On the bright side, it’s gorgeous. We just didn’t care after the first half of the first day!

I, too, was mentally unprepared for the hike from Wire Pass to the Confluence. We went in September, 2006. The water was about 45 degrees or so and up to my waist in places, deeper if you didn’t have a trekking pole to find the high spots on the underlying rocks. Prior to entering Buckskin Gulch, we went out to the Wave area, which was unbelievably beautiful. We did not get started into Buckskin until probably 11am. We thought we’d have enough time to make it to the confluence to camp, because we were told there are a few high spots around there.

We finally stopped about 1 mile short of the Confluence on a sandy stretch (stupid move #2 – read on). It was a bit nerve racking camping mere feet from the trickle of water that could become a torrent in seconds. We didn’t sleep a whole lot that night, listening for any thunder or looking for anything that might be lightening off in the distance. It’s very difficult because you are about 200 feet in a hole with about a 20 foot opening above you. We didn’t have a good topo map (stupid move #1), so we still had no way of knowing how far to the Confluence. The GPS one of the guys brought (stupid move #3) was totally useless due to the fact that you only have that 20 foot opening to get a satellite reception. Anyway, we trekked on and found we were merely about a half mile to an excellent spot to camp with a spot about 10 feet above the floor. You’d still possibly be in trouble, but we would have been in better shape if it had rained.

As far as gear goes, we used a Katadyn Hiker Pro which worked like a champ and never clogged. My shoes were the Salomon Tech Amphibian. I would highly recommend them with some good wool socks on this trip. They drain really well and offer some pretty good support. I also recommend a solid pair of trekking poles, the Leki Makalu’s were awesome. You need them walking through the 35 pools of water that are waist deep, again assuming you have the poles to find the high rocks. You will also want some quick dry shorts, such as the Ex Officio Amphi Shorts. Finally, get you a good, small dry bag. There are times where your pack might dip into the water and you will want to put things in your dry bag that you don’t want getting wet, like your sleeping bag and a change of clothes.

Anyway, I would highly recommend this trip, but you better mentally prepare for it. By the time you reach the confluence, you will be spent mentally and physically. But, all in all, it’s well worth it, knowing you did it and you are one of a only a few people in this world that will see this part of the world.