The Wire Pass trailhead is where the famous and uber-popular hike to The Wave starts, it’s also the start for the Wire Pass to Buckskin Gulch trail.
My educated guess (since I didn’t get a Wave pass in the three days I paid my six bucks to enter the BLM lottery) is that most of the people who hike this trail do so because they also didn’t get a pass for The Wave.
It’s a shame though, because even though I had this hike on our must-do list, if we had gotten a permit for The Wave, we likely would have done it and then completely passed the Wire Pass trail by.
The first mile of the Wire Pass trail is pretty meh, winding through a sandy wash that would be stupid hot if you started late in the day.
A Mile Of Nothing
The start of the Wire Pass Trail is a far cry from the goodness awaiting.
You trudge on and on through the sand wondering when the good stuff is going to start, then you get a slight dip, a crack in the rock in front of you, and suddenly you remember why you’re out here in the desert.
Suddenly the canyon walls start to squeeze in on you and the sun shifts from basking heat to narrow beams.
Finally
Finally we start to get to the good stuff
The juniper and sagebrush scrub disappear and waves of colorful rock delight with their varying combination of light and shadows.
You wander past Native American petroglyphs scratched into the canyon walls, sadly with their accompanying signs telling dumbass tourists NOT to deface our history.
Canyon Wows
If this is the start of the canyon, this is going to be good!
Down The Ladder
Inspecting the ladder that the BLM has installed on this drop in the canyon
Sunshine
Colette gets lightbulb hair from the strong desert sun
Into the Crack
A short break of space, then back into the crack
Classic Canyon
Such a classic Utah slot canyon shot!
The Alcove
A massive alcove at the intersection of the Wire Pass trail and Buckskin Gulch
Buckskin Gulch is one of the longest and deepest slot canyons in the Southwest, and possibly in the world.
Slot canyons are known for sudden flash floods from storms that can be many miles away, and the floor of the canyon shows this.
We passed over several deep water features that had enough stone in them that we could pass with nothing more than wet boots, but finally turned around when we hit a "puddle" that would swallow a small car.
I spent fifteen minutes or so throwing large boulders in the pool only to watch them disappear well below the surface. Enough so that my back muscles were sore for a few days afterward, but to no avail.
Since neither of us are pulling our boots off and slogging through this mess, it’s turnaround time.
Would we have seen even more interesting things past this point? It’s a tossup. We headed north up Buckskin Gulch for a ways and oooh’d and aaah’d over the canyon walls, color and texture.
If you don’t mind mud up to your knees and putting your wet muddy feet back into your boots, or if you brought a towel and Chacos or Tevas – definitely continue south in Buckskin Gulch as far as you can.
If you’re just not feeling the mud and ooze, turn around whenever you hit your point. There’s so much amazingness here you will walk away with great memories and great photos.
We highly highly highly recommend this hike, even if you get a permit for The Wave. Totally different experience, and part of what makes this entire area so unique and enjoyable.
Red Antelope
An antelope petroglyph on the canyon wall
The Herd
A panel of pronghorn petroglyphs
Back to Wire Pass
Looking back into Wire Pass from Buckskin Gulch
Tip Toes
Multiple water sections within Buckskin Gulch
Big Rock
Perspective of the size of these canyon walls
Squeeeeeeze
Squeezing through a narrow section
Back Up
Heading up the ladder
Horseshoe Swirls
Crazy patterns in the sandstone walls
