Buckskin Gulch

[daskew]

We are hoping to take a small group thru Buckskin June 3 in a long day hike. Wondering if anybody has a sense of what conditions might be like in a weeks time with regards to mud & water in the canyon, assuming the drying trend continues. I have contacted BLM and they are not very forthcoming other than to say normal rainfall at this time is 0.21 inches they have had 0.86 this year. Have done Buckskin in a day several times but my group this time is not the strongest so if it will be difficult conditions I will cancel the trip. If it's just a bit of slipping and sliding with no real slowdowns then we would be ok Thanks for any help.

[Iceaxe]

Whatever you do I would not rely on any information received from the BLM rangers that manage Buckskin/Paria. I've probably done Buckskin 20 times and have yet to receive accurate information from them. Their info on water/mud/conditions/ect is never accurate.


I stopped asking the BLM rangers for information the day they told me the seep in Buckskin was dry, so we all packed an extra 10 pounds of water. Yup... you guessed it.... the seep was not dry and was flowing nicely. The only thing those rangers are good for is checking permits and issuing tickets. YMMV

[Scott P]

Whatever you do I would not rely on any information received from the BLM rangers that manage Buckskin/Paria. I've probably done Buckskin 20 times and have yet to receive accurate information from them. Their info on water/mud/conditions/ect is never accurate.


I stopped asking the BLM rangers for information the day they told me the seep in Buckskin was dry, so we all packed an extra 10 pounds of water. Yup... you guessed it.... the seep was not dry and was flowing nicely. The only thing those rangers are good for is checking permits and issuing tickets. YMMV

It didn't used to be like that. Skip used to be at the White House Ranger Station and was very knowledgeable. Now days, rangers seem to be getting less and less reliable as time passes. The same is true in Capitol Reef and Canyonlands as well.

[Slot Machine]

If it's just a bit of slipping and sliding with no real slowdowns then we would be ok Thanks for any help.

It has been raining a lot in Utah the past couple of weeks. 99% sure it is muddy right now.

A few years ago we went through 2 days after it rained. Our shuttle driver tried to talk us out of going, and man, we should have listened!

The mud in there during wet conditions is HORRRRRRIBLE. It tries to pull your boots off with each step. Imagine that for 15 miles.

Unless you can verify that it is dry-ish, then I'd choose a different adventure.

[phatch]

My brother went through a week ago. It had flashed two days prior. mud and quicksand slog for 15 hours. Pretty, wet, soggy. The coming week is supposed to be better weather, but I expect there will be plenty of pools and mud in the narrows remaining from the storms.

[daskew]

Thanks for the discussion & info, we decided to postpone for now.