It reaches many famous national parks, including arches, canyonlands, capitol reef, bryce canyon, grand canyon, and zion. The hayduke trail includes detailed maps of the entire route, suggested cache points, and a wealth of description and tips for tackling this intense undertaking. The hayduke trail is a challenging, 800mile backcountry route on the colorado plateau. Hayduke lite represents what we think is an ideal balance of performance and passive safety. Rather, its an 800mile network of standalone trails, dirt roads, and offtrail segments that form a semicohesive route. It is really hard in places usually critical, like west of the pass in the circle cliffs to envision the description in reverse. The southwestern horseshoe swh is an approximately 1800 mile 2896 km backcountry route from arches national park to albuquerque. A guide to the backcountry hiking trail on the colorado plateau mitchell, joe. Traversing six national parks arches, canyonlands, capitol. May 12, 2018 map of hayduke trail day 37, bill hall trail down to deer creek in grand canyon. If you cant wait for the official guidebook, heres a taste of what the trail will offer, courtesy of joe mitch mitchell.
I tend to be a bythebook hiker that sticks with official routes, but the hayduke is the type of trail that encourages exploration and making the hike your own. The hayduke trail meanders 810 miles from arches national park to zion national park via the grand canyon. I made you a free hayduke trail map because i want to help folks stay on the trail and reduce erosion. Traversing six national parks arches, canyonlands, capitol reef. Click on the links below to open hayduke trail section overview maps. Hayduke trail data book section 1 arches np to hurray pass. The hayduke trail in the sense of the by the book route has been abbreviated hdt for simplicity. Its one of the most challenging hikes in america and most of the time there is no trail. Oct 05, 2015 i tend to be a bythebook hiker that sticks with official routes, but the hayduke is the type of trail that encourages exploration and making the hike your own. The hayduke trail, located exclusively on public land, was created by two utah locals mike coronella and joe mitchell by combining several treks, including their 94daylong excursion in 1998 and 101day journey in 2000. Coordinates the hayduke trail is an 812mile 1,307 km backpacking route across southern utah and northern arizona it begins in arches national park near moab, utah, before heading through the needles district of canyonlands national park, capitol reef national park, bryce canyon national park, the grand canyon national park and ending in zion national park. The hayduke trail is a mash of trails, routes, roads, drainages, canyons, washes, ridges and game trails that stretch over eight hundred miles between arches national park in southeast utah to zion national park in southwest utah. Named for a fictional character in edward abbeys the monkey wrench gang, the trail. Today we have hiked down to deer creek from the bill hall trail on the north rim in the grand canyon.
It passes through three states, five national parks and combines lengthy segments of the hayduke, arizona and grand enchantment trails. The trail part is actually sort of a misnomer, as the hayduke is a backcountry route an 800ish mile traverse of the colorado plateau in utah and arizona via sandy washes, old jeep roads, slickrock, slot canyons, bits of. Hiking the entire route requires at least three months, though like other long trails it can be broken into smaller segments. The hayduke trail is an extremely strenuous trail through utah and arizona. Mar 08, 2016 about the hayduke trail by jamal march 8, 2016 january 6, 2017 announcements in 2005, mike coronella and joe mitchell published their guidebook to the 800mile hayduke trail a new route from arches to zion through the grand canyon as it said on the cover. I studied the stars each night with my little astronomy text book and can identify almost all the constellations in the november utah sky. If you want to check out my current adventure, a long ramble in the sierras making use of the sierra high route, the southern sierra high route, the high sierra trail, and the kings canyon high basin route, visit. Immediately after hiking the florida trail, i road tripped across the u. The scenery of the desert southwest is sublime with mesas, arches, canyons, cacti, and beautiful geologic features everywhere. The alternate routes below are arranged from a to z arches to zion, or roughly east to west. The trail part is actually sort of a misnomer, as the hayduke is a backcountry route an 800ish mile traverse of the colorado plateau in utah and arizona via sandy washes, old jeep roads, slickrock, slot canyons, bits of existing trail, etc.
