This is one of those hikes that exhausts your supply of adjectives. After awhile you give up and simply just stop to stare in wonder, shake your head at the impossible beauty, and continue on.⁣ It is easily one of our top backpacking trips ever.

Steve and I first visited Buckskin Gulch and Paria Canyon in 2006 when we did an overnight trip from Wire Pass to the Whitehouse Trailhead (~20 miles). We were absolutely floored by Buckskin Gulch - it was incredible to spend a day hiking in the longest and deepest slot canyon in the country (world?). There were deep and dark sections that felt like we were hiking into a horror movie and areas with gorgeous sandstone glowing orange in the reflected light. We camped at the confluence and had a little taste of the beauty Paria Canyon had to offer, although much of the hike out to Whitehouse was a dry wash and it did not compare to the beautiful narrows sections. We said one day we would return to hike Paria Canyon to Lee’s Ferry. And we did - it just took us sixteen years to do so!

There have certainly been some changes since sixteen years have lapsed - mainly it is much harder now to get permits. Steve was on top of the process and logged on the minute permits were available for our dates and luckily snagged one (they were gone pretty much immediately). He was required to pick up the permit in person prior to our hike, I think the main reason being he had to also pick up wag bags, which are required for the hike (WAG =Waste Alleviation and Gelling). Wag bags are necessary to control human waste in the canyon. It isn’t fun to have to poop in a bag, but nobody wants to camp in a poop and toilet paper minefield, so it is a necessary evil.

Water levels can fluctuate and we spent quite a bit of time in freezing water while hiking Buckskin Gulch the first time around (including a couple of waist deep pools), which was at the end of May. This time around, Buckskin was essentially dry. There started to be some water seeping up as we neared the confluence, but the bulk of the slot canyon only had a few pools we could rock hop across (including the infamous Cesspool). I’m not sure what that says about the current drought conditions, but it was a relief to not have to deal with freezing, deep water. We were in the water a lot in Paria Canyon, but it was mostly ankle deep. We got lucky that the weekend we hiked, it was perfect for weather. No rain or flash flood risk and the temperatures were just right. The last day was exposed to the sun and it can get very hot hiking out - we were happy to avoid excessive heat.

I remembered the main obstacle in Buckskin Gulch from our first trip - the infamous boulder jam close to the confluence. There was a 10-15 foot downclimb, aided by a rope and some moki steps in the boulder. I’ve gotten a little more “Nervous Nellie” about downclimbs and such as I’ve gotten older, but it turned out to be a non-issue. There is an alternative way through this boulder jam called the “Rabbit Hole” (still a drop, but shorter and easier to navigate, there was a rope here too), although it isn’t always usable if it is full of debris. Luckily, it was clear when we were there and we made it just fine. We were aware of the newer boulder jam and downclimb in Wire Pass since we had encountered it on a day hike a few years ago, although this is also a non-issue now that a ladder has been placed there (BLM relented after a broken ankle and a helicopter rescue).

To allow ourselves plenty of time our permit was for four days, although we ended up doing it in three. It was a lot of miles - 44 miles from Wire Pass to Lee’s Ferry - but the hiking is straightforward and the miles fly by when you are surrounded by such incredible beauty. If you enter through Wire Pass you are committed to at least thirteen miles the first day to hike through Buckskin Gulch and reach the campsites near the confluence (we hiked a little beyond the confluence to find our campsite). Buckskin Gulch is like no other place and it was an amazing first day.

Our second day was also phenomenal. We hiked sixteen miles, camping about a mile beyond Shower Spring (Steve had a little extra mileage because he did the side trip up Wrather Canyon to see the arch there). By the end of the day the canyon started to open up, but much of the day was hiking through soaring canyon walls with beautiful hues of pink and orange. We had another terrific campsite and beautiful evening in the canyon as we rested up for our final day, a fifteen mile hike out to Lee’s Ferry. The first bit of the day was still in the canyon and this section was wider with more boulders along the way. As the day went on, it didn’t feel like a canyon anymore and there were places where we diverged from the river to take the “high trail” for easier hiking. The third day was a stark contrast to our two previous days. The landscape shifted to views of Vermillion Cliffs and the desert flora and fauna. This day had an impossible task following up Buckskin Gulch and the Paria Narrows and we did not find it as impressive, although it was a nice example of desert hiking.

Overall this is simply an incredible backpack and I’m sure it will be a highlight of 2022!