Photo: Winding in Bullrush Gorge
We left the RV park early before 6:30am. Yeti was to drop me off where the trail crosses Skutumpah Road about 8 miles west of the Willis Creek Narrows parking lot.
We were not sure of the condition of the road, but we'd seen cars continuing along passed Willis Creek on other occasions. Also, Yeti planned to continue on Skutumpah to Johnson Canyon Road to get to Hwy 89 near Kanab. It would be a much shorter route than driving back and taking the long way around on paved roads. As it turned out, Skutumpah Road was great and the Johnson Canyon Road that he'd take south to Hwy 89 was paved! so, good choice.
He dropped me off in Bull Rush Hollow. Into a wash again. In about a mile, the wash becomes Bull Rush Gorge, a small gorge. It was quite pleasant. I went carefully as it was filled with rocks, though nothing as dramatic as past Hayduke sections. The walls of the gorge narrowed a bit but was never as tight as any of the previous narrows I'd been through. Greyish brown rock formed the walls of the canyon.
The Gorge was a few miles long and transitioned into Park Wash. Most of the rest of the day was spent in the wash which was very sandy...soft sand. Not tough terrain, but walking in the soft sand can be tiring. There were many tire marks here, so pickups were in this far. Every now and then a two track that went parallel to the wash and I always took those tracks...much easier to walk on. I had thought the wash would not be scenic, but lovely cliffs were visible along the way.
Late morning as I walked one of the two tracks, I came to the old cowboy cabin. Two water tanks were there and one had water! I decide to stop and cook my hot meal here so I could take advantage of this water, so that's what I did.
About 3pm, I saw that an alternate on a road began...I took it. Kind of tired of the wash. It was a great dirt road and as it turns out the main route joins this road which was the route all the way to Hwy 89. A cold squall came through just as I was contemplating looking for a campsite. First I got grapple snow and then a freezing rain and very windy. I suited up with raingear and kept walking. No way I could put up a tent easily with that wind. I even wondered if I should go all the way to Hwy 89 that same day...it would have been a 24 mile day. But, the storm passed quickly so I resumed looking for a spot to camp. I did find one finally...a bit over 17 miles today.
It showered again briefly after I set up and was cooking right outside the tent, but that didn't last long. Read a few pages of my e-book and went to sleep.
Next morning, I got an early start after brewing a cup of coffee at about 5:30am. I left camp at 6:30 and only had about 7 miles to go. The road was an easy walk, and I did 3 miles in the first hour. Slowed a bit in the second, but shortly after reached Hwy 89 and met Yeti. We drove into town, I showered quick, and we went to the Bakery/Cafe for breakfast. Then, we went to the library and read books there for while, went to Rocking V again for lunch, back to the library, and then back to the motel for a snooze. Good hiking and now rest day(s). We like Kanab.