Arches National Park - The Warmup Loop

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 It’s finally happening. My first day on the Hayduke. The last days and even weeks have felt like a never ending succession of little tasks that I had to finish before my hike would start. Lately there was the food stashing, before that was the route planning, the food buying and packing.  I was so ready to get started!

Hello Friend!

The original Hayduke route starts with a long walk along a dirt road, but there is an alternate along the Devil’s Garden trail and, after the established trail ends, going down Buckskin Ridge into Salt Flat, continuing into Courthouse Wash which ends at the outskirts of Moab. I decided to make this a loop, so I could use my car to get to the trailhead. Initially I thought about road walking the last part of the loop, but while driving into the park I realized that the road has neither a bike/hike lane nor a shoulder, so I mapped out a route following washes and canyons instead of the road.

But First Sightseeing!

This loop would help me to fine tune my gear as I hadn’t gone backpacking in the desert for some time. There was also some route finding and I wanted to practice in a low consequence environment. I camped near the trailhead and set off after breakfast.

Alternate Park Entrance

It was early, so there weren’t many day hikers on the trail and as soon as the official trail ended, I saw nobody at all on the route. At first, finding a route down Buckskin Ridge was intimidating as I encountered several dead ends, but I got better as time went on and it was really fun to figure out the best way.

Dark Angel at Trail End

After reaching the Salt Flat I added a few side trips to the Marching Men and Tower Arch before heading south along the National Park border. That stretch is somewhat boring as it follows the cattle fence separating the park from BLM land. I was excited to see four or five different footsteps in this area. I assume only Haydukers hike this stretch and it was nice to see signs of fellow hikers! 

Camping Allowed Only Outside Arches

I camped near Willow Spring. I hiked 15 miles which was more than I wanted on my first day, but there was no other water source and I didn’t want to carry water for two days.

Willow Spring - Grateful For My Water Filter

The next morning I left my pack near the spring as I hiked into the Courthouse Wash. Even though the wash is accessible from the other side I couldn’t make it a loop without road walking, so I decided to return to the spring, grab my pack and go across the Salt Flat at a different spot to return to my car.

Morning Vibe

Hiking the wash took a lot longer than I thought. There was a short slot, lots of bushwhacking and quite a few miles walking in water. It was a lot of fun though! I turned around at Ring Arch near the road. This was the only place where I saw other people (and only two). I have a feeling the Hayduke will be a solitary experience.

Courthouse Wash

I returned to my pack two hours later than planned and made my way along some washes and up a sandstone ridge. Instead of a route back to the Salt Flat I encountered a beautiful canyon maze.

Canyons

I had to hike around that area and it was getting dark, so I decided to camp on a flat rock and return to the car in the morning. I was glad I brought emergency food as I clocked 17 miles that day. I cowboy camped again (at some point I’ll use my tent) as there were very few bugs and it was nice to fall asleep under the stars.

Good Night!

This morning I hiked back to my car. Even though it was Monday morning, the parking lots were already overflowing. It was an adjustment after two days in the wilderness. I drove back to Moab where I plan to spend the night. Tomorrow I will put my car in storage for the next two months and start the thru-hike. I’m excited and more than a little nervous!

Loop Complete!


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