Hayduke Trail – Day 6
March 19, 2023
Miles Today/ Total: 10.3 / 86.8
It was supposed to only get down to 40 last night but our shoes and socks were frozen this morning. We got our gear together and were able to catch our first sunrise of the trip from our campsite.
As we got back on trail we still had a few hundred feet to climb out of Indian Creek Canyon. Once on top we were able to work our way around several arms on the benches above the canyon. After breakfast we descended back into a canyon on some challenging down climbs.
The rest of the morning was spent walking up the valley trying to avoid water, mud, and soft sand. We reached the 4WD road to the Colorado River overlook about 11:00 and started the 8 mile off trail road walk to Needles Outpost to pick up our resupply boxes.
When we arrived the store was closed but the owner got us our boxes and we were able to sort through our resupply on the nearby picnic tables. The owner was very accommodating and had lots of questions about our trip so far.
Leaving Needles Outpost we headed into Canyonlands National Park and picked up our camping permit for the next 2 days. We headed out to the Needles North Zone and found a camping spot amongst the rocks and trees for the night. We ate a quick dinner and retired to our tents as the temperatures sank along with the setting sun.