Sep 15: Hite and the Red Cliffs

Woke up early to get to the Hite Outpost (a Lake Powell former marina that no longer has enough water to launch any boats) before the employee left to run errands on her day off. We hiked early and fast enough that we woke her up, so mission accomplished. I took a shower, ate junk food, and drank Gatorade. It felt amazing. She gave us a ride to the turn off for the trail (neither of us gave two turds about skipping ~2 miles of pavement walking, and she let us get out and look around on the bridge over the Colorado). She was convinced that we could not go the way we clearly had to go (and did in fact go) so that was awkward. I mean, there are cliffs involved, but it was a short class 4 chimney that only required two or three moves but did require a pack haul. I was in a pretty emotionally ragged state, it being a million degrees and all, so Nano did the heavy lifting (both our packs contained 7 or 8 L of water leaving Hite) . The smoke from the fires is coming in, and the air is pretty bad. 

We talked about how we feel like we're trying to sneak one by 2020, and she is not having it. The heat is really doing a number on us from around 2 to 6 PM every day. We feel great in the morning, but unbreathable air isn't going to help. Should be in Hanksville by Thursday, the Dirty Devil River stands in the way. 

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