Sagebrush personal hiking blog
HDT 2022 Day 10, April 10, Sunday
Start Dirty Devil Escape Route 0.6 from S4 mile 18
End S5 mile 8, on approach to Mount Ellen
Miles walked: 23.3
From my bypass route I get to Poison Spring Canyon, on a day that has turned much colder, with thin clouds.
At first, no water is running, but before long a shallow stream of clear water winds through the wash.
HDT 2022 Day 9, April 9, Saturday
Start S4 mile 0.6 along Flint Trail dirt road
End Dirty Devil Escape Route 0.6 from S4 mile 18
Miles walked: 18
A short roadwalk leads to the wash for Rock Canyon, where I discover a small pool of water almost hidden by tumbleweed. The water is brown the color of tea, but not silty, and filtering does not lessen the color much. I hope the good minerals outweigh the bad ones, as I gratefully take 3 liters.
The climb to the rim of Rock Canyon has, as a finale, a rock climb up a narrow chimney that cannot be done with your pack on. I tried pushing my pack ahead with my trekking pole, but that did not work. All HDT hikers are asked to bring a rope to haul your pack in these circumstances. I use my bear line, doubled, which works fine
HDT 2022 Day 8, April 8, Friday
Start S3 mile 49.2 along Dark Canyon
End S4 mile 0.6 along Flint Trail dirt road
Miles walked: 20.5 (including Sundance reroute)
After a little more time in Dark Canyon, where I started to see a few campers, it was time to hike out. The route is Sundance Canyon Trail.
The “trail” here up the very steep slope covered in boulders is marked by small cairns and footprints. Actually, the trail here is more like a “user trail”, that is, a trail defined by the footprints of hikers, and not actually built by a public lands agency. I counted at least three alternate routes up, each defined by their own cairns, sometimes merging or separating. What an intense aerobic bouldering workout, for an hour or two.
Here is the view from the top.
