{"id":14824,"date":"2022-09-20T22:21:22","date_gmt":"2022-09-20T22:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acrossutah.com\/?p=14824"},"modified":"2022-09-20T22:21:22","modified_gmt":"2022-09-20T22:21:22","slug":"paria-plateau-loop-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.acrossutah.com\/wordpress\/paria-plateau-loop-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"Paria Plateau Loop Hike"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In April 2022 I did a nine-day loop hike on and around the Paria Plateau<\/strong>. Now that the video series is complete<\/a><\/strong>, I wanted to add a written report summary for this hike as well and share some photos and map. This might be a bit more brief than my typical daily journal style reports, but I think it should still provide plenty of detail for those who prefer written content or hope to visit some of these areas.<\/p>\n

This is a hike I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I didn’t PLAN on doing it this year, but when I realized I’d have some extra time in April I began looking at the permit availability page for Paria Canyon Overnight<\/strong>. Permits can be reserved four months in advanced and typically sell out fast for the prime seasons (spring\/fall). However, I’ve noticed that if one keeps an eye on the page occasionally permits become available presumably due to cancellations (especially slots for 1 or 2 people.) The quota for the system is solely based on group size and entry date, thus if a permit becomes available one can grab it and then decide which trailhead to begin at and how many days to spend in the canyon (ie the new permit is not dependent on the cancelled permit’s details.) Luckily… one single permit became available for April 3rd and I grabbed it. Then I began hoping to find a Coyote Buttes South<\/strong> permit the same way and as luck would have it… a week before my trip one spot opened up for April 2 — perfect! I was hoping to find one for the end of my trip for after my White Pocket<\/strong> visit, but this would still work and I’d just begin at Lone Tree<\/strong> near Coyote Buttes South instead of Wire Pass<\/strong> as originally planned. In hindsight, this probably worked out better as it allowed me to put a small cache near Wire Pass so I didn’t have to worry about carrying too much on the first two days. I’d hoped for the trifecta and to also get a permit for Coyote Buttes North<\/strong> (including The Wave<\/strong>) through the newly launched “Day Before” geofence lottery process — but that didn’t happen. Though the odds for this are MUCH better than the advanced online lottery, it’s still a longshot coming in at about 1 in 30. I wasn’t lucky this time for that, but still had an amazing journey on this trek.<\/p>\n

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click image to open interactive map<\/p><\/div>\n

DAY 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

The walk up to Paw Hole<\/strong> was fairly uneventful along the VERY sandy road.<\/p>\n

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The waterhole at Paw Hole was dry, but I somewhat expected that and didn’t plan on refilling here (or even until my cache if needed.) The Paw Hole area has some interesting buttes. Some of the cool stuff is actually outside the permit boundary, but it’s somewhat confusing as the signage in the area is incorrect (one sign even states a permit for Coyote Buttes NORTH is required!) Using a GPS with built in map shows the true boundary — not that it impacted me on this day as I was legal with my permit. I continued through the buttes and toward the “West Side”<\/strong> of the permit area.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> I’ll use place names in quotes whenever those names are unofficial, but somewhat adopted by the online community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The western edge of Coyote Buttes South includes some cool features known as “Sunset Butte”<\/strong> and “The Alcove”<\/strong> and plenty of other twisted and interesting formations.<\/p>\n

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The area is unique in that it’s the only part of Coyote Buttes with interesting sandstone on the western side of the hills. This makes for some great late-day photography, but unfortunately I was there late morning (but it was still pretty nice.) This is also probably the most remote part of Coyote Buttes South, so it’s quite possible one won’t see anyone else while exploring this area.<\/p>\n

AREA GALLERY:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\t\t