Dark Canyon, Utah Backpacking Trip
Details
Explore Dark Canyon this Memorial Day weekend on a 3 day/3 night, approx. 32.6 mile backpacking adventure with day hikes. (This mileage may be lower depending on the canyons, but we have many options.) We'll meet Thursday evening, May 21st and car camp near Hanksville, UT. (Exact spot TBD). The next day, we'll backpack approx. 10 miles from the Sundance trailhead into the intersection of Dark Canyon and Youngs Canyon. (There is another camp after approx. 6 miles if the canyon is slow going, or we can explore a little farther up canyon as well.)
The next day, we'll day hike approx. 6 miles (out and back), in Youngs Canyon, and then backpack back down Dark Canyon approx. 4.5 miles. (We can explore Youngs Canyon only and not backpack out depending on time.)
On Sunday, May 24th, we'll backpack to the junction of the Lean-to Canyon, 2.3 miles, and then day hike approx. 6 miles out and back in lower Dark Canyon to the Colorado river. We'll then set up camp at the intersection of Lean to Canyon. (If time we can hike out on the Sundance trail, 4 miles, and car camp on the way back to Denver).
On Monday, May 25th, we'll hike out in the morning up the Sundance trail, 4 miles. (If we didn't do this already on Sun night, May 26.)
This trip is for experienced backpackers only, due to the rugged terrain, and obstacles in the canyon requiring additional time and effort. The trail may also be difficult to follow, expect mostly cairns with no trail signs so I recommend downloading a map of the route. (See a couple of Alltrails links below). The max number of people for the trip is 8 due to sometimes limited camping space.
Alltrails links of the canyons:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/custom-routes/uploaded-route-5dae7d6?u=i&sh=g9n4zm
Additional info on the route:
https://www.roadtripryan.com/go/t/utah/cedar-mesa/sundance-trail-dark-canyon