While this blog (and this trip) was originally going to cover my week-long trip to the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, I ended up splitting this journal into two sections. This portion (part 1) covers a smallish area just east of Coyote Buttes South known as White Pocket, and I added a separate Coyote Buttes South trip report for that portion of the adventure. Here is part one of the tale.
“White Pocket is an isolated, notoriously hard-to-reach patch of sandstone hidden within the desert”
I found this written on an internet review of White Pocket when researching a trip to Coyote Buttes South and White Pocket. Most folks strongly recommended taking a tour. That’s when I knew my friend, Jay, and I had to get out there to see what the fuss was about. Jay is a professional photographer and licensed drone operator like myself. He flies all over the country and works with several forests services to photograph whatever they want. So we made a good team, both willing to arise well before sunrise and stay out well into the night to find the best light.
OK… back to White Pocket. I’m not a tour person, but I do have a high clearance, 4WD 4Runner and Jay has a truck. So our transportation was taken care of. The rest of this word jumble will be a sharing of experiences and thoughts, as well as some info we learned that might be helpful.
As mentioned above, White Pocket is nestled in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, an area of nearly 300,000 acres in Coconino County, Arizona, just south of the Arizona-Utah border, that protects Coyote Buttes, Pariah Canyon, Pariah Plateau, and the Vermilion Cliffs. It is known for amazing color, unique and spectacular geologic formations, and a seemingly unending remoteness in an unforgiving land.
Permits
As of November 2024, you don’t need a reservation for White Pocket, but you do need one for Coyote Buttes South. However, the permit for Coyote Buttes South is much easier to obtain, as opposed to a permit for Coyote Buttes North, home of the famous Wave, where your odds of winning a lottery range between 1% and 10 % depending on the time of year. Reservations for Coyote Buttes South can be book up to three months in advance, and here is the necessary information: https://www.recreation.gov/permits/16851. I actually emailed the folks from that website and “Bill” was very responsive and helpful, so shout-out to him for being helpful when many folks in government are… not so much.
The Drive
We booked our passes at just about the three-month in advance, and fortunately the days we wanted were still available, but we obtained the last available permits. Whew!
Our trip took us from Dripping Springs to Page, Arizona – just under 18 hours on the road. After a change to the original plan, we made the drive from central Texas to Page Arizona in one day. And after sitting in the car for 17+ hours, we ended up at the Hampton Inn in Page in what was our last night with a shower and warm beds for a week.
The Prelude – Horseshoe Bend and Wire Pass
The next morning, we awoke early and drove about seven minutes to Horseshoe Bend, arriving well before sunrise. After spending some time photographing this bend in the Colorado River, it was time to move on. On our way to White Pocket, we also stopped at the Wire Pass Trailhead to take a peek at Wire Pass slot canyon. That short hike was great and very much worth a few hours, but for now, I’ll skip over this portion and proceed straight away into the White Pocket adventure.
White Pocket
From Page, we traveled on Highway 89 west to House Rock Valley Road in our quest for White Pocket. Here are the directions we followed, more or less.
To White Pocket from Page
* Highway 89A west for 36 miles
* House Rock Valley Road for 9.3 miles north
* East on BLM 1017 for 6.2 miles
* Northeast on BLM 1087
- sand starts to get softer and deeper on this stretch
* Follow split at BLM 1086 to the left
* Arrive at White Pocket Trailhead
I will say we had to backtrack some when the road signs were not readily visible or not there at all, and that is not something I wanted to do as the sand was deeper and more unpredictable. I did bring a “Maxtrax” on this trip – a strip of grippy material that in theory helps your tires find their grip to push out of the sand (or snow). Also knowing the general direction we should be heading (and I had studied GoogleMaps obsessively before we left) helped us eventually slide into the parking lot at White Pocket. The drive from the Wire Pass Trailhead to White Pocket took a little over 90 minutes and covered about 25 miles. Over the last 8 or so miles, deep sand greeted us and it seemed we were driving on a slippy trail made from soft pillows.
Upon our arrival in the White Pocket parking lot – a field of dirt with a wooden fence separating us from the sandy field leading to White Pocket, there were a few trucks – all sturdy vehicles toting around folks for tours of the area. We were the only ones on our own.
After we both breathed a sigh of relief, my friend dragged his tent a fair ways away from the parking lot into an area of cedar trees.
We quickly set up his tent, and since I was sleeping in a bag in the back of my 4Runner for the next several nights, there was nothing left to do except make a quick PBJ and we headed into the wilds. Before leaving home, I’d put in all the coordinates for specific areas or formations to see in my Garmin GPS. This worked perfectly, and we started on the west side of White Pocket and slowly worked our way east. White Pocket is about 100 acres (or one square mile) in size – not that large at all. And for the next few hours, we took our time exploring and becoming acquainted with the landscape. I was also marking on my GPS potential locations I’d want to photograph at both sunrise and sunset. This view below was a half-mile walk from Jay's tent.
Unique landscapes fill the landscape in White Pocket, Arizona. As part of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, this area is just one small portion of an amazing landscape.
Scientists believe these interesting formations were created millions of years ago from a massive sand-slide triggered by an earthquake. The sand slid downhill into a pond or oasis, eventually forming what we see today.
While there was much more to explore outside of the White Pocket zone, we stayed pretty much in this area, and that kept us busy. Everywhere we turned, it seemed, there was something new to photograph. Here are a few of my favorite places:
One Tree: N36° 57.303' W111° 53.856'
A lone tree stands at the top of unusual rock formations in White Pocket on a cool Autumn morning.
The Swirl: N36° 57.577' W111° 53.840'
At the "Swirl" in White Pocket, the rock resembles a red river of color flowing down from the distant rocky peaks. From the edge of those mountains, the sun peeks over with its last rays of light on a perfect and cold November evening.
The Citadel: N36° 57.500' W111° 53.833' (Really can’t miss this. The pool shown here is opposite the parking lot, so you have to find the Citadel and work your way to the back side).
On a 25-degree November morning, this pool in White Pocket was frozen. Even in the ice, the reflection in the pool of the distant gnarled mountain visible, and a faint pastel hue of pink lingered in the sky on this cold Arizona sunrise.
Many great views await that make for interesting images and those leading lines of sandstone will keep you moving. Discovering perspectives for yourself is half the fun!
The rocks at White Pocket turn in shades of red and orange and gold as the last colors of daylight ease across this magical and remote land. Found deep in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, the landscape in this area is an adventurer's wonderland.
Both nights we were at White Pocket, we had the place to ourselves as the tours left a few hours before sunset. But it was cold. In the back of my 4Runner, my water bottles would freeze each night. I guess 25 degrees will do that! I placed hand-warmers in the bottom of my sleeping bag and that made a huge difference for my frozen toes. I repeated this pattern at Coyote Buttes South, as well. By the time we were into our third night, I had a system down that kept me warm and snug.
On a quiet November evening, the sky's colors are quickly fading in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. This panorama shows a small part of this area - White Pocket - known for its beautiful red and white sandstone that shows up in unusual curves and designs that cover about 100 acres.
This panorama is available in custom sizes. Please contact me for more information.
White Pocket was incredible, and I’d love to venture back here again someday. Next up, Coyote Buttes South called our names.
In an area known as "the Swirl" the colors and curves of White Pocket are on full display this cold November morning. I started the half-mile walk out here with the temperature around 25, but my freezing fingers were worth the quiet beauty of this remote part of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.
