A morning snow and rumors of mile after mile of waist-deep pools turned our plans for backpacking in Buckskin Gulch around, so instead we opted for the much shorter, much drier day hike heading in Wire Pass and then upstream in Buckskin to that trailhead. Though shorter and less daring than our original intent, we still got to enjoy some quality slot-canyon time, see some cool stuff, and keep warm and dry. By the time we actually were on the trail, the skies had turned blue and beautiful, snow had melted, and we had a sparkling day for our adventures.

Wire Pass was just as spunky as I remembered. It lacks the grandeur and scale of Buckskin, but it makes up for that with it's very narrow passages and fun mini-scrambles. This is a great dayhike. Even the route back up Buckskin was scenic and fun - it was neat to watch the canyon slowly fade into the hills. Recent damage by cattle made the hike a little less fun (lots of dung and deep hoof gullies in the sand), but it was hard to put too much of a damper on the day.