The Incredible Buckskin Gulch
For those people(Like Me) who don’t get a permit for The Wave because a tour bus of people showed up at the lottery drawing, another option is to visit Buckskin Gulch. It is the longest slot canyon (13 miles)in the US and it is fun. On this particular day, my aim was to get to a spot in the canyon where the afternoon sun would be highest (not so high in winter) and capture the colorful and various hues it produces on the sandstone canyon walls. The indirect sunlight reflecting and bouncing back and forth on the walls generates magentas, oranges, tangerines, blues, cyans, reds, violets, golds and whatever rainbow color you can visualize. I got the color I wanted but it only lasted about 20 minutes as the shifting sun altered the light. You first have to navigate the very narrow Wire Pass to get to Buckskin but it is fun in itself. You can purchase these images as either prints or downloadable image files at http://dawn2dawnphotography.com/
I don’t think Frodo would go in there!
You could live in this giant alcove on the right
I stood there in awe at the tall canyon walls. You can’t see much daylight in there.
This is not a safe place during monsoon season.
The sun was beginning to do its dance of light on the sandstone walls.
If it was a cloudy day, you wouldn’t get this color.
You can barely see the canyon rim from here, about 150 feet above.
Deep into the abyss.
This shot is actually a vertical panorama where I stacked two images on top of each other.
The person in these photos is a professional model!
Brilliant photography! Thank you.
LikeLike
February 19, 2014 at 8:37 AM
Hi there, Michael. Thank you for visiting and following HoB. Much appreciated!
LikeLike
February 23, 2014 at 11:15 AM
Visited Buckskin in ’73 during spring break, we hiked down Buckskin Gulch (took all day) and came out at the top of Pariah Canyon, then a couple days hiking down to Lee’s Ferry on the Colorado River…..truthfully the hike of a lifetime for me…..we saw MASSIVE tree trunks wedged between the walls, 30-40 feet up…..definitely not the place to be during a flash flood! Thanks for posting these great shots!
LikeLike
March 13, 2014 at 1:39 PM
Thanks John for relating your experience. I hope to hike the entire length of Buckskin Gulch and Paria in the near future
LikeLike
March 14, 2014 at 9:39 AM