49 days I think, but at one of my most vulnerable moments, sitting on the shore of the Colorado near the Little Colorado confluence waiting for someone to ferry me across and getting ignored by commercial floats (I’m not used to being ignored while hitching), I made a friend. I was worried about my food and my itinerary (which I had to keep to keep my mother happy), and yet settling into the idea of never getting a ride, so maybe spending a night there. So I started looking around for places to hole up in the rocks for the night. And I found not one, but […] Read more