A guide to the backcountry hiking trail on the colorado plateau. This hike was a slightly different experience than the ft the hayduke trail was amazing in almost every respect. Traversing six national parks arches, canyonlands, capitol reef, bryce, grand canyon, zion, a national recreation area, a national monument, and various wilderness, primitive, and wilderness study areas, the hayduke trail is a challenging, 800mile backcountry route on the colorado plateau. Alex maier is raising funds for a film about learning from the wilderness, hayduke thruhike on kickstarter. This terminus is easy to get to, so ole drives us there and drops us at the klondike bluffs trailhead. Cam swami honan described by backpacker magazine as the most. It contains detailed information for more than 200 of the worlds great hikes and was put together with the mission of inspiring and enabling folks to go backpacking. The hayduke trail is more or less a backcountry route that uses mainly cross country travel, existing trails, and 4wd roads that starts in arches national park and traverses through most of the national parks in utah and the 4 corners region before it ends in zion national park. I met each of them on the pct back in 2014 and was honored to reunite. The sections referred to below are those described in the hayduke trail guidebook by joe mitchell and mike coronella. If we take this trail, itll put us on the south rim tomorrow. So i marked my calendar for a sectionhike of the hayduke trail. Hayduke trail data book, distances, elevation profiles, climate, resupply and more. About the hayduke trail hiking the hayduke trail 2015.
The hayduke trail was amazing in almost every respect. Hayduke trail hiking resources bundle andrew skurka. Its 800 miles long snaking across southern utah and. The southwest is canyon country and its extremely remote. The route was created to intentionally avoid towns to give hikers a taste of real wilderness. Hippie longstockings, bug and mud all joined me for short parts of this journey. We had quite a busy summer after i finished the hayduke trail in late may. Hurrah pass, utah to big spring trailhead, canyonlands np. Because the hayduke is very much a work in progress, and much of it is crosscountry, complete and exact route details are still sketchy.
Hayduke trail mtb bike tour kanab, utah to moab, utah. The route, because it travels along dangerous terrain, should only be thruhiked by only the most seasoned of hikers less than ten people have completed the trail. A guide to the backcountry hiking trail on the colorado plateau, but it alone does not provide all of the information needed to go hike the route hikers still needed to acquire topographical maps, research resupply points, determine where and how to obtain backcountry permits, find transportation to. Big spring trailhead, canyonlands national park to hite, utah.
The hayduke trail was named after george washington hayduke, a character from edward abbeys the monkey wrench gang. Lions tigers and bears oh my 177 chapter 22 bison burgers 187 chapter 23 the north rim 193 chapter 24 kanab condors 201 chapter 25 wate. It traverses six national parks arches, canyonlands, capitol reef, bryce canyon, grand canyon, zion, a national recreation area, grand staircaseescalante national monument, and vast wilderness and primitive areas. Though the hayduke trail western terminus is the weeping wall, which ill get to early tomorrow morning, for my own personal journey the western terminus is kolob canyon, an edge of the geophysical colorado plateau, the great desert shield that ive been undone and undone by. Hayduke trail backpacking trip in southern utah and. The hayduke trail hdt is one of the finest ways in which to discover the. The hayduke trail official route book is a must, and we are using the utah and arizona topo maps by printing out only the areas we need to hike the hayduke route. Traversing six national parks, a national recreation area, a national monument, and various wilderness study areas, the hayduke trail is a challenging, 800mile backcountry route on the colorado plateau.
Located entirely on public land, the trail links six of the national parks on the colorado plateau in southern utah and northern arizona with the lesser known, but equally splendid, lands in between them. This guide book is designed for experienced desert trekkers seeking a thoroughhiking experience on a. The hayduke trail is better described as a route than a trail, because most of the time there is no trail. Read what previous guests on our hayduke trail mtb tour have been saying the final week was as wonderful as the first. Each year the route seems to become more popular and i get more and more questions about the route since it overlaps with many of my treks. Aug 07, 2017 though the hayduke trail western terminus is the weeping wall, which ill get to early tomorrow morning, for my own personal journey the western terminus is kolob canyon, an edge of the geophysical colorado plateau, the great desert shield that ive been undone and undone by in the last two months.
In 2005, mike coronella and joe mitchell published their guidebook to the 800mile hayduke trail a new route from arches to zion through the grand canyon as it said on the cover. Rather, its an 800mile network of standalone trails, dirt roads, and off trail segments that form a semicohesive route. Hayduke lite offers improved glide, yet retains the benefit of slow forward speed in dbs. Trying to figure out how the hell you are going to make through 850 miles of canyons, washes and desert. Map of hayduke trail day 37, bill hall trail down to deer creek in grand canyon. Hayduke is a term and verb used among environmental activists and people who cite cult revenge books. When the trail gets difficult to see or follow, i think they decide it doesnt exist. Rather than following the easiest or most direct path, the hayduke immerses you on an explorationfilled journey through the beautiful and underappreciated landscapes across southern utah. A backcountry hiking trail on the colorado plateau of the american southwest from arches to. Mar 23, 2016 luckily the hayduke has 3 eastern termini, one of them being near the airport for people who fly into the airport and want to start walking from there. It was created by mike coronella and joe mitchell, both of utah, as the combination of several treks including a 94day expedition in 1998 and a 101day journey in 2000.
