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 $252.00
    1.26 lb
  • Electronics $150.45
    0.98 lb
  • Water $66.98
    0.44 lb
  • Kitchen $114.55
    0.34 lb
  • Ditty $28.58
    0.23 lb
  • Navigation $65.00
    0.15 lb
  • Toilet $1.00
    0.02 lb
  • Arches $0.00
    0 lb
  • Total $1663.67 28.29
    lb
    • oz
    • lb
    • g
    • kg
  • Consumable 19.6 lb
  • Base Weight 8.69 lb

Prev: 2026 Jan GRCA/CC

Next: 2026 Jul SHR RoadsEnd2Mammoth

Hayduke Trail Sections 1-3: ~150 mile walk from CNY airport 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, Moab, Canyonlands Needles Outpost, Young's Canyon Wash highpoint, Hite-ish

Results

Near-total failure, bailed day 3. I ended up with shin splints on one leg likely due to the difficult traversal of Courthouse Wash. I've hiked 8,000+ miles and I've never had shin splints before, a unique and unpleasant experience. By my reckoning the third-worst hiking trip out of 13 I've yet attempted. Hiking from CNY airport to Tower Arch via AcrossUtah's route was a success, nice! But roadwalking sucks and bushwhacking washes through Arches while carrying too much water, scrambling up and down sandstone, walking through sand and miles of brush wore me out more than I expected. I found that I did not like the canyoneering-style travel, especially navigating tight, steep and higher-risk spaces, and though Arches was cool (Tower Arch area was great), it did not stir in me the emotional response I get from the very best locations -- the best thing I saw in Arches were the La Sals in the distance. Some memorable moments like being rescued from a hailstorm by a random jeep and some beautiful water-related scenery including one of the most vibrant rainbows I've ever seen. The amount of water in Courthouse Wash was shocking, and traversing a proper stream through such arid country was surreal. I saw a few sets of footprints, especially along the bard-wire fence and in Courthouse Wash so I know there's at least a handful of folks out there. I attempted the alternate that exits Arches via the cliffs in the south but couldn't find a safe way down, though by that time I was tired and getting blasted by wind gusts that pulled the sunglasses off my face and did not thoroughly explore every possible route so I must've missed it... instead I turned around and walked the road out feeling defeated while getting buzzed by hundreds of tourist cars. Moab was a tourist hellhole and I picked the absolute worst possible time to need a rest break (read up about Jeep Week). Although I consider myself a decent hiker I am just not tough enough to undertake even a section of something like the Hayduke solo and enjoy it, I think in part because I am sort of over the thru-hiking game. I'm just not up for misery and suffering like I once was, I have enough of that in everyday life and want a break from it on vacation. Ultimately I learned several lessons from this aborted trip, the most valuable being that for some reason the Universe has conspired against me 3/3 times I've hiked in Utah. Every single trip I've ever taken there has utterly failed, from canyon country up to the Uintas, each for unique reasons. I simply cannot afford to waste any more time and money on failed trips and so as a policy will avoid this state from now on, what a bummer. The purpose of this trip overall was to search for a place where I can hike car-free in spectacular scenery and return time and time again and though I'm sure there are stronger and savvier people who can make it work, I could not.

Last Minute

The weather here at home has just gotten very nice, I have the windows open and am wearing only a cotton t-shirt. I think I may have timed this well, let's hope. Some not-great weather for the first 24-36 hours but nice afterwards. Test my rain jacket in the shower with a t-shirt under it, the t-shirt remained dry after 30 seconds in the shower. TSA seems to be getting paid again, hopefully the airport is functional, I will give myself extra time because it stresses me out.

Forecast (Arches)

Detailed Forecast

Wednesday Showers before noon, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between noon and 3pm, then showers likely after 3pm. High near 62. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 15 to 25 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. West wind 10 to 15 mph becoming south southeast after midnight.

Thursday Sunny, with a high near 66. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 15 to 20 mph becoming south southwest 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Thursday Night A chance of rain showers before 9pm, then a chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday Sunny, with a high near 56. Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 34.

Saturday Sunny, with a high near 62. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 38.

Sunday Sunny, with a high near 68. Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 42.

Monday Sunny, with a high near 72. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 47.

Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 73.

Plan

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) for the overall trip 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 all of them other than Swami 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 anxious about the Hayduke generally: navigation, routefinding, higher level of overall mindfulness, water, sand, slickrock, conditions. Canyon country, while beautiful, feels like a place that punishes mistakes.

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.

As of March 2026 Utah is experiencing its warmest winter on record, resulting in a severe "snow drought" and critically low water levels for the Colorado River system. 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 270-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