Trip Report: Paria River and a taste of Buckskin Gulch Backpack
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Paria River and a taste of Buckskin Gulch Backpack By Katherine Thom |
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| HIKE | 09/30/2026 | MOD |
| Paria River and a Taste of Buckskin Gulch Backpack Trip Report Participants: Lauralee Broschinsky, Greg Clark, Sara Feltz, Chris Koch, and Katherine Thom The monsoons held steady for weeks past their usual mid-September timeframe on the Colorado Plateau. The finale was a large flash flood that hit the Kanab side of the Paria just 31 hours before we were planning to start hiking. The flow went from 3.5 CFS just before the flood to 3300 CFS at the peak from that location. As we drove from Kanab to Lees Ferry, we could see the cleanup efforts underway where Kanab Creek and the Paria overtook the roadway, leaving piles of silt behind. We were having regular conversations at this point with Yermo, a local guide and our shuttle driver, about how best to approach what would be a very wet canyon. We ultimately decided to push back our start by 24 hours so we could take advantage of receding river conditions. We spent our bonus night at the White House trailhead campground but not before Yermo supplied us with trash compactor bags, rubber bands, and rubber tips for our hiking poles. We had brought a large water jug so we wouldn't have to dip into our day 1 water since Whitehouse campground had no water. It leaked on the floor of Yermo's car thanks to being punctured way too easily. It got left behind at the campground with plans to pick it up on the way back, since our cars were back at Lees Ferry. The hiking was easy at the start and as we reached the Paria narrows about 4 miles in, we were walking in water pretty consistently. There were sand bars that kept us from chest-deep water as Yermo had feared, but progress was slow going as we tested depths and felt for quicksand with our poles. The views were epic in this part of the canyon with alcoves and fins plus Slide Rock which was caused by a large section of canyon wall sliding into the middle of the canyon. Air and water temperatures were comfortable (somewhat thanks to neoprene socks) and we enjoyed being out of direct sun for the rest of the day. The mud was plentiful and coated what would normally be dry patches of softball-sized river rocks. The shoes and feet would be coated regularly but would wash off again within minutes as we ventured back into the knee-deep water. A few of us ventured a very short distance into Buckskin Gulch which was much deeper and Greg found himself caught in waist deep quicksand. His phone got rescued first and he was able to get out with help from Sara and Chris. We camped for the night a short distance from there at Wall Spring. Chris left a bottle perched under the spring and had maybe a cup or two after a few hours. Thankfully we started the day with a large supply of 4.5 or more liters each. We stopped with enough time to relax at camp and we enjoyed the melodies coming from a canyon wren nearby. We started early for Arizona time but late for Utah time the next morning and soon made our way to Big Spring where we met up again with the only other large party in the canyon. They were planning to spend one day more than us, so we didn't see them again after this. We took our time filling up our bags, bladders and bottles so we would be in good shape for the next stretch. What a stretch it was! Once we were out of the tight slot canyon, benches of land covered in dense tamarisk were the only way to shortcut bends in the river which were often laden with deep quicksand. We learned you could sometimes cross the jello-like spongy quicksand patches if you moved your feet quickly. If a previous walker set the sand in motion, however, it was hard to escape the collapsing sand. Lauralee was the second quicksand victim and her only escape was to roll onto her stomach and then onto her back into the water to break free. Katherine was also thigh deep in the stuff while trying to help but was able to lie back onto her pack to free her legs. We took some time to wash off the coated mud and at that time just we had to just embrace the dirty that we were. Thankfully the dry air meant that we weren't wet for very long. The river had also done quite a bit of erosion damage to these land benches, which we called "islands." Trails which might have existed before were hidden in deep tamarisk at the banks and sometimes weren't worth the steep climb on crumbling sand to get up to the tops. Descending from these benches could also be challenging as they were often straight drops of 6+ feet. We could sit and scoot down or even use tamarisk branches to belay a sideways or backwards leg slide. The travel was slow and we had done another 8 hour day before we reached our day 2 camp on top of a bench. We had only gone a little past river mile 18 so we were feeling like we were going to have a lot of ground to make up in the coming days (the total distance is 38 miles divided over 4 days). We camped on a large bench below Judd Hollow viewpoint and had lots of room to spread out. Another beautiful night of clear skies and plentiful stars fell upon us. Alarms were set to get us moving before dawn as we now had ground to make up and daytime temps were getting warmer without as much shade from the canyon walls. In fact the canyons were getting so big that if we didn't all take the same