spinesnaper
04-06-2011, 10:10 PM
It's basically a 10 hour drive from Los Angeles to Marble Canyon, just a short jaunt from Lee's Ferry where the white water boaters put in on the Colorado River for the Grand Canyon. This was my fifth trip in this corridor and the first trip for my canyoneering partner Jasper. I didn't mean to sandbag him but somehow he was laboring under the impression that our excursion would be about thirty miles in three days with perhaps the first day being a bit longer of the three. Not sure why he thought that but to his credit he did not whine about the three 15 miles days we ended up putting in.
My first trip through this system was White House to Lee's Ferry about 20 years ago. I don't think the Europeans had discovered this place yet and it hadn't been written up in Sunset magazine. Things have changed a lot since then. Ours was an early season trip but we shared the canyons with numerous other hikers.
We stayed at my other home away from home, the Cliff Dwellers Lodge. It was worth the push to have dinner at their restaurant. The next morning, April 2, we met the shuttle driver Betty at the hiker's parking at Lee's Ferry. She took us the back way to Wirepass and showed us the site were they have been releasing the California Condors. It's a fitting symbol that the Condor is almost completely dependent on government intervention for its survival. Hopefully these birds won't become extinct when the politicians shut the country down for lack of agreement--Just saying.
The weather had been a point of concern and I had posted on Bogley for some opinions regarding the forecast. As it turned out, our weather was excellent. Saturday, April 2 was warm, which was perfect for Buckskin. Sunday it rained lightly, with gusty winds and cooler temperatures. Sunday night was quite cold reaching about 30 degrees but dry and without a cloud. The hike out on Monday was clear and cool which was a great relief compared to a couple of 90 degree hikes out I have had in the past.
Buckskin was definitely a mud fest. Water was not running in Buckskin and none of the wades were more than waist deep and I am short (5'6" and that is on a good day). My partner wore nylon hiking shorts and that worked for him. I opted for 1mm neoprene pants and a 0.5 mm neoprene rash guard top. I was very happy with that choice. A wet suit would have been desperately hot. We experienced every variety of mud that soil and water can make. I kept thinking about those jars of peanut butter that separate and you have to mix them before using. Much of the mud had that character.
It was of course slow in there. It took 5 hours to reach the middle way. Somewhere in there we passed a party of 10 and reached the confluence by 5PM. I must have missed the memo but the rabbit hole under the obstacle is now clear of debris. It is possible to lower your pack off the obstacle and crawl under the boulders. I thought this occurred with the winter floods but a ranger we ran into at the end of the hike seem to think that this was also open last year. I would be curious to learn if that is accurate (trust but verify).
We past a couple of parties who were settling water. This seemed curious because I have never seen so many springs running in Paria. Also the Paria, which I have only seen run clear the first time I went down it, was much more muddy than usual. It actually had the color of grey ready mix. We camped at mile 10 where there was abundant spring water flow out of a generally unreliable spring. We enjoyed Oskar Blue Pale Ales which was that nights carb.
The next day, we did the 2 mph boogie and camped at mile 25, the last reliable Spring. It was a good call. We got there at 5 PM and we really need some camp time. If you know the camp site, it is a nice one and the water sufficiently abundant. It was very cold Sunday night. I had a little ice in my water bottle.
The next morning, we broke camp and cranked it. I had the last of my Trader Joes Ibuprofen, and two cups of Starbucks instant coffee. (Sugar, caffeine, and motrin--is it really a crime?). We averaged 3 mph back to Lee's Ferry. Awesome country. I just don't understand how my partner could have thought it was only 30 miles?
Good times!
Ken
My first trip through this system was White House to Lee's Ferry about 20 years ago. I don't think the Europeans had discovered this place yet and it hadn't been written up in Sunset magazine. Things have changed a lot since then. Ours was an early season trip but we shared the canyons with numerous other hikers.
We stayed at my other home away from home, the Cliff Dwellers Lodge. It was worth the push to have dinner at their restaurant. The next morning, April 2, we met the shuttle driver Betty at the hiker's parking at Lee's Ferry. She took us the back way to Wirepass and showed us the site were they have been releasing the California Condors. It's a fitting symbol that the Condor is almost completely dependent on government intervention for its survival. Hopefully these birds won't become extinct when the politicians shut the country down for lack of agreement--Just saying.
The weather had been a point of concern and I had posted on Bogley for some opinions regarding the forecast. As it turned out, our weather was excellent. Saturday, April 2 was warm, which was perfect for Buckskin. Sunday it rained lightly, with gusty winds and cooler temperatures. Sunday night was quite cold reaching about 30 degrees but dry and without a cloud. The hike out on Monday was clear and cool which was a great relief compared to a couple of 90 degree hikes out I have had in the past.
Buckskin was definitely a mud fest. Water was not running in Buckskin and none of the wades were more than waist deep and I am short (5'6" and that is on a good day). My partner wore nylon hiking shorts and that worked for him. I opted for 1mm neoprene pants and a 0.5 mm neoprene rash guard top. I was very happy with that choice. A wet suit would have been desperately hot. We experienced every variety of mud that soil and water can make. I kept thinking about those jars of peanut butter that separate and you have to mix them before using. Much of the mud had that character.
It was of course slow in there. It took 5 hours to reach the middle way. Somewhere in there we passed a party of 10 and reached the confluence by 5PM. I must have missed the memo but the rabbit hole under the obstacle is now clear of debris. It is possible to lower your pack off the obstacle and crawl under the boulders. I thought this occurred with the winter floods but a ranger we ran into at the end of the hike seem to think that this was also open last year. I would be curious to learn if that is accurate (trust but verify).
We past a couple of parties who were settling water. This seemed curious because I have never seen so many springs running in Paria. Also the Paria, which I have only seen run clear the first time I went down it, was much more muddy than usual. It actually had the color of grey ready mix. We camped at mile 10 where there was abundant spring water flow out of a generally unreliable spring. We enjoyed Oskar Blue Pale Ales which was that nights carb.
The next day, we did the 2 mph boogie and camped at mile 25, the last reliable Spring. It was a good call. We got there at 5 PM and we really need some camp time. If you know the camp site, it is a nice one and the water sufficiently abundant. It was very cold Sunday night. I had a little ice in my water bottle.
The next morning, we broke camp and cranked it. I had the last of my Trader Joes Ibuprofen, and two cups of Starbucks instant coffee. (Sugar, caffeine, and motrin--is it really a crime?). We averaged 3 mph back to Lee's Ferry. Awesome country. I just don't understand how my partner could have thought it was only 30 miles?
Good times!
Ken