Buckskin Gulch TH to Wire Pass, UT

Most people who hike Buckskin Gulch do not hike from the Buckskin Gulch trailhead unless they have to. And they might have to if House Rock Valley Road, an unpaved but maintained dirt road leading from US 89, is wet. The road is typically pretty good for the 4 mile stretch from US 89. After that, it can be very muddy, and there's a lot of clay, so basically it's impassable when wet.


I recommend that people try this even if they can get to the Wire Pass trailhead (4 miles further on House Rock Valley Road). Wire Pass is for those who don't like a build up to an event. There, you walk almost directly into the narrowest part of any slot canyon in the vicinity. From Buckskin Gulch, you start off with some amazing scenery--just not a slot canyon. Undulating sandstone formations in the first mile or two of this hike are gorgeous. You can really see how they were formed from shifting sand dunes. And the broad valley you hike in gradually begins to narrow...and you know you're headed toward a slot canyon. There's a point at which you think you've entered it...it's about 20 feet high...but it's just a pinchpoint; you come out to a broad wash after a few hundred feet. But soon enough...about 3 to 3.5 miles from the trailhead...you enter the actual beginning (or end?) of the famous Buckskin Gulch slot canyon.It gets deep very quickly. There are some rocky footings at times, and it can be a bit squishy walking in the sand if it has rained. But mostly this section is a sandy floor and good walking if hard packed. It's a bit more level than the area of Buckskin below the Wire Pass confluence. After about a mile in the slot canyon, it broadens out a bit at the confluence with Wire Pass. When arriving here, look for the large arch on the south wall of Wire Pass, right where it meets Buckskin. The lower left portion of the arch has petroglyphs worth looking at. And a trail register box not far away. Notice also the large sand deposits, showing that at some point in the past, Buckskin Gulch was dammed further downstream and let that sediment bury the floor of the canyon as much as 50-75 feet.

From here you should wander a bit up Wire Pass, which is only 2 feet wide at its narrowest point, before turning around. You can also easily wander downstream a bit further in Buckskin Gulch, but note that this section is more rocky, has more pools, and has no exit for about 6 miles (Middle Route), and that's not an easy exit nor an obvious one.

Return the way you came!

2017-04-06 cdeperro