Introduction
Map
Mojave Desert
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Colorado Plateau
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Sonoran Desert
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
Painted Desert
Day 22
Day 23
New Mexico
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27
Day 28
Day 29
Day 30
Chihuahuan Desert
Day 31
Day 32
Day 33
Day 34
Day 35
Day 36
Texas
Day 37
Day 38
Day 39
Day 40
Day 41
Day 42
Day 9: Hanksville
Thursday, March 21, 1996
1248 miles
38° 22' 30" N / 110° 42' 41" W
I woke up frequently at night, pondering such questions as: will our car survive the 50 miles of dirt road? Is it possible to hike the 12 miles with heavy packs? Will we have enough water? Will it be worth it? Well, yes, yes, yes and yes.
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| Hollow Mountain gas station | ||
We get up at sunrise and load the car. Then we stop at the Hollow Mountain gas station to get sunscreen and "breakfast". We drive North out of Hanksville into a vast and empty plain. After 20 miles we reach the turnoff for Hans Flat and continue East on a dirt road. We slowly climb a high plateau and are immersed in a seemingly endless landscape of buttes, canyons and mountain ranges. The higher we get the greener it gets, which looks almost a bit out of place, with the snowcapped Henry Mountains as a backdrop.
After about two hours we finally arrive at the ranger station. The dirt road wasn't all that bad, except for a few rough and sandy spots. After we get our permits, we continue on the road that turns really bad now, and we are amazed about how our trusty old car maneuvres over the rocks.
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| Millard Canyon | ||
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| Cloud over Elaterite Butte | ||
The the big packing happening starts again and around 11:30am we are finally ready to start. The first few miles drop into a scenic canyon on a very primitive trail. Afterwards the scenery opens up and we emerge onto the Elaterite Basin. Elaterite Butte is our landmark at the horizon. Behind it lies our goal. We reach the Flint Trail jeep road and walking gets easy, but we start feeling the weight of our packs and the feet are running hot.
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| Happy campers. | ||
After 5 1/2 hours and 12 miles we finally reach the Maze Overlook which is every bit as promised. Below and beyond us lies an immense and intricate array of rocks and canyons. We make our camp right on the rim and enjoy the sunset and the warm wind.
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| The Maze Overlook. | |||||
After sunset the sky displays an incredible spectrum of clouds in all hues and the fingernail moon fits nicely into the picture. There is a bank of clouds in the West and so we're curious about what tomorrow will bring.
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| Evening sky over the Maze | ||