Day 38 – 4/20/16
17.6 map / 17.8 GPS miles
589.0 / 631.3 miles total
We totally won at Hayduking today; we had ALL the fun!!
We got up ridiculously early and took a little side trip by headlamp before dropping into Buckskin Gulch proper.
The official Hayduke trail only goes through about 5 miles of Buckskin Gulch (which we skipped yesterday due to permits), but the slot canyon goes on for another 10 miles or so before meeting up with the Paria River and continuing in a tight canyon for many more miles all the way to the Colorado River. There are ways to make a long stretch of this into an alternate that loops back to the Hayduke.
The slot canyon was amazing, going on forever.
There were areas of loose dry sand, packed wet sand, boulder jams, and hip deep freezing cold water to wade through.
We had countless photo shoots in various attire (Bubs’ tutu made its first appearance since Coyote Gulch), including stemming a narrow section of the slot a la Katie Lee. We even got Joey to participate!
We saw a bunch of wildlife, including a new kind of lizard, a very upset by rattlesnake of some sort, a bunny’s detached cottontail and very dead deer, which we had to crawl by in the only passable route through a boulder jam.
At the end of the long day we reached the confluence with the Paria River and just after, crossed the state line into Arizona! We made a sign in the sand and took really awkward stick-pic photos.
All of us are cowboy camping in a neat alcove tonight, and it is so wonderfully warm I may not even have to zip my sleeping bag.
Wow, what a day. And you may not even have to zip your bag. Score!
Awesome slot canyon. Poor bunny!
We hiked part of this canyon almost 10 yrs ago. Came into it at Wire Pass, hiked in most of the day, and back out before dark. Not near as much water or wildlife, had to climb over boulders alot but it was gorgeous. We didn’t get into the Wave either. 🙁
If there is a “most fun hiker” award, DNR you deserve it! I think everyone seems to laugh a little harder and smile even bigger when on trail with you. Haha, I believe Joey thought he was going a simple hike, little did he know the Shenanigans that was waiting! Really enjoying your hike, thank you. Happy Trails!
Joey comments on a daily basis that he “didn’t ask enough questions” before deciding to hike with us. Haha! We are indeed having a blast.
All the pics are superb! The bunny tail pic was a clever pose. Appreciate the previews for our Escalante to Zion finish next year.
Beautiful slot canyons! No wonder Buckskin is so highly recommended and popular. Here’s to all the places the Hayduke can take you. While a little hard to ID without knowing size or habitat, the lizard looks either a northern plateau lizard.