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Buckskin Gulch: a place where you feel humble
If I have to choose one place that has surprised me the most, it is Buckskin Gulch.
The narrow canyon walls, the silence and the continuous play of light and shadow make for an experience that is difficult to describe.
There is plenty of material about Buckskin Gulch on the internet, but I am happy to help you find your way:
- Park the car at the Wire Pass Trailhead (2nd parking). Definitely not at the 1stparking lot where the sign Buckskin Gulch is located!
- A permit costs 6 dollars per person. You deposit the money in the tray and put the permit under your windshield.
- Register all the names of the people in your party!
- Bring several liters of water per person, something to eat, and wear sturdy footwear.
- Never go in rainy weather or a chance of thunderstorms in the region. In the summer months, you are most likely to experience thunderstorms.
- The walk from the parking lot on a dirt path to the start of Wire Pass Slot Canyon is 2 km.
- Wire Pass (the first canyon) is half a km long. At the end of it you come out to a large courtyard that is somewhat reminiscent of Petra, Jordan.
- The Buckskin Gulch Slot Canyon starts at the back of the courtyard, on the right. Don’t take the corridor on the left, because then you will go to the first (Buckskin Gulch) parking lot. Actually, what you’ve done, is you’ve bypassed that less interesting and super long passage by starting from the Wire Pass Trailhead
- Buckskin Gulch is technically much more challenging than Wire Pass. You have to constantly pay attention to where you put your feet so as not to sprain your ankles between the stones.
- Buckskin Gulch is more than forty kilometers long and eventually flows into Lees Ferry.
- Important: always check with rangers or local residents in advance whether the conditions are safe.
I would like to emphasize that Buckskin Gulch – like any other slot canyon – can be life-threatening. It doesn’t even have to rain over the canyon itself for that.
Even when a thunderstorm breaks out tens of kilometers away, all the water from the vast surrounding area can collect and flow through the narrow gorge with great force.
The water from hundreds of square kilometers upstream eventually finds its way into the slot canyon.
That is why I would advise everyone to be well informed in advance. Check the weather forecast thoroughly and check with the rangers if the trip is safe and responsible.
A hike through Buckskin Gulch is an unforgettable experience, but it’s not a place to take risks.
The monsoon period, with the greatest chance of heavy rainfall, usually runs from July to September in this region. During that period, sudden thunderstorms can occur, sometimes far outside the area itself.
This is precisely why the risk of flash floods in slot canyons such as Buckskin Gulch is extra high.
Wire Pass Slot Canyon: Buckskin Entry
Personally, I found Wire Pass Slot Canyon to be more accessible than Buckskin Gulch.
Not only is it first on your path, it is also less technical.
Except for a few tree trunks that you have to crawl over or under and a staircase, this canyon is easy to do. Don’t ask me how, but I hit my head badly.
Follow Wire Pass to the large clearing (0.5 km) and returning is often enough.
Buckskin Gulch is majestic and technically a bit more challenging. You have to constantly pay attention to where you put your feet so as not to slip off the rocks.
Maybe not everyone finds that a problem, but we are now in our mid-sixties. Then you no longer hop from one boulder to another like a gazelle, but you carefully choose where to put your feet.
Actually, it is unimaginable that this narrow gorge has cut its way through the landscape for about 40 kilometers.
Antelope Canyon, Canyon X, Waterholes Canyon
If you feel uncertain, you still have Antelope Canyon, Canyon X, or Waterholes Canyon nearby.
Although these are operated commercially and come with a relatively high price tag, it is – let’s be very honest and sensible – safer, because there are always local professionals in the area who can point out the dangers.
Presumably, it is only a matter of time before Buckskin is regulated more strictly, for example through a limited number of day permits or mandatory reservations during busy periods.
For the time being, it remains one of the few large slot canyons where you still go out largely on your own responsibility.
Ironically, the very thing that makes Buckskin Gulch so special, the freedom that is, the silence and the sense of adventure, is also the reason why many hikers hope that it will never become a commercially operated amusement park.
Emma
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