In Defense of Nature
The Hayduke gang is back to four; my brother Chuck left us at Rainbow Point two days ago. Rainbow Point, elevation 9,115 feet, gave us all a taste of what I got to “play” in when in the Henry mountains weeks ago: ponderosa forests, enormous views, and trudging through the snow.
Yestereday, we left the land of the Pink Cliffs for the White Cliffs, two of the stairs that make up the “Grand Staircase” for which this huge national monument is named. Now instead of ponderosa and birch trees, we are back to sage and “PJs,” or pinyon-juniper forests. For the second time on this adventure, the higher elevations showed recent evidence of the unexpected: bear tracks, something I’m reluctant to report as local folks seem to despise predators, but it certainly gets the heart beating when you contemplate sharing space with hunters as large as we are.
Ray, Chuck, Allsion, and Ben in Bryce
There’s also been a lot of cat tracks and large deposits of cat poop, though a sighting still remains elusive. Then there are the coyotes, or rather the lack thereof. I’ve still only heard their chorus a single time, well over a month ago in the Canyonlands. We’ve seen some tracks, but that’s about it.
As we leave the White Cliffs behind us, we also seem to be walking away from water; both Bulrush (which we followed most of the day yesterday) and Lick Wash were flowing when we first encountered them, but both eventually dried up, the water disappearing into the desert sand. Fortunately, we’ve got water caches hidden away to keep us going (though we’ve all carried extra from Riggs Spring in Bryce, as the cache we’ll reach tonight was originally intended for my solo journey).
Now for a little self-critique: part of my mission on this expedition is to ground-truth the Hayduke Trail Guide. So far, there’s been a few problems, a few errors. The guide does a better job at describing the line Mitch drew on our quad maps on previous journeys than at describing what’s actually on the ground. I’ll be posting my notes and changes on the Hayduke Trail page of my website (www.deepdesert.com) after the adventure is completed. So, if you’re planning on trying out part or all of the Hayduke Trail, make sure you check that out!
Day 45
The Hayduke adventure is certainly living up to its name. First, my water cache was spitting distance from a beautiful unmarked spring. That was good, as the nearby spring on the map was dry. Ben and Allison left us at Hwy 89; Ben has a herniated disc in his back that simply made it too uncomfortable to continue. Not so good. (We still hope to see them at the Grand Canyon in a week). No gang, no more!
Ray and I continued down Upper Buckskin Gulch, a beautiful, seldom visited canyon that feeds the famous slot canyon lower down. The day was a hot one, easily in the upper 80s—good thing for all the water we are carrying. The canyons were virtually dry. It’s also showed us that it’s getting to be “siesta season,” time to hide in the shade for the hottest part of the day. At one point we apparently encroached near a nesting site of two unfamiliar large raptors; they were soaring and screeching as we passed.
Ray climbing in Bryce.
After a 15-mile day, we’ve camped near the Buckskin Gulch trailhead, still five miles up from the Narrows. A sign at the trailhead informed us that there is a $5 per person per day fee to merely WALK through this drainage, something that should have very little impact on the ground. At the same time, cattle grazing is permitted here—Utah’s only BLM Wilderness. To keep the five dollar (daily) fee in perspective, consider this: a cow and two calves may graze here (yes, this is what someone calls their “ranch”), trampling plants, introducing exotic and invasive species, degrading water sources, displacing wildlife while shitting and pissing all over (and you thought you’d get the smell of wildflowers) for a whopping $1.79 a month! That’s less than two cents a day per cow, while we’re asked to fork out 250 times as much. Does this seem unreasonable to anyone else? I’m feeling like I’m being asked to subsidize the single most destructive activity on public lands.
This is exactly the kind of awareness we hope to bring by following the Hayduke Trail. If you think this is as pathetic as I do, call your U.S. senator and bitch—maybe they’ll listen (but don’t count on it unless you can compete with the cattle industry’s campaign donations).
I’ve asked this before: What would Hayduke do? Would he pay?
To close, I’d like to share a few sentences from Ellen Meloy’s The Anthropology of Turquoise: Every nature girl and boy should be prepared to defend the places they love. Otherwise we have not earned them. When we march in from the starry nights and dazzling rivers, we must argue on their behalf, pressure politicians and other moronic invertebrates to wean themselves from their unsightly addiction to corporate blubber and for once act in favor of things that matter, like air to breathe, water to drink, and space to roam. We must…speak for the creatures that have no voice, staunch the lunatic hemorrhage of wild lands from the face of the planet.
Tomorrow: Arizona!
Keep it wild,
Mike Coronella
Yestereday, we left the land of the Pink Cliffs for the White Cliffs, two of the stairs that make up the “Grand Staircase” for which this huge national monument is named. Now instead of ponderosa and birch trees, we are back to sage and “PJs,” or pinyon-juniper forests. For the second time on this adventure, the higher elevations showed recent evidence of the unexpected: bear tracks, something I’m reluctant to report as local folks seem to despise predators, but it certainly gets the heart beating when you contemplate sharing space with hunters as large as we are.
