Buckskin, Hackberry and HooDoos - March 27-29

[Corey]

We headed south this weekend. There were five of us, two of my brothers, my son and a niece. We left Thursday afternoon and arrived at the Stateline Campground, near the North Coyote Buttes area, around 8:00 pm. The campground was pretty nice. There are only 4 sites, two in Arizona and two in Utah. The Arizona sites were nicer with a pavilion and a table. The Utah sites only had a fire ring. But it was free. We got the last site on the Utah side.

Our plan was to go to the Paria Ranger station in the morning to join the lottery for the 10 next-day permits to the Wave formation. We pulled up to the ranger station and the parking lot was full. Just our luck, they set an all-time record for the number of people wanting permits. There were 97 people in the running for the 10 permits. Just the weekend before there were only 34 people. I would guess that ¼ of them were from Europe. Well, we weren’t lucky and missed out on the permit. So we went to plan B.

From the ranger station we continued east to Big Water. We turned in Big Water and drove up Wahweap Creek. From the trailhead we hiked the 4 miles to the Wahweap Hoodoos. The trail was just walking up the wash and jumping the creek from time to time. We made the mistake of getting out of the creek bed and going cross country when we first saw the hoodoos. It’s just better to stay in the creek until you are perpendicular to the hoodoos. There are several alcoves of hoodoos and the furthest one up the creek is the best.

After we got back to the car we headed for Cottonwood Road. We wanted to hit Hackberry Canyon. It was about 4:30 pm when we got to the head of Hackberry. Cottonwood Road is under construction for about 2 miles. They are putting in erosion control to keep the river from eroding the road. The road isn’t in too bad of condition, but if you met one of the big dump trucks, there is no place to pass.

Hackberry is a real nice canyon. The canyon is narrow for the first 1-1/2 miles. The creek covers the entire floor of the canyon and it is real soft sand. We tried to stay dry, but after the first ¼ mile, it is easier to walk up the creek. This would be a fun hike for kids in the summer, when the water is a little warmer. We went 3-1/2 miles up the canyon. After the narrows the canyon opens up into a nice redrock canyon. This would be a great hike to do the entire canyon. It was getting late so we headed back to the trailhead. We got back to the campground at 9:00 pm. It was a great day, 12 hours of exploring and 16 miles of hiking.

Since we didn’t get the permits to the Wave, we hit the Wire Pass trailhead on Saturday morning. This was everyone’s favorite. Wire Pass is a great hike through a slot canyon. There are only one or two obstacles to climb down. We did not see anyone once we got into the slot. At the junction of Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch we headed downstream. Right away we hit pools of water. They were 12 – 18 inches deep and may be 15-20 feet long. We hit 10-12 of these pools. These pools were cold, but you warmed up quickly if you kept moving. We went about 3 miles down Buckskin before we ran out of time. It is a beautiful place. The only mishap was my niece was in a pool and slipped on the mud and went down in the deepest part of the pool. She was muddy and miserable. She sat in a sunny spot to get warm and we went another mile or so down the canyon. On the way out we passed 2 or 3 other groups working their way down, but they all turned around when they hit the water.

Sorry for being long-winded. But it was a great weekend. The weather was great 70-75 degrees and the hikes were great. It was a long drive, but I have to get back to see the Wave, and I want to do the entire length of Buckskin. Maybe this fall.

Here are some pictures, I hope you enjoy. Sorry for so many, but its hard to choose.

[Alex]

That looks awesome, thanks for the TR, where did you drive from?

[James_B_Wads2000]

Nice TR Corey, thanks for sharing. I liked the photos a lot. No worries about posting many pictures. Here at Bogley we say, why post a few when you can post them all.

I did Hackberry from Round Valley Draw to Cottonwood wash a few years back as an overnighter. It is a great canyon, very remote. You can read the Trip Report here:
Hackberry Canyon October 2005


James

[rockgremlin]

Yes, nice TR.

If ever in doubt, err on the side of too many photos!

[Iceaxe]

There were 97 people in the running for the 10 permits.

Nice photos

[COUNTRYBOY]

Awesome pics!!! That has to go on my to do list.

[Corey]

Thanks everyone.

Alex, I live in Lehi, so it was a 5-1/2 hour drive, with a stop in Kanab for gas and burgers.

Ice, I was shocked at hou many people were there for the permits. Obviously it is becoming more popular. According to the volunteers at the ranger's station, everyday of the week is busy and January and July are the least busy months.

I talked to one group in the parking lot. They had an online permit for January, but they were "rained out". I assume that meant the road was closed. So they were able to pick any date they wanted (outside the 4 month window). So they picked a nice spring day. I might try that next year.

[Corey]

James,

Cool trip report. We had plans to go look at Round Valley Draw, but ran out of time.

It looks like you did it the right direction. Downhill.

I may give it a try sometime.

[Brewhaha]

Those are some nic shots. Well done.

[accadacca]

What a blast! I usually have hundreds of pictures after visiting this type of terrain. In fact, I can put the Japanese to shame. Thanks for the report.