As I mentioned in an earlier chapter of this saga, the primary goal of our trip was to visit a remote area of northern Arizona called "White Pocket" -- a square-mile group of domes, ridges, and weird shapes of eroded Navajo sandstone outcroppings.
I had visited White Pocket in 2014, but was there only in the middle of the day, when the lighting conditions were less than optimal. (You can read about that visit by clicking here.) I wanted to return for an overnight stay to capture sunset and sunrise light on the beautiful formations.
Unfortunately, it was not to be.
Forty-eight hours before we were to meet up with our outfitter, we got a call from his office person confirming the time and place of our rendezvous. He would pick us up at Wire Pass trailhead at 3:00pm on Sunday and transport us to White Pocket. All good.
So Alan and I spent Sunday morning exploring some other areas around Page, AZ, then rolled out US 89 to House Rock Road, which leads to Wire Pass trailhead.
Wire Pass is a short (0.5 mile long) slot canyon gorge carved through sandstone, and it leads into the much longer Buckskin Gulch slot canyon. We knew we only had time to hike to the junction with Buckskin Gulch and return to the trailhead in time to meet the outfitter. So off we went.
To get to the slot canyon, we had to hike about a mile in a sandy dry wash . . .
Along the way, we passed large hills of Navajo sandstone with weird patterns:
The wash began to narrow into the canyon . . .
and we reached the boulder-strewn entrance . . .
The colorful walls of Wire Pass slot canyon are reminiscent of Lower Antelope Canyon (also near Page, AZ), but not as smoothly sculpted as Antelope.
As we ventured further in, the canyon narrowed, and the opening at the top (maybe 40 or 50 feet up) did not allow any direct sunlight, so it got darker and darker . . .
Occasionally the opening at the top got wider and let in more light . . .
And about three-fourths of the way through, a rock fall blocked the passage. Fortunately, someone had rigged a ladder to climb the 8-foot-high pile of rubble:
Mindful of the time, we turned around and made our way back to the canyon entrance
We arrived at the trailhead parking lot -- our designated rendezvous point -- a little after 2:00, just to be sure we were not late for our 3:00 pick-up.
3:00 came . . . but our outfitter didn't. 3:15 . . . 3:30. Unfortunately, we were so far out in the wilderness that there was no cell phone reception, so we couldn't call him.
At 3:45, we bailed. Even if he had showed up at that time, it was too late. From the Wire Pass trailhead pick-up point, it was a 90-minute drive to White Pocket. By the time we got there, we would have had no time to walk in, scout the area for good sunset light on the features, and set up. We weren't going to pay hundreds of dollars and not get our photography done.
When we got phone reception, we called the outfitter but only got voice-mail. Eventually, more than 24 hours later, he called back, claiming that he had us scheduled for the following weekend -- notwithstanding the fact that his office person had confirmed the job with us by phone two days earlier.
Needless to say, we were more than disappointed, having invested travel time, lodging, and food to get there. But there was nothing to be done. If you ever get an urge to visit White Pocket, don't call Kyle at Grand Circle Tours.
If you would like to see my Wire Pass images in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.
Next up, the final stop on our Arizona Adventure: Canyon de Chelly.
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