Allen's Dark Canyon route

I feel like most of the routes in that book have one or two parts that hardly anyone does, like the dry trip over The Block, ugh.
 
I did the Dirty Devil North, and it was not bad. We may give this one a shot including the crawl, but with some variations.
 
It's kind of like Allen is on one end of the spectrum, and Kelsey on the other.

One funny example is where Allen spends a couple pages on this intricate route into No Mans Canyon through difficult terrain and on Kelsey's map it's this little dotted line that might as well be across a plateau.
 
One funny example is where Allen spends a couple pages on this intricate route into No Mans Canyon through difficult terrain and on Kelsey's map it's this little dotted line that might as well be across a plateau.

"The author first walked this loop in 3.5 hours returning to his car after taking digital fotos in 2003, in 2005 he returned and it took him slightly longer-4 hours."
 
Yeah. I heard a ranger say one time that Kelsey's books get people lost and stuck and they use Allen's material to go find them. I used to have a little list of the worst stuff in Kelsey's books. I think he's gotten slightly better in recent editions, though, perhaps getting older has been good for him.

He's a puzzle palace.:roflmao:
 
Man that is a crawl. Awesome. And yeah, that's hard hiking in that area. I did Gypsum/Bowdie with a packraft last summer and it kicked my ass pretty good.

Nice work! How was Gyps compared to Bowdie? We thought in downhill mode there were a few spots that required careful nav in Bowdie. It took us 6 hours from the confluence, with a camp halfway thru.
 
Nice work! How was Gyps compared to Bowdie? We thought in downhill mode there were a few spots that required careful nav in Bowdie. It took us 6 hours from the confluence, with a camp halfway thru.
It's pretty similar but a little easier. No swims or pack hauling, but still lots of climbing up high around falls. I found a route down from the south rim (barely). Great little loop though. I did it in 3 days, most would probably want a bit more. I was planning on a nice leisurely wet summer trip with some swims so it was a bit of a shocker that a large chunk of the trip is 500+' above the canyon floor traversing sketchy talus bypassing dryfalls.
 
Really well done, Jan! and your trip too Brendan!
One thing I’ve learned about Steve is that his physical and technical difficulty ratings are pretty spot on - at least in comparison to my capabilities. That makes it a little easier following him around. :)
 
Yeah. I heard a ranger say one time that Kelsey's books get people lost and stuck and they use Allen's material to go find them. I used to have a little list of the worst stuff in Kelsey's books. I think he's gotten slightly better in recent editions, though, perhaps getting older has been good for him.
Can you please please please find that list and share it? That would be a hoot.
 
Can you please please please find that list and share it? That would be a hoot.

I'll try to find it but here's one off the top of my head, it's on p 217 of the 6th Edition Non-Technical Colorado Plateau Canyon Hiking Guide. The scale at the bottom of the map is off by a factor of 10.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
fossana An Allen inspired trip to Dark Canyon Backpacking 32
regehr Allen-ish dark canyon loop video Backpacking 5
fossana Steve Allen presentation in Durango Feb 22 2024 General Discussion 27
George_Washington_Hayduke High Uintas: Allen Lake and Thunderstorms Backpacking 0
Adventure monkey Steve Allen's exit out of Happy Canyon to the Big Ridge. Trip Planning 17
Nethos Into Dark Canyon Backpacking 12
SeanIsADesertRat Old guys backpacking in Dark Canyon Backpacking 17
Rockskipper Interesting article about dark sky parks General Discussion 12
B Dark Canyon - Young's to Lean-to Traverse Trip Planning 3
M Dark Canyon Complex Water Data Trip Planning 4
JBPHXAZ Dark Canyon Backpacking Help Trip Planning 9
Mikjik86 8 Days Backpacking Dark Canyon Wilderness Backpacking 3
Mikjik86 Short Video: Backpacking/Packrafting Dark Canyon Wilderness, Utah. April 2019 Backpacking 0
Stephanie B Behind the Rocks, Ken's Lake Faux Falls, U-Turn Canyon, Seven Mile Canyon, and Dark Angel Hiking & Camping 4
dug Dark Cyn/Fable Valley approach roads Trip Planning 5
T Dark canyon - lower blm portion with pack goats?? Canyoneering 2
Nick Poll: Dark vs. Light - 2018 Edition General Discussion 9
Gregg B. Dark Canyon/Gypsum Canyon/Cataract Canyon Loop Trip Planning 17
MarkintheHV Dark Canyon Trip Planning 4
George_Washington_Hayduke Clearwater Canyon, Black Hole of White Canyon, Dark Canyon, Swett Canyon "Packraftoneering" Canyoneering 6
BJett Dark Canyon Wilderness - Wilderness Volunteers Backpacking 12
J Dark Canyon/Gypsum Loop Trip Planning 16
cmgz Dark Canyon-Woodenshoe to Sundance Backpacking 4
Dave Afraid of the Dark Backpacking 12
Nick Dark to Cataract to Hite Backpacking 27
J Dark Canyon Trip Planning 3
Cody Dark Canyon Backpacking 6
Artemus Dark skies for naked eye astronomers and photographers Photography 16
Bob Dark Canyon - Dry Mesa Area Backpacking 3
Nick Poll: BCP Dark & Light? Questions, Suggestions & Support 26
Bob Dark Sky Finder Resource Discussions 5
Backcountry Post BCP - Dark or Light? General Discussion 2
Archbishop I've joined the dark side........ And I LIKE IT! General Discussion 3
Nick Poll: Light vs. Dark Theme Questions, Suggestions & Support 11
J Reflection Canyon Trip Planning 3
fossana Found: prescription glasses near the top of the Flipoff Canyon approach General Discussion 5
Spud Salt Creek Canyon question Trip Planning 11
B Buckskin gulch/Pariah canyon Carpool Trip Planning 0
TractorDoc Paintbrush Canyon / Cascade Canyon Loop -- Grand Teton NP September 11, 2023 Hiking & Camping 9
Kullaberg63 15 day canyon route Backpacking 13
Titans Tricked in the canyon! Hiking & Camping 5
TrailScot Dayhiking the Under-the-Rim Trail - Bryce Canyon NP - October 2023 Hiking & Camping 4
Janice Such a GRAND Canyon - Deer Creek / Tapeats / Thunder River Backpacking 21
M Mee/Knowles Canyon Loop, Grand Junction Colorado Backpacking 4
OldBill Short hike at the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania Hiking & Camping 1
S Paria Canyon- Whitehouse to Lees Ferry, Oct 18 to 21, 2023 Trip Reports 0
scatman Yellowstone's Thorofare, Headwaters of Thorofare Creek, Majo Pass, Younts Peak, Bob's Canyon, and Cub Creek - August 9, 2023 - Days 7 through 10 Backpacking 34
scatman Yellowstone's Thorofare, Headwaters of Thorofare Creek, Majo Pass, Younts Peak, Bob's Canyon, and Cub Creek - August 9, 2023 - Days 1 through 6 Backpacking 56
A Bowdie Canyon Trip Planning 10
TheMountainRabbit Silas Canyon (Popo Agie Wilderness) - August 2023 Backpacking 3

Similar threads

Back
Top