Hanksville-based Hiking October 5-12, 2025

We have returned from our last llama trip with packer BJ Orozco. Since there will not be a llama trip this fall, I have arranged to rent a very nice house in Hanksville, Utah (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/48361359), which will our base for a week of day hiking in a part of Utah that has escaped my attention for these many years. We have the house from Sunday October 5 to Sunday October 12, giving us 6 days for hiking. Hanksville is something less than 8 hours from Los Alamos by car, so we will spend the Sundays driving there and driving back.

Although the immediate vicinity of Hanksville is a sparse stretch of desert, it is surrounded by day destinations that we have seldom visited, because they are hard to reach from the canyon country periphery where we often stay. There are a great many options. Potential hikes include:

• Horseshoe Canyon, an isolated section of Canyonlands National Park reputed to have the best petroglyphs on the Colorado Plateau
• The Robbers Roost section of the Dirty Devil River
• Goblin Valley state park – well visited, but still an marvelous set of rock formations
• Trails on the east side of Capitol Reef National Park, such as the Golden Throne
• Maidenwater, Woodruff, and Swett Canyons to the east of the Bullfrog road
• Several San Rafael Swell canyons, including Little Wild Horse and others less well known
• The domed slickrock country on the north side of North Wash

Most of the hiking will be off trail and exploratory, checking out routes that are new to all of us. This is a hiking trip – we do not intend to include climbing or canyoneering in the day offerings.

The house has 4 bedrooms plus sleeping space in the living room – we can figure out how to arrange the lodging depending on the preferences of those who sign up. We will share the rental costs – as trip organizer, I am willing to take the master bedroom, and  pay an accordingly larger share. Let Bill (bill@priedhorsky.net) know if you would like to join in.