This past spring I completed a series of “shorter” hikes instead of doing one big thru-hike. Here’s the video trip report for the first hike where I explored up Hackberry Canyon and then the highlands above the Upper Paria: Continue reading
2020 Update: each section below is now clickable leading to its daily journal, photo gallery, and video! In spring 2018 I hiked 726.5 miles over 44 days from Zion to Arches. It was a great hike and I accomplished most of what I set out to do. Similar to the… Continue reading
An awesome side product of this site has been meeting people from around the world with a shared passion for southern Utah. Over the years I’ve chatted with numerous hikers and helped brainstorm ideal routes for them based on their experience and desires. One such person I chatted with extensively… Continue reading
The Upper Paria doesn’t get as much attention as the Lower Paria a little farther south. The Upper Paria (rhymes w/ “Maria”) is located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and is a braided river in a much more wide-open canyon than its lower counterpart which is famous for its… Continue reading
This is the second/northern option that I present to Hayduke Hikers looking for an alternate to connect the Burr Trail Switchbacks (HDT Section 6 Start) to Escalante. If you haven’t already, read the pros/cons for skipping this part of official Hayduke and get the detail on the southern option here:… Continue reading
Almost all Hayduke Hikers end up in the town of Escalante for a re-supply (or do an inconvenient cache pre-hike.) Getting to this small town from the route usually means a long and sometimes difficult hitch along the Hole-in-the-Rock Road. However, many great canyons in this region provide possible alternates… Continue reading
Navajo and Reese Canyons are two remote canyons on the Kaiparowits Plateau. Their inclusion in Section 7 of the Hayduke Trail makes the inner portion of a big “W”-looking pattern on the map. At first I thought it might be better just to bypass the seeming circuitous route with its… Continue reading
Big Horn Canyon is a scenic canyon which runs from the Spencer Flat Road (aka Old Sheffield Road) down to Upper Harris Wash. The canyon includes short slot sections as it cuts down through the colorful slickrock in the area. Though still great, it’s not as amazing as other canyons… Continue reading
In the western portion of GSENM and about 1 mile up from the Paria River is the seldom-visited Kitchen Canyon Falls and nearby Starlight Canyon Narrows. Getting to this location would be a moderately-long day hike from the Pahreah Townsite (and former Paria Movie Set) location. But, for those backpacking… Continue reading
On my recent Burr Trail Loop Hike, I tried to save time by taking a shortcut to bypass a portion of the creek just below the Boulder Creek Narrows. If you watched the trip video, you know that I got frustrated when I got near the end of the route… Continue reading
 | Jamal on MAP: Grand Escalante Loop Hike |
| Jamal on About Me |
| Jamal on Hike Guide: Yellow Rock |
 | Michael Puett on MAP: Grand Escalante Loop Hike |
 | Tyler Christensen on About Me |
