Sadly, there is no food anywhere near the trailheads. So, the group, even Flat Stanley, seems a bit tense when we begin the hike midday, especially Rich and Suzanne, our unfaltering worrywarts. Ignore the right fork to Fivemile Mountain at the saddle, then descend to a crossing of the Buckskin Gulch wash after 4.4 miles, where the road is subject to flood damage. “But it sounded like it was very far away. Kanab Field Office 669 S Highway 89A Kanab, UT 84741. You can also continue on to safe campsites at the confluence of Buckskin Gulch and the Paria Canyon, 14.5 miles from the start. Visit the Paria Ranger Station (62 miles east of Kanab, Utah) on the day before your hike to discuss the weather report, flash flood risks, and available water sources with the Ranger. It’s not “if” but “when” in this canyon. Peekaboo Canyon Wood Fired Kitchen is also a tasty choice especially if you prefer an all-vegetarian menu. As long as the good Lord allows. We feel like we’re on a mission with Victorian explorer John Cabot, searching for a Northwest Passage that we’re sure exists but consistently eludes us. In Brown’s book, the newly-flat Stanley quickly learns how to sneak under doors into locked rooms and visit faraway places through the mail. It is fraught with potential deadly threats from dehydration, venomous snakes, challenging terrain, no GPS or cell service, rockslides, and the ever-present real danger of flash floods. August and early September are especially dangerous due to the monsoon and risk of flash flooding in the canyon. Luckily, we’ve spent ample time in both of these towns and have a few recommendations. However, the summer months can be deadly hot and are not recommended. “Look, if it starts actually raining, I agree that we should turn back,” I say. However, after inclement weather, the road can be impassable even to 4×4 vehicles. Carrying Flat Stanley, I begin scrambling up the precipitous, rocky trail and discover two sandstone ledges (known as “benches” in canyoneering parlance) protruding from the side of the canyon walls, high above the canyon floor, which will be perfect sites to pitch our tents. Late February to Late May & Late September to Early December are the best times to explore the canyon with milder temperatures. If the sky above you is clear, this doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily safe. The recommended route requires a shuttle. Wire Pass Trail is located in the Kanab area of Southern Utah. My Plans for 2021 – Will I return to the Appalachian Trail. For safety’s sake, carry at least eight liters of water per person, in case you don’t reach a viable water source on your first day of hiking. Great guide! ARIA CANYON-VERMILLION CLIFFS WILDERNESS, Utah — “Meet Flat Stanley,” my sister Jen says to me as I’m about to leave her house. I even concede that Flat Stanley won’t require us to carry any extra supplies considering that he doesn’t eat much and, since he’s made of paper, water is his mortal enemy. Fortunately, for the most part, the risk of a flash flood is manageable. The only place to camp inside Buckskin Gulch is at the confluence with Paria Canyon (and by permit-only). According to the park’s service, this is 13.2 miles from Wire Pass so the first day is a long one. Buckskin Gulch in the Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument is said to be the longest slot canyon in the world. It sometimes is as narrow as 2ft. Paria Canyon and its tributaries average eight flash floods a year. While it is possible to hike all of Buckskin Gulch, from Wire Pass to its confluence with the Paria Canyon and back, in a single day, you’ll enjoy the trip more if you give yourself more time and camp overnight. But, finally, we spot a steep route up the walls, across jagged, sand-covered stone, on the canyon’s left side. Wire Pass Trail follows a desert wash (AKA a dry creek bed) to a gorgeous slot canyon, called Buckskin Gulch. We hike slowly, giving us time to enjoy the fantastic, alien scenery fully and take photos. And another hike to add to my bucket list! Flat Stanley, always mysteriously pensive, stays silent on the matter. google_ad_height = 60; I am going with the park service’s distances although the canyon feels longer. A boy made of paper, and five other hikers, traverse Buckskin Gulch’s Middle Route. If you can find it, you may choose to spend the night eight miles in, high above the canyon, at the Middle Route escape trail. But our major concern is that there are only two safe places for us to camp: at the confluence of the Paria River and Buckskin Gulch (11.5 miles away) and atop the apparently impossible-to-find Middle Route escape trail (6 miles away). However, for those who take on the world’s