The main canyon traverse begins at Wire Pass Trailhead, where a short approach hike through a smaller slot leads to the junction with Buckskin Gulch. From there it's 12 miles to the confluence with the Paria River — 12 miles during which you never leave the narrows. The walls close in to two or three feet in places, and the canyon floor alternates between dry sand, ankle-deep mud, and wading pools of standing water that may persist year-round in the lower sections.
The mid-canyon boulder fall is the technical crux: a 10-foot drop requiring a handmade rope or a knotted cord anchored at the top. Most hikers bring a length of static rope and leave it for the party behind them. Below the boulder fall the canyon deepens and darkens; in the final miles before the Paria confluence the walls tower over 500 feet. The light here, when it filters down from far above, has a quality that is genuinely hard to describe.
Permits are required year-round — book well in advance through the BLM Kanab Field Office or online at recreation.gov. Day permits for the Wire Pass entry are limited to 20 people. Overnight hikers need a different permit class; spaces fill months ahead for peak season (March–May and September–October).