2026 Apr HDT/ARCH-CANY-Hite

  •   Category Price Weight
  • Water $0.00
    13.23 lb
  • Food (5 Day Carry) $51.85
    6.23 lb
  • Clothes, Worn $0.00
    0 lb
  • Sleep $462.89
    1.99 lb
  • Pack $200.00
    1.92 lb
  • Clothes, Carried $270.37
    1.49 lb
  • Shelter $437.00
    1.01 lb
  • Electronics $160.81
    0.95 lb
  • Water $66.98
    0.44 lb
  • Kitchen $114.55
    0.34 lb
  • Ditty $28.58
    0.22 lb
  • Navigation $65.00
    0.15 lb
  • Toilet $1.00
    0.01 lb
  • Arches $0.00
    0 lb
  • Total $1859.03 27.99
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 19.59 lb
  • Base Weight 8.39 lb

Prev: 2026 Jan GRCA/CC

Next: 2026 Jul SHR RoadsEnd2Mammoth

Hayduke Trail Sections 1-3: ~150 mile walk from CNY through Arches, Moab, Kane Springs Canyon, Hurrah Pass, along the Colorado River, Lockhart Canyon, Indian Creek, The Loop, Canyonlands, Chesler Park, Beef Basin, Fable Valley, Dark Canyon Plateau, Young's Canyon, Dark Canyon to Utah Rt 95 near Hite (which is closed), then hitch north to Hanksville and eventually back to Moab/CNY.

2026, first half of April. ~14 hours sunlight 6am-8pm . Temp extremes 20F-85F (likely 30F-65F), high winds, storms w/ rain, snow and hail possible. Likely fleece weather with the possibility of hot afternoons. Very dry and very exposed.

Forecast: Arches NP Tower Arch area night 1,

Planning for lower-mileage, ~15 mpd @ 2 mph w/ a whole bunch of 1 mph terrain and routefinding. 150 miles in ~9 days. Route is often not well-defined and is class 3 in places: scrambles, scrapes, bushwhacks, climbs, drops, etc. Longer, heavier water carries. Might only find water once per day, longest carry is likely ~30 miles for which I would carry 6 liters, my heaviest water carry ever, so be careful and don't get too lost.

This lighterpack models my carry out of Needles Outpost into Canyonlands which is the heaviest it will be. Mean total pack weight (TPW) will probably be around 20 lbs due to water carries which is why I'm using a framed pack. I've seen a few ultralighters use frameless packs on the Hayduke and though it is possible they looked pretty uncomfortable and I think the water carry weight makes a load-transferring hipbelt a no-brainer.

I think my winter GRCA backcountry trip was a good test for the Hayduke. I am a little anxious about the Hayduke generally: navigation, routefinding, higher level of overall mindfulness, water, sand, slickrock, conditions.

Food Carries:

  1. CNY to Moab ~25 miles, ~1.5 day
  2. Moab to Needles Outpost, ~55 miles, ~3.5 days
  3. Needles Outpost to Rt 95, ~70 miles, 4-5 days

SNOTEL suggests it's been a dry winter, with only half the average precipitation. Might want to carry 8 liters instead of 6...

Water Carries (likely but not all guaranteed sources):

  1. CNY -> Willow Spring ~15 miles
  2. Willow Spring -> Moab ~12 miles
  3. Moab -> Kane Springs ~8 miles
  4. Kane Springs -> Kane Springs Creek ~8 miles
  5. Kane Springs Creek to Ranch or Colorado River ~7 miles
  6. Colorado River -> Lockhart Cliff Springs ~22 miles
  7. Lockhart Cliff Springs -> Indian Creek ~10 miles
  8. Indian Creek -> Needles Outpost ~15 miles
  9. Needles Outpost -> Needles Visitor Center ~2 miles
  10. Needles Visitor Center -> Homewater Spring ~25 miles
  11. a series of < 5 mile carries from Fable Valley thru Young's Canyon
  12. Young's Canyon to Rt 9 ~15 miles

My last trip to Utah was a failed attempt of the Uinta Highline Trail where a 3-day snowstorm on day 2 blew up the trip. Utah always roughs me up...

For the Utah desert we prioritize water storage, sun protection, durability and wind protection.

Overall gear is a little heavier due to increased durability and warmth given the low temps, long nights, possibility of inclement conditions and overall harsh conditions.

Clothing: UV protection for high exposure, durability for scrapes, scrambles and bushwhacking, and cool enough for 85F afternoons. Nothing I'll miss if it gets wrecked. Bigger visor, bankrobber bandana, longer shorts, sun gloves for UV coverage. Want to be warm at night and in the mornings, so I'll bring a puffy.

Pack: My go-to pack these days is a Pa'lante Desert Pack. I've seen videos of 2 different UL hikers taking the Desert pack on the Hayduke but honestly they both looked uncomfortable. The Hayduke's water carries are simply too much in combination with 4-5 day food carries and the need to go a bit heavier on gear to go without a real hipbelt. Due to carrying 4+L from every water source your pack just doesn't drop below 20 lbs often enough. Because the volume is still low the MLD Burn is a possibility, but the heavy 5 day food+ 4+L water carry from Needles Outpost will be uncomfortable the first day, which is through Canyonlands. I don't want to be uncomfortable in Canyonlands. I did 6-day carries with an MLD Burn on the CDT, the difference being I rarely ever carried more than 2L of water (had a 2L platypus used once or twice?) I think I might have to bump up to a framed HMG due to everything simply being unavoidably heavy.

Sleep: Tyvek (and a thicker, durable sleeping pad) so we can cowboy anywhere, including on rock. CCF is a possibility but given the long nights, cold temps, and minimal elevation change, an inflatable for a few more ounces is worth it.

Shelter: tent provides 360-degree protection if we have to ride out a storm, pitches with 1 pole. Hope I can drive stakes...

Water: 6L capacity, most I've ever carried before was 4L on the PCT and only actually carried >2L once (and it turned out to be unnecessary). Need to fly with all my empty bottles and bladder to fill up at CNY airport before walking to the ARCH border.

Cook kit: I've found I enjoy cooking in the spring when it's cold. Bring alcohol/esbit cook kit, simple and silent, my favorite. Can't fly with fuel so I'll have to skip cooking the first night outside Arches, find fuel in Moab, and I can ship myself some esbit to Needles Outpost in my resupply.

Route choices:

Shortest route from CNY to ARCH via Burro Seep. Visit Tower Arch and the Marching Men.

In CANY spend a mile or 2 extra visiting Chesler Park Alt / Joint Trail.

References