5 Wandering Soles were joined by 3 SOC members to mount an all-out assault on Buckskin Gulch and Paria Canyon.
The Gulch through everything it had at us - chilling thigh-deep muck, 20 foot bolders, poisonous snakes, spiders, blasts of desert heat - you name it.
No matter, the team was up to the task. We cut through the 13 mile first day in time to setup camp in twilight at the confluence campground.
After feasting on some succulent vittles, with jealous mice as our witnesses, we quickly succomed to a deep sleep. No alarm clock needed, as the urgent cries of various winged friends echoed off the rocks early enough, calling us back to the trail.
Day two brought us more river-slogging early on (some couldnt get enough) - but the 7 miles ended in the dry desert heat. The trail slowly rose out of the wide and colorful northern end of Paria Canyon to our terminus at Whitehouse Campground.
