HDT 2022 Day 17, April 17, Sunday
Start Coyote Gulch S6 mile 62.0
End top of Fifty Mile Bench S7 mile 6.9
Miles walked:17.4
Coyote Gulch widens at times into a lovely riparian area, with cottonwoods and oak.
We get to walk through Coyote Natural Bridge.
And later we arrive at Jacob Hamblin Arch.
The Gulch passes through a series of amphitheaters, some with odd acoustical effects that seem to change the direction of the sound of the water.
Finally we leave the Gulch, and enter the narrower Hurricane Wash.
Soon Hurricane looses its water, to be replaced with a floor of loose sand.
And the Wash progresses to a desert hike. Many hikers are coming in the other way, headed for the Gulch.
I get to the trailhead, dig up my food cache, and find a bit of cell signal to update my journal and email. Next is a journey along road towards Fifty Mile Bench, and an elevation change of 4.8k to 7.2k.
After following road and jeep road, the route follows an old pack trail, still visible and in good shape for mules to go up– so I did. Near the top we pass through Straight Cliffs.
The top opens up to a wide flat area. With a final look back, I look for a place to camp out of the wind.
Finished audiobook El Dorado, by Baroness Orczy, read by Karen Savage.