HDT Day 41: Vermillion Cliffs to Near Jacob Lake

ByPurple Haze Posted on

Daily Miles: 25.3, Total Miles: 583.0

There are only a couple of ways to get off the Vermillion Cliffs. Both involve the Sand Hill Crack and neither one is very easy. Steep and rocky, faint trail at best and an occasional cairn. I had to back up a few times and look hard for a safer way.

Sand Hill Crack near to top of Vermillion Cliffs

I picked up a better trail at the bottom that took me to an old ranch house at Jacobs Pool and then a dirt road out to Highway 89a.

Looking back up the Sand Hill Crack
Vermillion Cliffs

From there, it was up House Rock Valley, then southwest across ranchland and the Kaibab National Forest. I finally met back up with the AZT/HDT south of Jacob Lake at the Murray Lake TH.

I didn’t realize I had my Kanab sign upside down but the first vehicle picked me up and took me to Fredonia, about 10 miles south of Kanab. Met a few snow flurries north of Jacob Lake. In Fredonia, I stuck my thumb out and the first truck took me straight to my Kanab motel. I could get used to this!

The first stop was Wild Thyme Restuarant for a delicious BBQ cheeseburger with sauteed potatoes. Hiker hunger has set in.