Supposed to do a Wire Pass to White House 3-backpack this coming weekend. Plan to camp near the confluence for two nights. I’ve hiked the upper part down a ways, and some of the bottom up on a Whitehouse to Lees Ferry 6-day backpack, just not Buckskin top to bottom. I’ve been watching the radar regularly and there hasn’t been much in that area. I’ve prepped the group of 6 to expect waist deep muddy water and/or knee deep mud. Will be bringing some rope, and am aware of the middle exit but hope not to have to use it. I know there were multiple big flows thru Buckskin last fall. I’m looking for info on conditions this spring and hopefully recently. Either reply here or to bretmaverick999 at yahoo . com
Thanks, Bret Mathews
Stephen Romaniello
Hi Bret,
I just did this same trip two weeks ago and concur with Dean. I suspect you will encounter very little water (one 20′ long pool to mid-thigh, and several short, shallow puddles). Thankfully, there was very little mud. I agree with Dean that you could easily leave the rope at home, although you can carry it if you feel better about it.
The best water we found was the shallow trickle flowing in the lower Buckskin in the 1/4 mile before the Confluence. These pools reached 6-12″ deep in spots and were clear for easy filtering or chemical treatment. However, our group carried about 5 liters/person which turned out to be enough water for the entire trip from Wire Pass to White House, so we didn’t need to treat water at all.
There are 2 excellent campsites about 300 yards upstream of the confluence which I highly recommend.
Encourage everyone in your group to carry a variety of foorwear. Trail/river shoes + sandals worked well. 2-3mm neoprene socks were great, but wool socks will work as well. Pack as light as possible to maximize your enjoyment, and bring the nicest camera you own.
If you plan to camp at the trailhead, be advised that both the Stateline Campground and Wire Pass campground fill up quickly. In a pinch, dispersed camping is allowed on the west side of House Rock Valley road. I recommend a campsite about 200 yards west of the corral between Stateline and Wirepass. If you have a high clearance vehicle, you’ll be able to drive down a short dirt track directly to this campsite.
Enjoy! Steve
PS. Keep an eye out for small 12″ rattlesnakes. They seem abundant in Buckskin.
On Mon, May 30, 2011 at 11:26 AM, bretmaverick999 Plan to camp near the confluence for two nights. I’ve hiked the upper part > down a ways, and some of the bottom up on a Whitehouse to Lees Ferry 6-day > backpack, just not Buckskin top to bottom. I’ve been watching the radar > regularly and there hasn’t been much in that area. I’ve prepped the group of > 6 to expect waist deep muddy water and/or knee deep mud. Will be bringing > some rope, and am aware of the middle exit but hope not to have to use it. I > know there were multiple big flows thru Buckskin last fall. I’m looking for > info on conditions this spring and hopefully recently. Either reply here or > to bretmaverick999 at yahoo . com
Thanks, > Bret Mathews
>
Dean Kurtz
Hi Bret,
I did a 3 day solo trip Wire Pass to Lee’s Ferry a month ago. There were small pools throughout, the worst were within the first mile below the Wire Pass-Buckskin confluence. Of those, a couple were thigh deep and only one was waist deep. The boulder obstacle was an easy down climb and there are multiple ropes there that you can use to lower packs with, I carried a rope but would leave it home if I were going again. The majority of Buckskin is easy walking and I doubt you will run into any problems. Have a great trip!
Dean Kurtz
On May 30, 2011, at 12:26, “bretmaverick999” bretmaverick999@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Supposed to do a Wire Pass to White House 3-backpack this coming weekend. Plan to camp near the confluence for two nights. I’ve hiked the upper part down a ways, and some of the bottom up on a Whitehouse to Lees Ferry 6-day backpack, just not Buckskin top to bottom. I’ve been watching the radar regularly and there hasn’t been much in that area. I’ve prepped the group of 6 to expect waist deep muddy water and/or knee deep mud. Will be bringing some rope, and am aware of the middle exit but hope not to have to use it. I know there were multiple big flows thru Buckskin last fall. I’m looking for info on conditions this spring and hopefully recently. Either reply here or to bretmaverick999 at yahoo . com
Thanks, > Bret Mathews