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We began our 117-day long trek on Sunday, March 12 in Zion Canyon. After climbing up the East Mesa trail, we encountered a surprisingly deep snowpack, deposited only a week earlier. Post-hole city. We were flailing, so we decided to see if the snow would set up overnight. It didn't. We ended up making our own snowshoes from juniper branches, plodding slowly with our 70 pound packs. After finally dropping out of the snow, we pressed on to make up for lost miles.

"Exhausted and cut, bruised and scraped, we collapsed in the first level site we came to. Any false step over the previous hours could easily have resulted in a life-ending tumble..."

On the third day, our legs fatigued from the climb out of Zion Canyon and our battle with the snow, we dropped over 1000-feet down the "fat man's misery trail," an extremely steep drop into "the barracks," or Paraunuweap Canyon of the east fork of the Virgin River.

Our plan was to hike four miles up river. No such luck. Not even a mile up we got shut down. Too much water to continue. Decision time. Turn around or attempt to continue by climbing out. As luck would have it, we found a way out, but it wasn't easy. It took us over five hours, climbing well over sundown, to push, pull, carry, hike and otherwise force ourselves and our packs up the steepest, most treacherous ascent I have ever attempted.

Our "route" had all of the normal obstacles: heavy scrub population, very steep, loose dirt, rock faces with breakable holds and crumbling rocks. Exhausted and cut, bruised and scraped, we collapsed in the first level site we came to. Any false step over the previous hours could easily have resulted in a life-ending tumble.

We figured out where we had ended up and set our sights for the twin towns of Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona to replace water bottles destroyed while climbing out on "Mitch and Mike's Misery." A beautiful, red rock sculpted pack trail brought us to these strange polygamist communities, where we received stares but no greetings. Out of there! Too many silent, unsmiling children and girls/women in "Little House on The Prairie" garb.

Four days over the Arizona strip and we made it to our first re-supply site (Day 11). After reloading packs and feeling like we weren't getting any new scenery, we headed down into Hack Canyon, whose mouth we are now at, in the Kanab Creek Wilderness. We will follow this very drainage all the way to the Colorado River, deep inside the Grand Canyon. Hopefully, there is not too much snow to prevent us from getting our next food supply, cached in November. But if all goes well, we will go 34 days, all unsupported. We've been snowed on a couple times, but so far the weather has been very good. We'll see what happens.

Day 19 - Deer Creek, Grand Canyon
We went a week without seeing anyone before coming on some backpackers in lower Deer Creek dale. Group from Denver will be bringing out this letter in fact. Kanab Creek was splendid: Deep-walled canyon with clear running water and deep swimmable holes. Truly a desert jewel.

We spent day 17 off – not hoisting the packs once – for the first time this trip. A seven-mile day, scrambling upriver, brought us to Deer Creek Falls, another simply sublime site! We've heard we can easily access our critical food/fuel cache, so it looks like it's still a go! Stand by for another note next time we enter civilization.

— Mike Coronella, MountainZone.com Correspondent

EXPEDITION DISPATCHES