[pct-l] Hiking Ideas for Spring

[jason moores]

March is the perfect season for hiking the SW and the Colorado Plateau has endless possibilities. Grand Canyon, Zion, Brice, Escalante, Arches, Canyon Lands, Capitol Reef. Also, as mentioned, the Arizona trail is an excellent, low volume distance trail. The Hayduke Trail connects almost all of these areas but can be a logistical nightmare with multiple food and water caches necessary (difficult to facilitate even if you live in the area). The Hayduke is for very experienced desert hikers, requiring orienteering and advanced route finding. Though this is not true of all the sections.
The Great Western Trail is a convoluted series of hiker trail, forest service and orv roads which runs all the way to Canada. You can pick it up at the end of the AZ trail and keep heading north until time runs out. The 90 mile stretch across the Aquarius Plateau is some of the best high desert forest hiking that I've ever experienced. (true to its name the Aquarius is covered in hundreds of ponds, lakes & streams)
If you choose the AZ, GW or Hayduke be prepared to encounter snow above 8000 even in May (North Rim, Aquarius) But in low snow years these high plateaus may be clear by April. Snowshoes and 4 season gear may be needed.
March and April are the time to be in the canyons. Consider this option: Travel to Escalante Utah and use this very hiker friendly town to stage several multi-day assaults on the canyons of the Escalante, the Kaparowitz Plateau, and the Aquarius. Escalante Outfitters on Main St. has tent site rentals and 7 basic no frills cabin for cheap, good food and beer, knowledgeable staff and owners that are very involved in preserving the area. You can load up 4WD with weeks worth of food and water and bounce from hike to hike and never come close to exhausting the possibilities of the Escalante area in 10 week, not even 10 years.
Also consider this hike in the Canyon: the Kanab Creek Wilderness to the Colorado to Deer Creek to Thunder River to Indian Hollow to Jump-Up back to Kanab.
The Tonto Trail or Tuck-Up Trail of Grand Canyon. All of these are multi-week trips. 
I would strongly suggest renting a 4x4 as most trailheads in the south west

jason


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