On Wednesday morning, March 18th, my sister Kristine and I went once again to the Paria Ranger Station, this time with my Dad and his dog Abbey in tow. This time, being the 3rd consecutive day we were there, we had 3 balls in the lottery for permits to hike to the Wave. And luck would have it there were 16 permits available that day instead of the usual 10. Somebody who had 6 permits reserved couldn't go and turned them in. So with that many chances we finally succeeded and got permits to hike to the Wave the next day :) We were quite happy as we decided what hike we should do that day.
I asked a ranger at the station about Lick Wash, which according to a guidebook I own, is one of the most scenic yet one of the least-visited canyons in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The ranger said it was a great hike. I asked him about the road conditions and he said the road was clear. So off we went to drive to the trailhead. As we neared there was patchy snow alongside the road in the shady areas so I figured there would be some in the canyon. Which there was, along with some ice. But it was easy enough to get around. What I didn't count on was very sticky mud. At one point I sunk in up to my ankles and felt like I wasn't going to be stopping anytime soon so I started freaking out. I know they have quick sand in this part of the world and so I dubbed this stuff quick mud, and this place Suck Wash! Fortunately, with my sister's and dad's coaching, I was able to extricate myself. Needless to say we didn't continue further down the canyon, but got a nice little taste of what it was like.
Yes, it is scenic. Full of beautiful cross-bedded sandstone and interesting rock formations. And deep in the narrows tall majestic ponderosa pines grow. Well, someday I will go back and hike Lick Wash in its entirety - when it is dry!
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