Paria Canyon--Seeking Words from the Wise

[ddgrunning]

Taking the family (wife and 3 teens) on a 4-day, 3-night trip from Buckskin Gulch to Lee's Ferry, starting March 11. Other than "check the weather carefully," I'm looking for any other tips/suggestions/words of wisdom from those who've been there. Even on the weather, what are the best sources for getting info on the "upstream" precipitation/flow? Thanks already to the excellent trip reports of @chumley and @john9L from last year.

[flagscott]

I've done it twice now. Let's see...

- Wear the lightest sneakers or trail runners you can find. If you have an old pair of trail runners or sneakers, I would wear those and cut a few holes in the uppers (low down) help with drainage. Boots are useless here and will just be water vessels.
- You're going to have cold mornings--a fresh pair of socks for each day will be worth their weight in gold. Also, since it could be quite cold, you might want to think about neoprene socks for warmth.
- Wire Pass is awesome. Check it out.
- When you get to the confluence with the Paria, go upstream a mile (or so--can't really recall) and check out the big fallen rock.
- Make sure you have your waste bags well sealed!
- Even if you don't use hiking poles normally, they're helpful for quicksand and checking stream depth if it's cloudy.
- Quicksand is real. I've gotten stuck to the point where I could not get out on my own, so it's good to make sure there's someone who can help within earshot.
- This probably changes every year, but the last time I was there, we ran into a beaver dam and ended up going waist-deep in water, so be prepared for that.
- The BLM ranger station should be able to help with local conditions (like how much swimming you might have to do in Buckskin). This water gauge (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=09381800) should give you an idea of flows. Zoom out a few years to get a sense of how it compares to with historical averages.
- Have fun! It's the best hike in Arizona.

[chumley]

Seeking Words from the Wise

Well that disqualifies me ...

But I'll add what I can.

There's a stream gauge on the Paria River where US89 crosses, right next to the office where you pick up your permit.
It certainly doesn't answer all the questions, but it's one piece of information to add to your dataset. This has zero bearing on what is happening or has happened in Buckskin Gulch, only the Paria. When we were there it was running between 10-20cfs and had been consistent for a couple of weeks before our trip.
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ut/nwis/uv?site_no=09381800

There are no gauges upstream of Buckskin, which starts in the highlands of Bryce National Park - over 8000 feet. So snowmelt may be an issue even if it hasn't rained recently.

I found good information by scouring social media the week before our trip. People like to post photos of Buckskin and the Paria. Search Facebook and Instagram hashtags and locations nearby. Buckskin, wirepass, paria, etc. I was able to send messages and get replies from people who had been there just before us so we were able to confirm that we would not need to swim or bring tubes to float our packs. That was very useful as far as planning what to bring.

Assuming the weather cooperates and the water levels are safe, here are some of my thoughts.

Plan to be cold. Numbingly cold. There will be pools of water in Buckskin Gulch that most likely will require you to get parts of you wet that you don't want to be wet. There is no sun in the canyon, so even when you are back walking on dry ground, there's no warm up. I wore super-thick wool socks and beater shoes. I was happy with that solution. Others had neoprene socks but I think the result was similar. The water in the Buckskin pools is somewhere between 38-45 degrees. Waterproof shoes are a bad idea because it will only prevent your wet shoes from drying quickly when you're out of the water.

The first day in Buckskin is the biggest challenge. There will only be fresh drinking water at the large camp area just above the confluence with the Paria. There's plenty of room for multiple groups here but plan on sharing. Make sure to have your wag bags here because there is absolutely nowhere to "go". I can only imagine how gross this area would be if people were digging catholes all over the place!

We found the water in the Paria to be a little bit warmer than Buckskin, and much shallower. Generally not more than ankle deep. From the confluence downstream the hiking got easier and the water warmer. There are more opportunities for camping and springs with fresh water. Keep an eye out for them and you'll see them bubbling up or coming out of the walls.

It's a spectacular trip. If I were to do it again, I think I'd try for a little later ... end of April perhaps. The problem is that last day hiking to Lee's Ferry is hot and exposed so you don't want to wait until it's too warm out!

[hikeaz]

You can use the fish cleaning station @ Lees to knock off the big chunks, but there are coin showers at Marble Canyon Lodge. (Phone MCL to confirm, shower data is +/- 24 mos. old)

Vermilion Cliffs has a wonderful bottled beer selection (even birch and root for the youngin's)

I second the neoprene socks, especially in March. 2mm works pretty well as you can generally fit those in your shoes/boots OK. About $14 @ Cabela's. Oh, and gaiters, if you have them can be a real time saver. Also remember some cushy slippers for camp.

[ddgrunning]

Thanks, all. One more question: How the heck do you pick up your permit? Seems like BLM makes you pick it up in person, which in our case would probably require an extra trip to Kanab and back to Lee's Ferry the night before we start. ???

Why can't they just email the permit to me like the BCO at the Grand Canyon?

[chumley]

I didn't make the permit arrangements for our trip so I'm not sure exactly how to do it, but we picked up our permits at the BLM Office on US 89 at the Paria River Crossing. They even left the permits outside for us to pick up early in the morning before the office opened. Along with our wag bags!