Monday, September 22, 2003

Paria Canyon - September 18, 2003

Made a short notice trip for a two day camping trip on a day with no other passes sold for this day!!! The following 3 or so days was sold out.

I left Scottsdale mid day to head up to the ranger station to pick up my pass the night before. With the Utah time change I arrived 1/2 hour after closing. Waited around looking for anyone and then went back to Page for the night. Got pass when the ranger office opened and started the hike from Whitehouse Trailhead.

My first observation on this hike was the large truck tracks in the river bed going down stream. "Paria OHV" is a nice track started by a rancher getting his calf out of the canyon. The rangers told him he could use horse or a quad. Oh well.

As the canyon walls got closer in the narrows you can look up and see the high flood marks from the many flash floods of the 2003 monsoon. There was a flood about a week or so before my hike and there was gooky mud and some deep pools and had to wad thru one pool and the water is COLD. I think one of the benches is now gone at the confluence where my last trip I rested my pack and had lunch.

I camped out about 2 miles beyond the confluence at a nice site.

The next morning I cleaned up camp and hiked back to the White House Trailhead. When I got a little beyond the confluence the first signs of trouble confronted me. An 70 year old man tried to do the Wire Pass to Whitehouse loop the night before and never made it back........a guy to me to tell the rangers that he passed him and is ok!! Two more hikers will tell me about the guy a few more miles up the canyon. When I got to the ranger station the old man was gone and was ok but very cold I was told. The low temp at the ranger station was 44 degrees.

A ranger was investigating the 4 x 4 tracks in the river bed and haven't heard if any penalties will be given to the rancher.

Hike: Paria Canyon
Date: 9/18/2003
Type: Hiking
Time: 2 Days
Distance: 20 miles