Hayduke Day 29: Yellow Rock and imagining what we’re all living thru

The smooth walled boulevard of yesterday shifts into a jumble of rust colored rocks this morning. It’s hectic to pick through. The cow paths I follow will suddenly drop off to nowhere and the canyon floor is carpeted with matted willows and tangled tree branches. Is this leftovers from the hundred year flood? Or maybe this place abides in perpetual chaos? I get the sense that this canyon has really been through something. Like looking at someones face that’s creased under a story; a story you are desperate to hear but don’t quite know how to ask for.

As we navigate through the tangle we try to keep our feet dry until we accept that dry feet are an utterly futile effort. Then we surrender to walking straight through the water. Forever a core tension and freedom in all my thru hiking.

Around a bend in the canyon, we run into a herd of longhorns. They too look like they’ve really been through something. The story behind these cows’ creases is self evident. They’re hungry. Emaciated. One stops behind the herd and stares and moos with every breath at us. I name him Daryl. I don’t think Daryl is healthy.

Hikers a week behind us will post photos of two dead long horns when they pass thru this same area, one looks just like Daryl 🥺

I gotta stop naming animals.

Hackberry Canyon

Signs of flash flood clinging to trees ten feet up

Hackberry, by another, redder aspect

As we splish splash down the end of Hackberry, it smooths out back into boulevard walking and soon we run into day hikers. One of them asks if we’ve found the dinosaur tracks. Dino tracks?! Nope. But my imagination is delighted to know they’re here somewhere. Weekend and I hold hands while hiking for a mile or two, a benefit of hiking a non-trail trail. So much space for two abreast.

To connect with the Upper Paria River, our ticket north to Bryce, we opt for an alternate to Yellow Rock. It adds a climb and some route finding, but we have fun doing it. Yellow Rock is as advertised! A huge yellow rock. It’s more than yellow though. It’s melted creamcicle with swoops of vermillion powder. Well worth the side trip. A highlight of the section, even.

Hike up to Yellow Rock

Yellow Rock!

Hiking back down to the Paria

More colors and textures

Eventually, we drop down to the Paria River which is broad and braided and silty. Less choco-milk and more chai latte. I cross strands of the river every few minutes. At first this is a welcome cool down, but as the Paria miles wear on and the wind picks up and the sun drops, my Double Happiness temperature drops too. I get colder and colder until I know I need to make camp and get warm. We search around Hogseye Creek (the names of landmarks, a core delight of Utah) for something camp-able. It’s all cow trampled but we make a nest of sage brush work.

My shoes are already frozen when I put them on to brush my teeth.