Stop #11

Buckskin Gulch

Vermillion Cliffs, Utah

~ This gallery was completely updated on 22 February 2004~

With a day to wait before we could visit the Wave, we decided to spend the time exploring the slot canyons of the adjacent Buckskin Gulch. We entered from the Wire Pass trailhead and we hiked several miles down into the first part of the gulch which runs down 13 miles further to the confluence of the next river.

 

“We had the sense that it went on and on nearly forever, with each tantalizing bend of the gulch revealing yet another amazing scene. The slot canyons were compelling with their coolness and filtered light which was a nice escape from the hot open canyons. After hours of exploration our curiosity was very aroused by the visual treasures that might lie just around the next bend, so it was difficult to finally turn around and head back. A recent storm left a curious layer of gray-white mud on top of the red sand. The drying mud cracked and curled up into fantastic and brittle porcelain-like shapes created a carefully and extravagantly arranged mosaic throughout the gulch. Like bulls in the proverbial china shop, we stomped noisily through the pervasive dried curled mud and the cacophony echoed brutally into the silence between the high narrow walls. The loudness of the crunching and the broken perfection in our wake left us feeling self-conscious as if we were somehow vandals in a sacred place. There was some relief in knowing that the next storm will wash the gulch clean again and the sun will quickly recreate another extravagant mosaic of hard, brittle dried mud”.

The first night in utterly primitive conditions next to the full campground, we enjoyed Grey Goose Vodka while my son Sean fixed duck confit with a wild mushroom risotto and steamed fresh asparagus accompanied with a fine Chianti.

Life is good.