Buckskin Gulch - The most dangerous hike in North America

Buckskin Gulch is considered one of the most beautiful hikes in North America. National Geographic considers it on par, if not better than the Narrows of Zion Canyon (see September post).  Unlike the Narrows however, many - including one ominous article in Backpacker Magazine - suggests it just might be the most dangerous hike in North America.

 

It is unofficially the longest, narrowest slot canyon in the world.   At over 12 miles long, it is rarely more than 10 feet wide, but it is as much as 400 feet deep.  In parts, it gets so narrow you have to remove your backpack and shimmy through sideways. Over your head, just a narrow slit of sky, sometimes as much as 40 stories up.  And this goes on for about 6 hours (at an average pace).

 

Hiking it is relatively easy, mostly walking, a few pools of water to wade through and a few rock jams to climb over.  So where did it get this ominous title?

 

Here's the catch.  Throughout that entire 12 mile length, should the weather turn against you, there is only one place where you can climb up and out of this crack in the desert.  It is at a point called Middle Route, about 8 miles from the start.

 

Needless to say you don't want to be 4 miles into the canyon and look up to see a thundercloud pass by the narrow strip of sky above your head.  Flash floods in here can take water levels from zero to more than 20 feet deep in seconds, and it is not like you could just tread water until you found somthing to hold onto - these floods roar down the canyon like a freight train of mud and logs and rocks...

 

This is where Stephanie and I went on Thanksgiving weekend.

 

Now don't think we are too crazy.  Thunderstorms just don't happen in the late fall, so a simple check of the weather forecast to ensure rain wasn't expected was all that was needed to ensure we were not hiking to our imminent demise.  Not surprisingly, it called for clear and sunny skies with zero chance of precipitation - like virtually every day out here.

Also, we didn't hike the whole 12 miles.  After our hypothermic trip up Kanarra Creek, the weekend before, wading through frigid waist deep stagnant water didn't sound like a lot of fun so we only went in a couple of miles.  (Though I am already itching to go back...)

 

What really made it amazing were our ignorantly low expectations.   We had no idea how beautiful this hike was going to be.  Once again we were fooled by the impossibly inaccurate information online.  What we had found through Google gave us no indication that this was anything more than your average day hike.  One site even went so far as to say it was "not the most scenic canyon".  What?  Where does that person normally hike? On Mars?  It wasn't until we got back that we read further and validated what we had seen.

Further proof that almost everything you read online is total crap.  (This blog excluded of course.)

Some history... because I know you are all itching for that.

Buckskin Gulch is in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a huge (1.9 million acre!) wilderness in Southern Utah.  It was set aside as a National Monument by Clinton in the 1996.  It was the last area in the continental United States to be mapped and is still almost entirely undeveloped. Just getting to this trailhead required overnighting in the tiny little town of Kanab (which we still like to call "Kabab") and then a 40 mile drive down a two lane paved road followed by nearly 9 miles over a bumpy dirt road - and this is considered "easily accessible" (which refers to anything out here that doesn't require a high clearance four wheel drive).

The colors of the rock and the lighting made for some great shots, though to be honest, the photos we get never do it justice...

This beautiful alcove doesn't even make it into the trail description.  Just not impressive enough I guess?

See the tiny blue dot in the top right photo below?  That is Stephanie about to re-enter the narrows.

Maggie continues to be a celebrity out here.  Every other hiker we pass oohs and ahs at her tiny backpack and her "Wee l'il boots".  (And just for the record, it's not that we pamper our pooch - she drinks a lot of water and tends to tear up her paws... no really!)

Another blue dot in the middle photo below - gives things some perspective.

Fun facts:

1) In the summer, this canyon is known for it's miniature rattlesnakes.  Smaller (so they can hide better), just as deadly as a regular rattlesnake, and totally silent (so they can sneak up on you).  It is like they were specifically bred to be creepy.  We're happy to be here in the winter.

2) The debris on the log below (right) is from the last flash flood.  It was about 10 ft over our heads.

Up next.... Random stories and photos and stuff!