Special hike Motivated hike Buckskin Gulch/Wire Pass Slot Canyon

Motivated hike: Buckskin Gulch/Wire Pass slot canyon
Hike Distance: 6-12 miles (minimal AEG)(out and back)
Depart from Sleep Inn at 8:00 am
Trailhead: Wire Pass
Driving Distance: 43 miles
Driver’s Fee: $7 plus $2 dirt road fee = $9
Hike Leaders: Diane Alessi & Henry Silberblatt
Trail Description: Buckskin Gulch is one of the world’s longest continuous slot canyons, known for its deep, winding beauty. It passes through roughly 16 miles of unique formations and undulating sandstone walls in the northern stretch of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. We start at the Wire Pass TH and hike through a sandy wash into the Wire Pass Slot Canyon. Expect narrow passages (sometimes only 2-3 feet wide), high walls (up to 400 ft), sand, boulders, and climbing up or down ladders and boulders. The hike is relatively flat, allowing us to go as far as we want before turning back and retracing our steps.
Directions to Trailhead: 43 miles (1 hour) from Sleep Inn, west on Rt 89 from Page to House Rock Valley Rd, then 8.7 miles south on a rough, dusty dirt road to TH. House Rock Valley Road is passable to cars in dry weather, barring severe runoff damage and steadily ascends 2.5 miles to a saddle separating The Cockscomb and Buckskin Mountain. Ignore the right fork to Fivemile Mountain at the saddle, then descend to a crossing of the Buckskin Gulch wash after 4.4 miles.
NOTES: We will not attempt this hike if there has been rain during the prior month or rain is predicted due to the danger of flash flooding. There may be too much water in the slot to allow passage. A $6 day use permit per person is required. Best practice: purchase this day use permit online at https://www.recreation.gov/activitypass/10006177 at the Sleep Inn before departing. Permits are also available at the TH via phone & QR code (but cell phone signal may be sketchy). The National Parks Senior Pass does NOT apply! IMPORTANT: The printed permit must be displayed on your car’s dash. If the permit is purchased online or via phone at the TH, the permit number must be written on the cash envelope at theTH and this envelope must be displayed on your car’s dash.
Hike Leaders’ contact info: Diane (480-277-5359
Henry (490) 895-1133

Alternate hike on Tuesday, March 17: Wahweap Hoodoos (11 mi; 259 AEG)(out and back)
The Wahweap Hoodoos are a stunning collection of tall, skinny sandstone formations that rise dramatically from the desert floor. They are not easy to get to, however, because we must hike along a wash for about 3.5 miles before reaching them. The wash is mostly hard packed, with some rocky areas. The views are stunning, as is the total silence. We reach the first set of hoodoos in about 3.5 miles. We stay along the base of the cliffs, squeezing between the sandstone wall and the overgrown tamarisk to reach a second outcropping of hoodoos. The cove opens into another unworldly scene of rock goblins, ghosts, and toadstools. After exploring these, we continue upstream into the final alcove, known as the Towers of Silence. When we are ready to leave, we retrace our steps along the stream bed back to the TH.
Directions to Trailhead: From the Sleep Inn, drive north on Hwy 89 towards Kanab, Utah. At 16 miles, turn right onto Ethan Allen Road, which is directly across from the Big Water BLM Visitor Center. Stay on this road until you reach a T. Turn left onto the gravel road, pass a baseball field on your left, and continue past a fish hatchery. About 3 miles from the highway, continue north past a corral. Shortly after, the road bends down and crosses Wahweap Creek. We will park on the side of the road before the wash and start walking upstream.