route (through water, through brush, or up over the benches) we would get separated for a bit, not knowing which group was ahead. Our trusty pack whistles made this just a short term problem. We still had some water left from dry camping the night before, but were relieved to get to Shower Spring where there was enough fresh water to fill up and to rinse off. Wrather arch was a short detour on the way but only Greg was feeling much up to it. It was funny because he probably had also been there before when he hiked down Buckskin Gulch on a prior trip. Being the first ones to do the route after the flood, all of the footprints below the high water mark were ours. This meant that Greg could see where we went to get to the hidden spring. Sara thoughtfully left her hat and pole for him to spot so he wouldn't miss the small passage buried in the brush. We were feeling good because the morning pace had been faster than what we had been able to accomplish on the last two days despite continuing deep pools and quicksand to avoid. Our packs were also a tad lighter knowing we still had the opportunity to get water at Last Reliable Spring before we chose our campsite. Once we got there, it was a challenge finding the spring because the marker we had on our maps showed the spring on the other side of the river. There WAS a spring on that side, but it was a small trickle and not THE Last Reliable. In developing our GPX file for the trip, Katherine used CalTopo's shared maps feature. This would allow us to build our own route and populate it with markers for items found by others. This included springs, campsites, petroglyphs, and significant route details. Last Reliable was shown on both sides of the river, but she mistakenly picked the trickle on the south side. Sara having done the route one time before was extremely helpful on many occasions, but especially this time since she discovered the real spring! It was another long day, so we got camp set up under the cottonwoods at Bush Head. Shortly after, a young man walked through camp asking if the remaining 11 miles could be done by headlamp. We knew the trail was straight, but that was all we knew about the conditions. He pressed on and we didn't see him after that. We found some tracks in the mud that looked more like cat than canine and because they were small, might have been left by a bobcat or ringtail. We had the running joke about bedtime on this trip. It was dark by 7 pm Utah time and each night as darkness fell, we would say, "is it 8 yet?" because that was the time that felt reasonable to retire to our tents. Before that would be "too early." On this night we knew a good night sleep would be important because the plan was to be walking as soon as there was enough light to not require headlamps. The last stretch is notoriously brutal as there are miles of completely shadeless sections. We had finally gotten out of monsoon season before starting this trip, but a high pressure period had settled in, which would push temperatures into the high 80s, well above what we had previously been enjoying. The first few miles out of camp were tough steep uphill and downhill sections with large boulders and loose footing. Doing this part before the sun had reached us made it very manageable despite our fourth day of tired legs. The petroglyph panels marked on our map came into view but we didn't linger at them. Eventually we got back down to the river where we found each crossing getting slower and slower as we let the cool water soothe our hot skin. Various bits of clothing ended up in the water too, to be enjoyed for evaporative cooling as we pressed on. We were following trail this whole last day but because we couldn't easily get down every river bank, we often lost the trail and had to find it again. Some of us would apologize to the cryptobiotic soil we had to walk on in order to get through. We had a short lunch under one of the last big trees and pressed on through the harsh desert ahead. Remnants of ranches and a few mountain bike tracks appeared as we approached the final stretch. The pavement was extremely hot, but thankfully it was the very end of a 6-hour day. At our cars we quickly got out of the stinky clothes we had been wearing for four days and enjoyed drinks which stayed surprisingly cool despite the heat and direct sun. We said our goodbyes and Chris volunteered to pick up the water jug left at White House on the way back since he and Sara were returning through Page. Lauralee and Katherine, meanwhile, planned to have burgers in Kanab to enjoy the energy boost of a high calorie meal. In the end it was far tougher than we expected, but maybe we felt that much more accomplished because of it. We did a hands-in team cheer to the Paria and celebrated a successful trip. Postscript: The club formerly did annual trips to the Zion Narrows from the mid 1950s through at least the 1970s. Here's an excerpt from a trip report published in the Rambler in 1957. "ADDING TO THE DESPAIR OF ASPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS WERE FLEETING VISTAS OF MORE REMOTE ROCK MASSES RISING SHEER IN PASTEL SPLENDOR TO THE FORESTED PLATEAU SEVERAL THOUSAND FEET ABOVE. THE NOSTALGIA FELT WITH LEAVING THESE ENTHRALLING PRELUDES TO THE FAMED CANYON WAS TEMPERED IN PART BY THE FINITE AND COMMONPLACE - DRY SHOES, RECLINING SEATS, AND PANGS OF HUNGER WHICH COULD NOT BE ENDURED BEYOND PANGUITCH." We understand! |
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