Last night Gabriel dreamed of the produce section of a grocery store. Signs we've been away from modern conveniences for a little while. Our seaweed, dried veggies, spirulina tabs, and powdered green juice aren't quite adding up to our normal intake of fresh leafy greens. Still, the trade off of fresh kale for this morning … Continue reading The sidewalks of Dark Canyon

Since about December 28th I've been looking forward to this day: walking into the center of the newly designated (but not safely protected yet... drat politics) Bears Ears National Monument! (December 28, 2016 is when President Obama designated Bears Ears National Monument, which was more than a decade in the establishing.) We have skirted in … Continue reading Into the heart of Bears Ears National Monument

Up early on a very cold morning (mid 20s F), we enjoyed the last miles along Salt Creek. More cliff dwellings and Kirk's cabin delighted us. Frost on plants and ice on the water, kept us moving. Soon enough we were out of the park onto the cross country and road walking mix of terrain … Continue reading Tracking Daybreaker

Wow! This area, I want to return once I have learned more about the people who lived along Salt Creek and can better appreciate the history and cultural significance of this place. It's beautiful in it's own right, but there is so much more to it. Gabriel and I had ambitious goals for the day. … Continue reading A day along Salt Creek is not enough

A beautiful sunrise, pretty scenery along Indian Creek, and an easy walk into Needles Outpost. We got into Needles Outpost, took care of our resupply, bought extra food, got a campsite and shower tokens. Even had a delicious dinner of veggie-piled street tacos scheduled for 6 pm. We thought we were all set, save for … Continue reading Hayduke chess and tacos

We woke up in the wash reminded that camping in a wash can mean condensation. Damp sleeping bags. Not a big deal, but it's still the first week of service for my new Enlightened Equipment 10 degree F down quilt. I wasn't ready for it to suffer. We'll just need to remember to stop and … Continue reading For the sake of food and water security

A fresh, crisp, clear morning after last night's hard rain. All the new water has us intrigued to find and understand the landscape's potential for potholes. Such depressions in the slickrock, be they a few centimeters or a few feet deep are beneficial. They also minimize how much water we must pick up when we … Continue reading Road meandering and pothole scavenging

After all the hurry in transitioning from Tanzania to last minute prep for the Hayduke and its setup, we haven't had much real down time. So today, we didn't set out to maximize miles. Instead we got a full night's sleep and took care of errands in town. Rather, I worked on getting this here … Continue reading Digging trenches

Up just before sunrise we crossed back over the fence and started a peaceful morning in Arches. Descending into Courthouse Wash. We alternate walking on rolling waves of sandstone and the soft fine sand of the wash. The sand is a good story teller of recent happenings of the neighborhood. Tracks stamped into ground of … Continue reading A day in Courthouse Wash

At last, we are out on the Hayduke! Mike picked us up in the morning at the storage unit where we are stashing our car. After giving him a bottle of Portland Ketchup we were off! Outdoor, conservation-minded enthusiasts of wilderness and public lands we had a fun chat on route to the start. Thanks … Continue reading We walk where the cryptobiotic soil tells us to