Buckskin Gulch-Recent beta anyone?

[spinesnaper]

I am planning a possible hike in Buckskin gulch Friday April 8. Has anyone been through Buckskin recently? If so, what are the general coniditions? Is the rabbit hole open. Thanks

Ken

[kiwi_outdoors]

yes, do tell, because wife and I may be out there in May for a day trip via Middle entrance.

[spinesnaper]

Okay. I am not immune to rain. I have been studying the forecast and it just is getting worse and worse. No flash warnings but there is a 5 hour window for thunder showers in the evening on Friday with 0.8 inch of rain. That is real rain. Saturday has rain but overall a much nicer day. Now I will look for an October window.

[bballard125]

I might have seen this post to late since it looks like you may get rained out this weekend, but I was in Buckskin three weeks ago. The middle section of the canyon (probably 1-2 miles before the middle exit) was pretty wet, but nothing more than waist deep. After the middle section I think we only had ankle deep water once or twice until the Paria. Great Trip! Hopefully your luck will be good for next time you go!

[2065toyota]

I just reserved an overnight trip for July 30. Never been there before

[Iceaxe]

There is no way in hell I'd do Buckskin in July. You would be wise to rethink your time frame and push your trip back to the cooler fall month's. You have been warned.

[spinesnaper]

Bugs and heat. It can be just plain nasty out there in certain times of the year. The shoulder seasons are just so much more pleasant. Although Buckskin canyon itself might be relatively cool, July is also monsoon season.

[phatch]

I hiked it July once, It had flashed 3 days prior to the hike. Wire Pass to Whitehouse in a single day. It was a muddy quicksand mess, particularly around the confluence. Added a couple of hours to the hike. The roads in and out were pretty bad from the flashfloods. depending when it last flashed and was graded, the roads may need high clearance 4x4. Or not.

Temps and bugs. Most of the day is in the canyon, so it's on the pleasant side of temps. If the conditions are good, you should plan to spend some time in the narrows so you can do the last five more exposed miles in the evening when the sun is not so direct and less hot. Don't kid yourself, it will still be hot though. We finished at 10:30 in the dark because of the mud delays. Not recommended.

If you have the choice, July is not a good time to do it. And definitely pay attention to what the weather has been before the hike and is for the day of the hike. Have alternative plans if the conditions and weather are not good. The Rangers will likely not have particularly accurate info on conditions for that time of year imho.

[spinesnaper]

I personally have never found the Vermillion Cliffs rangers or BLM personnel to be helpful whatsoever. Considering the public interest in the Wave, this unit is pathetically mismanaged. With the degree of interest in the Wave, you'd think they would get the message and determine how to allow the public to see this feature. Instead they pretend that they are protecting the area by denying access. I have never gotten accurate information from a ranger there. Generally the "ranger station" at Whitehouse has been staffed by a retiree. The last time I stopped in there, I was self-rescuing having injured my knee the day before in Buckskin. I decided to hike out 12 miles to Whitehouse rather than continue to my car another 26 miles at Lee's Ferry. The gentleman behind the counter could not comprehend that I needed to use a phone to arrange for a shuttle provider to pick me up and take me to my car at Lee's Ferry. It was like I was speaking Martian. The Vermillion Cliffs unit has no way of recovering and releasing unclaimed permits. Mt Whitney in California requires you to call physically pick up your permit for the next day or the permit becomes available after 2 pm for the next day ( double check this information before relying on it-may have changed) The point is that the National Forest Services recognizes that not everyone is going to show up and claim their permit. They have a mechanism for releasing unclaimed permits for last minute hikers. Why can't a mechanism like this be implemented for the Vermillion Cliffs?

[Iceaxe]

If you want poor, wrong, and completely inaccurate information regarding Buckskin and Paria just ask the rangers that manage the area a question.

[kiwi_outdoors]

Rangers work for a bureaucracy (as I do) - expectations need to be lowered. Logic is occasionally absent.

[spinesnaper]

If only Bernie Sanders would take up this cause.

[Iceaxe]

Trump is going to make Buckskin great again.