This “shortcut” climbs up from the Surprise Valley area and follows the Esplanade formation over to Fishtail Mesa. After a climb up and over the saddle, the route from there drops down into remote Kwagunt Canyon before connecting to Jumpup Canyon. A short distance through this canyon’s narrows and one arrives at Kanab Creek Canyon and is back on the official Hayduke Route .
It’s a fun route, but… only suggested as a Hayduke alternate if one has already done the official route along the Colorado and up lower Kanab Creek. This route also makes for a good loop with the official route if not doing the entire Hayduke.
See my written trip report for when I did this as a loop hike in 2008 or watch the video trip report below:
