Day 190 (HDT 6)

Day 190 (HDT 6): 22 miles

We packed up our camp on our large rock and started hiking at first light. The rocky climb upstream (with no water) in butler wash continued. There were a couple spots in the morning that were fun climbs and puzzles to figure out how to get up a big cliff. After looking around for a bit, there were usually cairns marking the best route. 2 of the most fun climbs were at, and immediately after, Seldom Seen Bridge which is probably a fitting name for that rock formation considering it was named by the Hayduke founders and Haydukers are probably the only people that ever see it.

On a different note, there must be a popular alternate around this section of trail. Before this part of the trail, we were following the footprints of another hiker in front of us, and there were a lot of footprints from past years also. The soil out here is sensitive and doesn’t really recover well. But in this section, there were a lot less footprints.

Once we reached the end of the Butler wash area, it got really brushy before it opened up and we had to climb over a tall ridge dividing it from Beef Basin. We spent a lot of time trying to find the right route over, and couldn’t really find any traces of previous people. Fortunately we did find a pretty easy way to climb up and over it on a rock slide on the right side of the canyon.

Today was an unusual day in the sense that I probably drank plenty of water. I was still carrying a ton from yesterday and we passed several surprise potholes of water in butler wash. They weren’t great but it was at least reassuring. And late in the day, there was a spring that can be hard to find but Fancy Feast found it hiding in some greenery and it even had a small flowing pipe of water.

Most of the day today, especially in Butler wash but also after, was walking in deep sand. It is tough. It’s a little slower going, but you have to work so much harder. I really feel it in my hips, which were also rubbing a little from my heavy pack and sweating today. The weather report at Canyonlands yesterday said 72 but it definitely feels hotter than that. We saw some bobcat tracks in the wash earlier in the day and some cougar tracks late in the day. I also heard a dog barking nearby which must be a small patch of private land. And I saw some jackrabbits which are pretty much the first non-lizard/bug life we’ve seen out here. It’s a big ole land of nothingness. Oh and we also saw 2 jacked cows in BEEF basin at the end of the day.

Cowboy camping in a wash at Fable Valley Trailhead tonight.

Song of the day: sweet/I thought you wanted to dance-Tyler the creator