Paria Conditions

[Alicia]

Hi Everyone,
We are heading into the Paria on Wed (we will be "allowed" to use our permit!) and wonder if anyone has info on current conditions. The Ranger Station reported waist deep water in Buckskin, but what about Kelsey's Cesspools? Are they still awaiting us?
Alicia

[Erik B]

I spoke with Tom the Paria Ranger yesterday and got the same story: if you have a permit you should be OK despite the government shutdown. Apparently the LEs WILL be out.... I asked him about the scenario where you have a reservation but are unable to obtain a permit due to office closure. He told me to have ample documentation of my reservation on hand and at the car.

[jaredr]

I'll give a formal introduction to myself and a trip report soon, but here's some information from our trip on Friday.

• The road to Whitehouse Trailhead is washed out about half a mile before the end. The rangers said you can still camp at the campsites or go back a couple hundred feet from the washout, follow a small dirt road and camp at some trees on the bank of the Paria River. When we camped there I couldn't find a single piece of trash. Just a turnaround and a no campfires sign.
• The road to Wire Pass has been fixed since the rain 3 weeks ago and a passenger car could easily get to the Wire Pass Trailhead.
• After the Wire Pass/Buckskin Gulch confluence the first set of narrows has waist deep pools and some mud. After about a mile the canyon will widen and there will be no more unavoidable pools - just a few unavoidable patches of mud until the Buckskin Gulch/Paria confluence.
• The Paria River is running pretty high right now (I think). At the confluence the water was knee-deep and wall-to-wall. It is a wet and muddy slog back to the Whitehouse Trailhead if you are going back that way.

[Gale]

Just spoke to a family member who checked the White House Trailhead for me this morning (Thursday, 10/3). BLM has a gate across the road with signs stating that the Paria River Canyon and the Wave are closed due to government shutdown. Evidently, there are a few notes from the public attached to the signs with some choice comments