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Paria Canyon - Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness |
| This wilderness area sits upon BLM land along the border
between Kanab Utah and Page Arizona. The most famous feature
contained with its borders is the Wave. |
| "I always see the same shot from
the Wave which made the hike itself a pleasant
surprise, the scenery is absolutely stunning. The terrain is vast and
full of colourful rocks with amazing swirl patterns
some with large ‘beehives’. You could spend hours just taking pictures
and scrambling on the rocks on the way to the Wave."
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| Left: The Wave |
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| The Wave requires an entry permit to the Coyote Buttes
Special Management Area and there are only twenty people permitted per
day. Ten are released 9am the day before in a lottery, the other
ten can be obtained
online, four months in advance
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| It's 5.5 miles round trip from the
Wire Pass trailhead
although there is no actual trail. The rangers give you a big
speech about
how to find it along with a map that has actual photographs of major
landmarks with arrows on them. |
| Right:
The entrance to the Wave is just below the the dark notch |
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Buckskin Gulch is thought to be the longest, narrowest, slot canyon in the world.
The main trailhead at Wire Pass makes a spectacular day hike as
it is less than two miles to the confluence with Buckskin Gulch.
A one way hike through Buckskin Gulch, to Paria River Canyon and
the White House trailhead, is 20 miles.
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"The trail starts down a wide wash, and the footing is loose rock, but there are many short cuts that cut off the corners and offer sandy trails. The red rocks and formations keep you entertained and oohing and ahhing the whole way. I noticed the challenges of trying to shoot photos in canyons almost immediately. The contrast between the shadows and the bright light coming in from the top made it a formidable task to come up with pleasing
compositions." |
| Right: Wire Pass |
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"After climbing down and over a few small obstacles we reached the confluence with Buckskin Gulch. The canyon walls
rise to impressive heights on both sides and make you feel insignificant. We only wandered a short distance
down Buckskin Gulch as it wasn't long before we encountered freezing
cold, deep pools. They were knee and thigh deep and were murky so it
was slow going.
The bottoms were sandy but had huge rocks so we had to feel for every
step, lest we would stub our toes. The water was so cold I kept
wondering where the glacier was that was feeding these pools." |
| Paria River Canyon is 38 miles one way from White House
trailhead to Lees Ferry. A superb backpacking trip, the
Buckskin Gulch confluence is 7 miles from the White House
trailhead. |
| Left:
Buskskin Gulch |
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| Not as well known, but no less
spectacular is an oasis of rock called the White Pocket in
Coyote Buttes South. |
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| "I can guarantee you this is not like
any place you’ve ever been. The rock patterns and
formations could keep a photographer enthralled for days in this
area. There are lots of nooks and crannies to explore and
scramble up, down and around. After the sun has set there
is a magic few minutes where the red rock just glows, it is a
truly inspiring place to be. one of the coolest places I’ve ever
been. " |
| Right: The White
Pocket |
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Its not an easy place to find but the details are in the Arizona
book by Laurent
Martres. This
road is challenging and potentially dangerous. It is a deep sand
track and a high clearance, 4WD is mandatory. Check with the Paria Ranger
Station
recent road conditions. Make
sure you have a shovel and lots of supplies in case you get
stuck, towing is pricey and there is no cell coverage out there.
A GPS can be useful as well to navigate the
maze of roads. There is more than one route - but the one
we preferred (as of 2011) is:
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36°51'43.10"N 112° 3'46.51"W
36°51'33.26"N 112° 0'39.32"W
36°50'36.67"N 111°57'41.48"W
36°53' 2.97"N 111°55'13.80"W
36°56'14.64"N 111°54' 6.62"W
36°57'20.15"N 111°53'43.69"W |
| Coyote Buttes South is also the home of the Cottonwood
Teepees, another remarkable set of rock formations. |
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