For this day, we had intended to go and tour Antelope Canyon, the scenic slot canyon that is a default background for most computers. Jess had been researching things to do in the area and she thought that this would be a really cool day trip (other choices included a boat tour of Lake Powell). However, because Antelope Canyon is on Navajo Territory, and there is sacred traditions associated with the canyon, the Navajo have exclusive rights to touring it. In short, if you want to see Antelope Canyon, you must go through the Navajo.
Now there are a plethora of tour companies from which to choose from and a plethora of timeslots. Prices ranged from (supposedly) 20$ per person in the early morning to over 100$ per person in the afternoon (when lighting is "just right"). Not wanting to break the bank on this one side trip, we decided we could go for the 20$ morning tour.
We received an email confirming our reservation informing us to be at a parking lot around 8 am.
Now before continuing it must be understood that Arizona operates on a non-Day Light Savings Time Zone, so half the year we are in the same time zone as the pacific coast, the rest of the year with the Rocky Mountains. At this time of year, we happen to be aligned with the Pacific.
The Navajo/Hopi Reservation (which is all the north-east corner of Arizona) is, however, on Day Light Savings Time, which means they are always aligned with Mountain Time.
Page Arizona is right on the line, and, depending on which cell tower you are hitting and everyone else is using, can be in both time zones (although officially it is in Arizona time).
This proved to be quite a headache and for the middle part of the trip we did not really know what time it was.
That being said, we decided to err on the side of early and arrived at the parking lot at 9 o'clock Arizona time. And no one was there.
We drove around a bit, seeing if we could do anything to kill time (which you cant because its all on Navajo Territory) and showed up a little later. Still no official people.
There were however several other vehicles parked out front of the gate looking skeptic.
We waited, and eventually a tour truck arrived.
The driver of said truck got out to unlock the gate; a man walks up to him, presumably to ask when the tour starts/what's going on; the driver gives the cold shoulder, opens the gate barely, drives the tour truck through, and quickly shuts the gate; guy continues to try to get an answer; vague hand motions from Navajo while trying to lock the gate so no one can park; man leaves and is immediately replaced by another man; another tour truck arrives; more secretly letting only the truck in.
Clearly, there were either no tours from the parking lot, we were too early, or these guys just really didn't like us. By this point I was annoyed and since we hadn't paid anything, we opted to go back to the hotel and reevaluate the day. But first we stopped at the Horseshoe Bend to get some more pictures.
*Aside- If you are in Page and think it is a great idea to go see Coyote Canyon you may wish to reconsider. Even if you manage to navigate the tour companies, be advised that your tour will be crowded, expensive, and rushed. And the closer you are to the noon hour (best lighting) it will be more crowded, more expensive, and more rushed. And since June-July are the only times when the noon hour is actually the "best lighting", the rest of the year isn't even that spectacular. Instead consider Buckskin Gulch.*
After reaching the hotel room, I recalled and researched the Buckskin Gulch that the ranger had referred us to the day before. The pictures looked pretty cool and there was a letterbox near there and it was a slot canyon (the deepest slot canyon actually), so we packed a lunch and decided to give it a try.
Best Decision Ever.
We drove north from Page on US 89 for about 40 minutes, stopping briefly at the Glen Canyon Ranger Station, to an unmaintained road heading south into the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. This road, although unmaintained and nasty is not impassable. It is rutted and has stones, but as long as you can drive your vehicle with care, you do not need a high clearance vehicle (there were lots of smaller cars and even a bus at the trail head).
We first stopped at the Arizona-Utah border to get a box at the terminus of the AZTrail then returned to the trailhead for the Wirepass Trail. We paid a small fee (6$ per person) and then hiked the trail.
This is the same trail that one would take if they were going to "The Wave" in Upper Coyote Buttes, but instead of going up on top of the sandstone, we stayed in the river bed. Eventually the river bed cuts deep into the sandstone forming very steep walls on either side, often called a slot canyon. This particular slot canyon (Buckskin Gulch) is the deepest in the world with walls up to 500 feet high (or deep depending on perspective) and sometimes as narrow as your shoulders. The walls are so high and narrow, that the floor in some areas never sees direct sunlight and often has standing water as a result. (After rainstorms one may have to wade through waist deep water, but only for thru hiking).
We only went about two miles into the canyon but took several hours. It is possible to thru hike the canyon (something I do want to do) from Wirepass Trailhead to Whitehouse in Paria Canyon (21 mi) or all the way to Lee's Fairy (50 mi), but one need only to go a mile to get the true effect and beauty.
We had lunch in the canyon and then left the way we came. On the way
back to Page, we made two stops, one at the Paria Canyon Ranger Contact
Station (to get stamps and check to see what maps of the area they
have) and then at a short trail just off of Highway 89.
This
trail leads to some rock formations called "Toadstools" due to there
resemblance to mushrooms. They are created by a hard (dolomite?) rock
layer that protects a column of soft white sandstone from being eroded
away, much like the way the hoodoos in Bryce canyon are formed.
Finally, we made a drive through the Glen Canyon NRA by Lake Powell on the way back to Page
We grabbed a less than satisfactory dinner at a sushi bar and then went to bed.
