Mark and I backpacked through Wire Pass, Buckskin Gulch, and the Paria River canyon to Lees Ferry. What a photographers paradise! Oh, what beauty! Photographing the slots is a special challenge, requiring a tripod for long exposures, and careful composition to keep the dynamic range of the light in your frame to within the bounds the camera can handle. We took 5 days for this hike, here is a short trip description:

Day 1: Betty Lou, who runs a shuttle service out of the Vermillion Cliffs area (contact information found with a search on the Internet) picked us up at the long-term parking area at Lee's Ferry and drove us to the Wire Pass trail head. It's indeed a strange feeling to be dropped off so far from your car! After a mile or less you start into the narrows of Wire Pass, and the temperature cools significantly. We hiked 15.5 miles through Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch, stopping for photographs and snacks. I carried my camera in a waist pouch in front of me and my tripod in my hand, ready for quick setup. We had to wade through 3-4 pools of cold water, one pool hip-deep. There were a couple obsticles, including the notorious boulder jam a couple miles from the confluence with the Paria River which required use of a rope. It's a good thing a rope was already in place because the BLM office mis-informed us that a rope was no longer required as there was a rabbit hole to get through the jam. Near the confluence a small amount of running water was present, presumably due to underground seepage. The Paria River itself at the confluence seems more a collection of mud puddles, actually quite unsightly. We camped an hour's hike past the confluence where there was a good spring.

Day 2: Dayhike up the Paria River about 6.5 miles. The river, as you go upstream, quickly disappears into a dry wash. Past the confluence we encountered the Paria Narrows, Slide Arch, and what I refer to as "The Temple of the Cairns" before the canyon opens up. At some point we turned around and camped again at the same spot as last evening.

Day 3: Backpack down river to a camp near the entrance of Wrather Canyon (10 miles). This was a particularly windy day. Features of note for this day includes The Hole and Wrather Arch. We saw no one else the entire day.

Day 4: Backpack down river to a desolate camp at Paria mile 30 (10 miles). The terrain opens up on this stretch of trail, and negotiating along the trail is a bit more encumbered by boulders and pools. At Paria mile 28 the trail leaves the river for this reason, but is easy going (though hot and dry). At mile 30 the trail rejoins the river at a campsite with a lone cottonwood tree. We saw no one else the entire day.

Day 5: Backpack the 8.5 miles to our car at Lee's Ferry. The canyon is very open at this section, and often the trail shortcuts the benches rather than follows the river. Petroglyphs (ancient and modern) and Wilson Ranch are features of note on this section of trail. We bypassed the Lonely Dell Ranch. Again, another day on the trail without sighting anyone else.

If you can tell I was a bit more enchanted with Day 1 and Buckskin Gulch, you are right! Though the Paria is quite wonderful, the slots of Buckskin Gulch were awesome! I loved the light and water-worn textures of the rock, and the ambience of just being there. Very cool.