Ray, Chuck, Allsion, and Ben in Bryce
There’s also been a lot of cat tracks and large deposits of cat poop, though a sighting still remains elusive. Then there are the coyotes, or rather the lack thereof. I’ve still only heard their chorus a single time, well over a month ago in the Canyonlands. We’ve seen some tracks, but that’s about it.
As we leave the White Cliffs behind us, we also seem to be walking away from water; both Bulrush (which we followed most of the day yesterday) and Lick Wash were flowing when we first encountered them, but both eventually dried up, the water disappearing into the desert sand. Fortunately, we’ve got water caches hidden away to keep us going (though we’ve all carried extra from Riggs Spring in Bryce, as the cache we’ll reach tonight was originally intended for my solo journey).
Now for a little self-critique: part of my mission on this expedition is to ground-truth the Hayduke Trail Guide. So far, there’s been a few problems, a few errors. The guide does a better job at describing the line Mitch drew on our quad maps on previous journeys than at describing what’s actually on the ground. I’ll be posting my notes and changes on the Hayduke Trail page of my website (www.deepdesert.com) after the adventure is completed. So, if you’re planning on trying out part or all of the Hayduke Trail, make sure you check that out!
Day 45
The Hayduke adventure is certainly living up to its name. First, my water cache was spitting distance from a beautiful unmarked spring. That was good, as the nearby spring on the map was dry. Ben and Allison left us at Hwy 89; Ben has a herniated disc in his back that simply made it too uncomfortable to continue. Not so good. (We still hope to see them at the Grand Canyon in a week). No gang, no more!
Ray and I continued down Upper Buckskin Gulch, a beautiful, seldom visited canyon that feeds the famous slot canyon lower down. The day was a hot one, easily in the upper 80s—good thing for all the water we are carrying. The canyons were virtually dry. It’s also showed us that it’s getting to be “siesta season,” time to hide in the shade for the hottest part of the day. At one point we apparently encroached near a nesting site of two unfamiliar large raptors; they were soaring and screeching as we passed.
Ray climbing in Bryce.
After a 15-mile day, we’ve camped near the Buckskin Gulch trailhead, still five miles up from the Narrows. A sign at the trailhead informed us that there is a $5 per person per day fee to merely WALK through this drainage, something that should have very little impact on the ground. At the same time, cattle grazing is permitted here—Utah’s only BLM Wilderness. To keep the five dollar (daily) fee in perspective, consider this: a cow and two calves may graze here (yes, this is what someone calls their “ranch”), trampling plants, introducing exotic and invasive species, degrading water sources, displacing wildlife while shitting and pissing all over (and you thought you’d get the smell of wildflowers) for a whopping $1.79 a month! That’s less than two cents a day per cow, while we’re asked to fork out 250 times as much. Does this seem unreasonable to anyone else? I’m feeling like I’m being asked to subsidize the single most destructive activity on public lands.
This is exactly the kind of awareness we hope to bring by following the Hayduke Trail. If you think this is as pathetic as I do, call your U.S. senator and bitch—maybe they’ll listen (but don’t count on it unless you can compete with the cattle industry’s campaign donations).
I’ve asked this before: What would Hayduke do? Would he pay?
To close, I’d like to share a few sentences from Ellen Meloy’s The Anthropology of Turquoise: Every nature girl and boy should be prepared to defend the places they love. Otherwise we have not earned them. When we march in from the starry nights and dazzling rivers, we must argue on their behalf, pressure politicians and other moronic invertebrates to wean themselves from their unsightly addiction to corporate blubber and for once act in favor of things that matter, like air to breathe, water to drink, and space to roam. We must…speak for the creatures that have no voice, staunch the lunatic hemorrhage of wild lands from the face of the planet.
Tomorrow: Arizona!
Keep it wild,
Mike Coronella
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2 Comments:
Mike-
Way to go on your trek. After finally returning from our own chunk of Hayduke Trail (Moab to Rainbow Pt, Bryce Canyon) It's sure nice to get an explanation for the confusing mix of footprints marching alongside yours that we followed for 43 days. The tracks you and Ray left in Middle Moody were utterly baffling. It's also amazing we never crossed paths-- we hit Bryce Canyon May 27th!
It sure was fun, but the cherry crop is ready to be picked at the farm. We'll be selling our organic cherries at family drug in Moab next week, so send your family by for a nutritious treat.
Keep it wild,
Matt and Chellee
PS our trip blog can be seen at www.xanga.com/the_sundance_kid
Hi Mike,
I am keeping up with your trip, and am still somewhat green with envy.
Wayne
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