The scenery of the desert southwest is sublime with mesas, arches. After the dust has settled and been washed out of my hair and clothes, i find myself looking back at this trip and missing much, even hikebike up the henrys. Figure it out is about more than just hiking though, it explains how we can use the lessons learned in the wilderness to live happier and more resilient lives. The hayduke trail is unique among longdistance hiking trails. My third hiking documentary will explain this idea on the 812 mile long hayduke trail. Aug 18, 2019 the hayduke trail is better described as a route than a trail, because most of the time there is no trail. True right and true left refer to right or left respectively when facing down a drainage or river.
Our premium printed topographic maps and matching app for a once in a lifetime. It is the name of george washington hayduke, a fictional character based on edward abbeys friend doug peacock in abbeys cult classics the monkey wrench gang and hayduke lives. A little slow to start, but eventually picking up pace, ill admit it, hayduke lives was exciting and rabble rousing. A guide to the backcountry hiking trail on the colorado plateau by joe mitchell and mike coronella 2005, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. Its 800 miles long snaking across southern utah and northern arizona through canyon country. Unlike the standard long trails, the hayduke trail does not go through many populated areas.
The hayduke trail is an 800mile route across utah and arizona. All day we leapfrog with another hayduke hiker, bert. It is the name of george washington hayduke, a fictional character based on edward abbeys friend doug peacock in abbeys cult classics the monkey wrench gang and hayduke livesthe hayduke character personified the no compromise in defense of the earth approach to environmentalism. This trail is super steep and, as far as i can tell from the map, super fucking cool. Being immersed in that everyday and seeing so much of the area in detail was amazing. From the back cover of the book that started it all. We now also offer an 9day hardcore hayduke with all 440miles. We used several sources for planning information including the the hayduke trail book which is good but a bit maddening in that the route is only described in an east to west direction, and severely so. These are the most powerful and accurate hayduke maps in existence, and theyre free. It goes well below sealevel in the canyons, but also reaches enormous heights in the mountains. Hayduke trail information, maps, route descriptions, water sources, photo gallery. The hayduke trail planning, preparation and equipment notes.
A film about learning from the wilderness, hayduke thru. The hayduke trail other long trails trailgroove magazine. This guide is designed for seasoned desert trekkers seeking a throughhiking experience on the challenging, majestic hayduke trail. Hayduke trail a guide to the backcountry hiking trail on. The hayduke trail is an extremely challenging, 800mile backcountry route through some of the most rugged and breathtaking landscapes on earth. The hiking life is a compilation of tips and advice on trip planning, lightweight backpacking techniques, and improving your wilderness skill set. This is the fourth time i have been here and rays fifth. The hayduke trail planning, preparation and equipment notes 40. Dec 12, 2018 the hayduke trail is an 800 to 900 mile route depending on alternatives across the rugged, desolate colorado plateau, passing through and connecting arches np, canyon rims recreation area, canyonlands np, glen canyon national recreation area, henry mountains, capitol reef np, grand staircaseescal.
Nov 24, 2012 planning info and resources for the oct. Wall maps print out your favorite trail to 6 feet high. The publication of this unofficial trail inspired me to finally take the plunge and do the extended big hikes in utah that id always dreamed about. A film about learning from the wilderness, hayduke thruhike. Hayduke trail backpacking trip in southern utah and northern. The hayduke trail is an 800 to 900 mile route depending on alternatives across the rugged, desolate colorado plateau, passing through and connecting arches np, canyon rims recreation area, canyonlands np, glen canyon national recreation area, henry mountains, capitol reef np, grand staircaseescalante national monument, bryce canyon np, and in my case, a detour through paria. In the original guidebook, the hayduke trail is broken into fourteen. The guide, featured in the march 2005 issue of national. It was pioneered in the late1990s by joe mitchell and mike coronella, who spent hundreds of days exploring the region. Then i cross the border into arizona and hop on the arizona trail which will take be all the way to the grand canyon. The hayduke trail reference its now been over ten years since mike coronella and joe mitchell published the guidebook for the hayduke trail.
Joe mitchell and mike coronella pioneered hayduke after concluding that a long trailsuch as the appalachian or pacific crest was possible on the plateau. Along the way, it crosses a rugged, desolate and beautiful land, including six national parks arches, canyonlands. Haze and i hosted our kids and grandkids in driggs, idaho for a couple of weeks of spoiling grandchildren, hiking and fishing. This may be true for many of the actual trail sections of the hayduke as opposed to washbottom sections or other parts that.