Day 8: Canyon Hiking in Wiregrass Canyon Wash and Wire Pass to Buckskin Gulch

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Since we had an extra day in the Page area, we wanted to get in a couple of hikes that would show us some of the canyon landscapes.
Based on our recommendations from the super friendly and helpful woman at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Center, we chose two hikes, both of which ended up being just over the border into Utah. The first was Wiregrass Canyon Wash Trail in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The trail was located off a dirt road - our first off roading experience! It was fun :) About 4-5 miles in, we found the trailhead and parked. We were the only car.


 We entered the canyon and following the winding wash until it emptied into the wash bottom. There were some really cool, spooky erosion patterns in the canyon, and we had to climb down some fun rocks to get to the bottom of the wash. Just so you know (I didn't), a wash is a shallow channel that lets water flow - or wash - from high elevations to low. Since the canyons are in dry areas, they're often dry. When it rains, there can be flash floods, which is why it's really important to check the weather before doing any hiking.
We hiked a mile in before we found the first natural land bridge, which looked like an arch in the canyon walls. Though the canyon continues for a few more miles, we headed back the way we came for an easy 2-2.5 mile hike. We wanted to save some energy for another hike!

                          
The second hike was a little further away, but that was fine since we got to drive through some very pretty areas. The route along 89W takes you through the lower regions of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; these are some of the same area that are part of the Trump administration’s reduction plan. Hopefully, they’ll remain safe no matter what decision is made. When we paused at a closed visitor center to read any and all informational signs, someone had already expressed their opinion about the proposed changes:


We continued to another dirt/gravel road into the Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness area. I want to preface this by saying we had had other grand plans for Vermillions Cliffs: The Wave, which is a natural wonder that only accepts 20 permits a day. The logistics were just too much, and we had to abandon that plan. Coyote Bluffs was a possible alternative, but it also needed a permit and 4WD car. We just were not prepared for that much extreme adventure-ing, so we had to “settle” for more accessible hikes. If I have time and the resources in the future, I will 100% try to enter those areas of Vermillion Cliffs.

We made our way to the Wire Pass to Buckskin Gulch trail, a 3.4 mile RT hike that leaves you at the beginning of Buckskin Gulch, which is a 12.5 mile long slot canyon hike (meaning a small crevice in the canyon that can be a few inches to a few feet wide). This hike is considered the most dangerous in the world due to the threat of flash floods and subsequent quick sand. The reason it’s so dangerous is that once you’re in the slot canyon, there is really only one mid-point exit. In other words, you would not be able to escape a flash flood. Interestingly, and terrifyingly, even a rain 50 miles away can result in a flash flood. Every notice about this hike suggests checking in with local services to get the go-ahead for this hike. Luckily (?), the area has been in a drought and had not had any rain. In fact, we were 1 of about 15 other cars and we even saw a guided hike going on. That certainly eased my nerves!

We clearly did not plan on doing the complete hike; instead, we wanted to do the shorer RT hike to Buckskin and back. The hike was beautiful and took us through some very interesting and narrow slot canyons. Can you see the tiny entrance t othe slot canyon in the photo? At the junction with Buckskin, it opened up into a T with a towering canyon wall almost 500 feet high. The tour guide of the hike behind us generally showed us a few petroglyphs on the canyon wall that date back 2000 years.  As they are very faded, we would have missed them otherwise!

                                      

                                      

                                       

We eventually turned back to return the way we had come, and used the last remaining light to follow some roads a bit further north into Grand Staircase-Escalante. However, since we were at the edge of the park, we did not see any unforgettable views, though they were still pretty. I would love to return and explore Grand Staircase-Escalante further!

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