PARIA CANYON, Utah – The Paria River gathers its water from the high country in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and runs roughly southeast, crossing the Utah/Arizona border, slicing through Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and spilling into the Colorado River at Lee’s Ferry.
The classic backpacker’s route through Paria Canyon begins at White House Trailhead and ends 38 miles downstream at the confluence with the Colorado River. Our Durango-based group of seven settled on a nonconventional approach. We entered at Wire Pass, walked 12.5 miles down Buckskin Gulch to the Paria River, and continued downcanyon to Wrather Arch. We then hiked upstream to White House.
Hence, we doubled up on the most scenic portions, avoided the waterless, sun-exposed lower Paria and minimized our shuttle hassle.
We were warned of potential hazards in Buckskin Gulch: water-flood, cold swims through stagnant cesspools, a boulder jam. Nevertheless, we seized the extraordinary opportunity. Auspiciously, the flash-flood forecast for our permit period was zero, and Buckskin was favorably dry.
Day 1
From the parking lot at Wire Pass Trailhead, 4,870 feet, cross the road, briefly sharing the trail with the Coyote Buttes North route. In 0.3 mile, drop into Coyote Wash and enter the first narrows. Forty-foot-high walls come and go.
Reach the dry confluence with Buckskin Gulch at 1.7 miles and turn right. The large opening rapidly pinches to the inescapable slot. The only place for an emergency exit is 5.7 miles down canyon where the Middle Route joins at B10.5. (Mileages in the BLM guide begin with B for Buckskin or P for Paria.)
Inside the constriction are vertical sheer walls, fluted and scalloped stone walls, and a few straight passageways among the labyrinthine. This slim, longitudinal canyon with its vertical emphasis rarely is more than 10 feet wide. In places it squeezes so narrowly our packs scraped.
Buckskin primarily is bathed in chilly darkness. So when there is light, it is dramatic luminosity. We stood in jets of sunlight to warm ourselves. Occasionally, thin cracks in the ceiling revealed a flawless blue sky. We were in a storm-carved corridor cathedral.
Buckskin Gulch is a highly unusual slot. If it were typical, it’d be filled with obstacles that would bar travel or restrict it to those handy with a rope. This truly remarkable drainageway goes on and on offering no resistance. The one exception is at 11 miles, 1.5 miles before the Paria confluence, where garage-size boulders block the channel (B14.4). After lowering packs with a rope, we did an inconsequential, Class 3 down climb and quickly were back on our way. If you pass this way when the canyon is pooled, there are steps chiseled into a stone face; most people would need a rope. Or, you could go for a swim.
As we approached the confluence, straight up-and-down walls met the flat, uniform, sandy floor at 90 degrees. This intersection is raw. Paria Canyon is characterized by the elemental topography of bare necessity: water, stone, sand.
We walked 0.5 miles downstream to camp on a sand dune well above the canyon floor for a total of 13 miles. We gathered clear water from the base of an in-stream boulder.
Water can be problematic in Paria Canyon. Too much, passage is impossible. Too little, drinking water is scarce. In May, seeps were dripping, and springs were gushing.
Day 2
On our second morning, we scrambled up slippery slickrock into the entrenched meander at P11.2. Enter a prismatic spectrum of desert polychrome: carmine, terra cotta, burnt orange, tamarisk pink, smoke grey and bone white. Scale a rockfall into a hidden grotto, raven black. Walk through a jettisoned world, returning to the living river. Don’t miss this side trip.
Wiggle through the sinuous Goosenecks. Climb into the double abandoned meander at P14.3. Fluted sandstone, sculpted by an ancient watercourse, now is stranded 50 feet above the river. Amble for a mile on the timeless channel bottom. You will be cliffed out at the end of the rincon with a stunning view of the river. Return the way you came.
After a 10-mile day, we spent the first of two nights at Amphitheater Camp, mile P14.8. A 500-foot-high curve of overhanging stone reaches across the river, casting camp with its forest of box elders, in perpetual shade. The siren alarm of peregrine falcons contrasts with the raven’s low croak and the incomparable canyon wren’s descending cascade of laughter. Echoing bird calls dominate the sound environment, rivaled only by amphibious croaks in the night. The mysterious power and grandeur of this astounding canyon is at its peak in the moonlight when cliffs are draped in light and shadow.
Day 3
On our third day, we trekked six miles downstream to the tributary canyon bearing Wrather Arch. Along the way, The Hole (P19.2), is a sensational reflection pool.
Paria Canyon is characterized by impenetrable walls. Wrather Arch canyon is a notable exception. At P20.5, walk southwest up the lush side canyon for a mile. Climb the steep, sandy hill to stand under the arch. One of the largest in the world, this broad-backed, muscular span with a cylindrical orifice looks like the open tube of a breaking wave.
Backtrack to camp for a total of 14 miles.
Days 4 and 5
On our fourth day, we walked upstream and went out of our way to camp 0.5 mile up Buckskin Gulch at a raised site. First, we stopped below the confluence to water-up for a dry camp and the hike out. It was an 8-mile day without the afternoon wander in lower Buckskin.
On our final day, we returned to the confluence and headed northward toward White House Trailhead. Over 7.5 miles, water now is hidden beneath the surface. Near-vertical, towering narrows give way. The canyon widens, fantastical stone structures delight, and then appears the white Navajo sandstone formation that signifies the approaching trailhead.
http://debravanwinegarden.blogspot.com. Debra Van Winegarden is an explorer and freelance writer who lives in Durango.
