Into Dark Canyon

Nethos

Member
.
Joined
Feb 23, 2017
Messages
180
April 17-22nd.

Some friends and I went into Dark Canyon, hoping to complete Steve Allen's loop from Canyoneering 2.

We camped at the trailhead on an incredibly windy night, finding shelter behind some slickrock overlooking Lost Canyon.

9dd741f954f63dfd1d95d32c553d3b8e.jpg


I found some scat full of juniper berries near my site. First to identify gets my internet points.

c502555569e0233fea180f99ed7f416b.jpg


Obligatory Sundance trail overlook shot.

47c84f6e60bb0d8323640c1924cd58fc.jpg


We reached the last point to grab water without issue, and loaded up. I will keep the exit canyon photos and traverse to myself to maintain some of the mystery, but anyone can DM me. I found Allen's the right amount of information that things are clear enough while still engaging. We reached the terrace above Dark, enjoyed dinner, and discussed whether or not to continue.

f46dd7793162c3ea1696dfefc6004032.jpg


The traverse and the route up to the terrace is long and difficult. I am impressed with anyone that can complete Day 2 of this traverse as described without it being type 3 fun.

We made a difficult decision to turn around and enjoy a more relaxing, type 1 fun trip. We were struggling, not with the navigation or energy necessarily, but with maintaining a strong enough pace to beat our water supply while leaving ourselves an out if the crux proved too much. Trust Steve when he says this is arduous, it is. I find myself once again incredibly impressed with his will and commitment to step out here with the amount of supplies he did, working on these routes.

The next morning we turned around and headed back into Dark back the way we came. The limestone pools in Dark are incredible, and unlike any of the other canyons I have traveled in. The rest of trip was spent exploring Dark, Lean To, and Youngs. The wildflowers were still in pretty good bloom.

34898924cc670627df0f07eb84305ee7.jpg


394320da7da10180fc2494b4d1b5f297.jpg


28370fa20620bbe52443077adff6685e.jpg


Above the big dryfall in Lean To.
78ae4f9b17d6c529076f3ac45e6571cf.jpg


Sunset in Lean To
3dbfc81dd83b0830ec5aa1c4c5ab67a1.jpg


Endless pools up Dark

8b01df0c56e592a495aa014ddc944f46.jpg


Flox in Bloom
03bad8da2ba27ed77a1aecb9bf21b4cc.jpg


Big pool below a large pouroff high in Lean To

6cfd5eda2ae346ed78ddcf992137db8a.jpg


Approaching Lean To

f8b5e75bbc8b18cbe9a2e5ea87a0965d.jpg


Paintbrush in Dark

470cee65c9db99c2bf2017196f0777d0.jpg


Endless waterfalls
28a6c753350fa19d759198933b3acb52.jpg


765fa0f5fa4d030ff68408661675b5d1.jpg


Snowbrush I believe.

ba9b1e8d5c6f47f99c25fb9ab0e22dc7.jpg


Desert Prince's Plume

1c3cacbb92719e95cc26af89b5fa5225.jpg


Mojave Mound Cactus

ae52c2cc941494a534e031bc372ea71a.jpg


Youngs

57a209ad6006ecf1b64a549650565930.jpg


c7a668ddcbcb7db94ab65b17e1f15a4c.jpg


a43a74212d747baace38c38cd53be5fb.jpg


Looking down Youngs
f80c07b3e879b769c0722bf37fa217b1.jpg


4f765f59348875f24e67be8d0040d99f.jpg


Heading down Dark

19908d7b963674f4336c5eebc54776e4.jpg


Sunset looking out the mouth of Lost

c9b6bf19888f4b6d9e15aa4c6fff5bce.jpg


7233a75a02b9e97a111a68ab49e33c76.jpg


Evening Primrose

11293d924534aea62b21c71f9f2ade56.jpg


Sunrise hike out amidst primrose

3d8558a57a81d8359ca4fc5a8df57cc0.jpg


Sunrise at the top of the Sundance

3bcddab3f93df5efc5da266dd6b10bb2.jpg


I look forward to getting back into this area and exploring more of the plateau and surrounding canyons.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
love the pics and there's absolutely nothing wrong with turning an ironman trip into an easier one if you're not feeling it!
 
love the pics and there's absolutely nothing wrong with turning an ironman trip into an easier one if you're not feeling it!
Certainly not. And no point in trying one if you aren't willing to change your plans.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. [emoji846]

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
We attempted the same loop in November 2009, starting from the Sundance TH at first light. We made it all the way to the Crux, exhausted and with light fading at the end of a very long first day. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, we were one ledge too high. There was no way we were making the move that appeared to be required for Allen's "crawl". I see that @fossana subsequently made that crossing. She's far braver and a much better climber than us. I just wish I knew then that we were simply on a ledge 20' or 30' too high.

We backed off to a nice flat area and spent the night, returning to the foot of the Sundance Trail the next day. From there, we spent several days exploring the lower canyons of Dark. Despite not pulling off the loop as planned, this is still one of my best trips ever.

Thanks for bring back the memories. Glad you guys made the most of it as well.
018.JPG
 
We attempted the same loop in November 2009, starting from the Sundance TH at first light. We made it all the way to the Crux, exhausted and with light fading at the end of a very long first day. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, we were one ledge too high. There was no way we were making the move that appeared to be required for Allen's "crawl". I see that @fossana subsequently made that crossing. She's far braver and a much better climber than us. I just wish I knew then that we were simply on a ledge 20' or 30' too high.

We backed off to a nice flat area and spent the night, returning to the foot of the Sundance Trail the next day. From there, we spent several days exploring the lower canyons of Dark. Despite not pulling off the loop as planned, this is still one of my best trips ever.

Thanks for bring back the memories. Glad you guys made the most of it as well.
View attachment 109679
That is an impressive first day. If I went back, it's definitely what I would prepare for mentally and physically.

Thanks for sharing your photos and experience.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
We spent a bunch of days in there and what a fabulous spot! Thanks for all the great pictures.
 
Really nice pics!

I’ve said this before, but here is it again: from water in Dark to water in Midway via the Crawl is the single hardest day of desert hiking I’ve done. The Crawl to Midway is even big in itself!
 
Solid work and great TR! Loved the cactus and the paintbrush shots.
 
Really nice pics!

I’ve said this before, but here is it again: from water in Dark to water in Midway via the Crawl is the single hardest day of desert hiking I’ve done. The Crawl to Midway is even big in itself!
Yes. Having been up to the terrace, I don't doubt you at all. And you with a packraft no less!


When I go back, I would try to manage the difficulty somehow, starting predawn on Sundance to make it further on Day 1, carrying more water for peace of mind, attempting @fossana ramp route to stay near the water for longer, going earlier in the season, and probably bringing mostly waterless food for the first few days. Probably some combo of all that.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
 
Beautiful time of year to be there. Glad I wasn't the only one that overshot the Allen crawl by ~25 vertical feet. It was definitely Type II fun getting through it.
 
Really nice pics!

I’ve said this before, but here is it again: from water in Dark to water in Midway via the Crawl is the single hardest day of desert hiking I’ve done. The Crawl to Midway is even big in itself!
That's saying something....
 
Always good to have options to fall back on. Looks like it was an amazing trip nonetheless.
 
Back
Top