We left Tropic and promptly entered Bryce Canyon National Park. It’s not obvious why Bryce is considered a Canyon — it’s really a one-sided cliff. There are many actual canyons that are not National Parks but that are also more spectacular than Bryce. But I digress.
Our original plan after exiting Bryce was to hike along the world’s longest slot canyon, Buckskin Gulch. Our lovely ranger friends, however, informed us that there were some chest-deep cesspools we would have to wade through. Opting to not have mud-inundated sleeping bags for the remainder of our hike, we found ourselves a day ahead of schedule when we hitched into Kanab for a resupply.
An extra day?! What a great opportunity to rest our weary feet and zero in town (“zero” miles of hiking)!
After an easy hitch, we feasted on second breakfast and applied to the lottery for an impossible-to-get Coyote Buttes North permit — home of “The Wave” (Google it). We went about doing town chores in a relaxed manner, relishing the opportunity to zero the following day. At dinner Tangent checked his phone to assess his lottery results. No dice. I checked my phone. “Congratulations! You have won the lottery!”
Coyote Buttes North is considered by many to be a “once in a lifetime” opportunity. Tangent had previously won a permit 12 years ago, which makes it a twice in a lifetime opportunity, I suppose.
Without a car, we had logistics to work through to make it to the the 8:30 AM permit orientation and then to get back to trail with enough time to hike the necessary miles to get to Coyote Buttes North during our entry window. So much for our zero!
We raced around town, frantically trying to finish off chores. In the morning we walked over to the BLM visitor center to go through orientation.
“I’ve spent so much money applying to this lottery! It used to be $9 — now it’s only $6, but I’ve been trying to get this permit for 10 years!”
At one entry per day for 10 years, Alex and his Wife were finally getting to see their white whale. Or in this case, a colorful swirly rock!
We found a quick hitch out of town, and began walking along many stunning rocks. Every handful of miles Tangent would detour to see some rock he had read an off-hand remark about in a book. I regularly intoned that this was supposed to be a zero.
In the morning we picked up our water cache and jumped into Coyote Buttes North. I don’t know if it’s apply-daily-for-10-years nice, but it sure is better than Bryce!
After scrambling about colorful, whirly rocks that look to be melting, akin to a Dahli painting, we exited to the Paria Plateau. This was an alternate route that Tangent had planned, which would add around 60 miles to what would have otherwise been a straightforward trail to Jacob Lake.
Tangent detoured to see some broken Indian pottery — he found a couple fragments. Around this time I inquired why he wanted to hike a seemingly random path across the Paria Plateau. He had a strong desire to visit a place that no one goes to, and thought that the Vermilion Cliffs, that we would be descending, looked nearly impossible to descend.
The rest of the hike across the Paria Plateau left much to be desired. Mainly trail. And a whole lot less sand. We meandered across a barren expanse of desert with limited water, dodging cacti and sage brush, before eventually finding a lovely descent down the Vermilion Cliffs to an abandoned trail marked as “The Honeymoon Trail.”
I have never found a better-marked backcountry bushwhack! The frequent BLM signs proudly exclaimed that motor vehicle use was prohibited. If ever there were a “trail” in need of motor vehicle use, this was it! The desert had fully reclaimed what once may have been a trail.
A mere 25 miles from Vermilion Cliffs we miraculously found ourselves at Jacob Lake — a location that has no lake. I would have preferred the shorter route direct from Wire Pass Trailhead there instead.
Now we’re headed into the Grand Canyon!
May your shoes remain sand free in the meantime,
Jeff