longest slot canyon otherworldly beauty awaits around every turn and there are a lot of turns. But what my sister doesn’t realize is that, unluckily for Stanley, flash floods pose a significant danger to hikers attempting Buckskin Gulch. Sticky mud pools are a common hazard in Buckskin Gulch. Bridget recently posted…My Plans for 2021 – Will I return to the Appalachian Trail? Make sure that there is no rain in the forecast. Wirepass to the Whitehouse Trailhead - Buckskin Gulch is an exceptionally long and spectacular slot canyon that lures hikers into the relatively new and adrenaline pumping pursuit of canyoneering.Touted as the "longest slot canyon in the world", Buckskin Gulch is … In the canyon itself, the temperature was very pleasant: probably 70F. At 15 miles long it is the longest slot canyon in the world. If we choose to continue, we must reach one of these two exits, because camping on the floor of the canyon is a recipe for certain death in the case of a flash flood. Though it’s not clear that Flat Stanley would be able to manage the steep climb. There are basically four ways to go about exploring Buckskin Gulch with two potential starting points and two potential endpoints. Due to the popularity of Buckskin Gulch, we reserved five of the required camping permits two months ago. You will also receive special human waste bags, because you must pack and carry out human waste. It is a part of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument which spans Utah and Arizona. August and early September are especially dangerous due to the monsoon and risk of flash flooding in the canyon. The driver was on time and very professional with loads of recommendations for exploring more of the area. If dry, the wash is very sandy to walk through with no shade. Don’t get me wrong, … Be careful.). google_ad_slot = "2575306589"; Like life, hiking the Buckskin requires constant vigilance. Wini and I, hiking ahead of the group, see a number of possible emergency exit candidates, but then we inevitably realize that some feature — their steepness, their slipperiness, or their overall precariousness — means that they can’t be the Middle Route. Buckskin Gulch is located along the Utah/Arizona border, near Kanab. But I imagine that the Bureau of Land Management won’t object to us taking a sixth hiker, one about the size of a Frisbee and weighing less than one ounce. Buckskin Gulch can also be taken on as a long day hike or as an out-n-back though you will have to determine when is best to turn back. The Buckskin Gulch and Wire Pass Trailheads are accessed via the House Rock Valley Road which can be a rough dirt and gravel road. Start hiking in the morning, leaving immediately at dawn. It shaves off 2.8-miles of what is inevitably a very long day. Buckskin Gulch . I believe traveling slowly across landscapes is important. Buckskin Gulch (named on some maps as Kaibab Gulch, or The Dive) is a tributary of the Paria River that drains an area around the Vermilion Cliffs in far south Utah and joins the Paria exactly at the Utah/Arizona border, 20 miles from Lees Ferry next to the Colorado River. Under an extraordinarily dark and starry sky, we make macaroni and cheese for dinner. If however you are headed to Kanab hit up Escobar’s Mexican Restaurant or Houston’s Trails End. There is also another decent campsite a short distance down the Paria on the left. A wag bag is specifically designed for capturing and securely transporting human waste. Of course, Luke wants his Stanley to travel to places even more adventurous and more exotic than those visited by his classmates’ Stanleys. On a whole, this road is a less rough road but the washboarding can be rough. But after another half mile of hiking, between canyon walls reaching nearly 500 feet above us, everyone in the group feels a couple raindrops. This means that the entire month of permits for April for instance becomes available on January 1st at noon (MDT). Hikers make their way through a particularly wide section of Buckskin Gulch. After reaching Paria Canyon (probably on the second day), you will have an 8-mile hike to the White House Trailhead. While backpacking the canyon requires acquiring a permit well in advance of your trip, day hiking only requires filling out a day-use permit and a small cash fee ($6 as of 2020) at one of the two trailheads and placing it in your vehicle. How long? There is a downclimb of 15 feet close to the confluence. As Jen tells it to me, the story strikes me as surprisingly scary and morbid, especially in a book meant for children, but then I remember enjoying as a kid the terrifying stories of genius children’s writer Roald Dahl. 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