lostlandscapes
rope mule
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2012
- Messages
- 328
*No* water whatsoever in Buckskin this past weekend. Muddy remnants of once-standing pools are evident, but your feet are gonna stay dry. No ropes or webbing were necessary for us. When you get to the rockfall, don't go left and use the fraying red and white rope that has been there for who knows how long (too long)--simply slip down the rabbit hole smack dab in the middle of the canyon (you more or less walk right up to it), crawl under a boulder, and you're free. It helps to take your packs off and hand them down. The spring near the confluence is running like usual, and our camp even got a good deal of sunshine at mid-day. The maples are leafing out and things are beginning to look a lot like summer in there. The Paria was *fiercely* cold first thing in the morning. Even with neoprene socks and a swift pace, we were all a bit uncomfortable after only 10 minutes of walking downstream in it on a photo jaunt. Thankfully by early afternoon it warmed up a great deal, and the hike up and out to Whitehouse campground was pleasant and easy going.
But since it's so shallow and the upriver portion gets sun-baked, it warmed up very quickly. By mid-afternoon it was pleasant. And no pumping that sludge, thankfully there's a perennial spring near the confluence that you can pump from 
