Story and photos by Steve Law
Utah Outdoors, August 2002
IT'S DAWN OF my first morning in Dark Canyon. 1 step out of my tent door, stand , and stretch. It’s light enough to see but the sun still hasn't made it over the tops of the cliffs east of me. Several bats dart about through the gray morning light, bouncing through the air like marionettes on elastic bands.
I am camped near the intersection of Dark Canyon and Peavine Canyon, one of Dark Canyon’s many side canyons. The entourage of mosquitoes that followed me to camp last night soon regroups (their numbers not perceptibly diminished by the patrolling bats), encouraging me to break camp quickly. I put a Clif Bar in my pocket for brunch, hoist my bedroom, kitchen, pantry and library onto my back and start down a the trail.
Dark Canyon is located in the southeastern corner of Utah about 43 miles west of Blanding, near Natural Bridges National Monument. The canyon runs in an east-west direction, originating in the mountains of Elk Ridge and ending 45 miles later at the Colorado River above Lake Powell. Dark Canyon is large enough that it has several large side canyons, many of which are large enough to have side canyons of their own.
Those familiar with Dark Canyon often discuss it in terms of the upper and the lower canyon. There are good reasons for this. The landscapes of the upper and lower portions, though similar in many respects, are also noticeably different in many ways. '1 he upper canyon is much greener, with a wider variety of flora and fauna, , And it’s quite a bit cooler than the lower half of the canyon. The canyon floors are a lot wider in the upper pan of the canyon and, most noticeable of all (especially to a hiker), water is much more scarce.
Although the two sections of canyon are quite different from each other, it would be unfair to say one part of the canyon is better or more popular than the other. In the spring of 2000 I had the opportunity to hike both portions, beginning with the upper section. The most popular route for hiking upper Dark Canyon is via the Peavine Canyon-Woodenshoe Loop. Peavine Canyon and Woodenshoe Canyon are both side canyons extending south from Dark Canyon.
Most hikers enter in one canyon, cross through Dark and exit out the other canyon. It doesn't really matter which direction you wish to take the loop. I chose to begin my hike in Peavine Canyon.
The trail at the top of Peavine begins on top of Elk Ridge amid the pine and quaking aspen, occasionally opening up into grassy meadows. It’s not long before the trail drops into the canyon and the cliffs begin to rise around you. From the trailhead, Peavine goes about 11 miles before it merges with Dark Canyon. By this time the cliff walls stand 700 feet above the canyon floor, which is several football fields wide.
During spring months, hikers may find small pockets of water left over from rain or snowmelt in Peavine, but there are no springs. Hikers coming in through Peavine shouldn't expect to find water until they reach its confluence with Dark Canyon.
Water in Dark Canyon originates from a spring at Scorrup's Cabin, located a short distance above Dark Canyon’s intersection with Peavine, Water from the spring is usually abundant enough that it is still flowing at the Peavine Canyon intersection. It’s still wise to contact rangers to learn the latest water conditions before committing to the hike.
It is here, at the intersection of Peavine and Dark, where l camp the first night. Later in the evening I'm passed by mo hikers on their way to lower Dark Canyon. They tell me they are going to travel Just a bit farther and camp for the night.
On the morning of day two, I pack up and head down Dark Canyon. I don't walk too far before I see horses browsing among the sagebrush on the left side of the trail. I'm surprised to see them. A little farther down I find the horses’ owners in a clearing under some cottonwoods. One of them is cooking bacon, eggs and sliced potatoes over a fire. Their dog sees me first, eyes me suspiciously and starts barking, which causes the men to look up. I wave. No one waves back. I approach them. One of the five men is eating breakfast still rolled in his sleeping bag. It's a cold morning.
“How’s it going gentlemen,” I say.
“It’s going,” says the man doing the cooking. He has long hair, a beard and mustache. He’s dressed in jeans and a cowboy hat, with a bandanna around his neck. I learn that he and the man still wrapped in the sleeping bag are local guides and the other three are their clients from back East.
“Are you guys coming from lower Dark Canyon or Rig Canyon?” I ask. Rig is another side canyon that I will be passing soon.
“Dark Canyon,” says the cook. “Came down through Woodenshoe. We‘ll be packing out through Peavine today.” This is great luck for me. A chance to find out what trail conditions are in the direction I will be traveling. The main thing I’m wondering about is water availability.
”So what’s the water situation like through there?” I ask.
He points to the trickling steam that is running close to their camp. “This water here runs out about a hundred yards farther down. After that its eight miles to the next water and after that it's about 10 miles to the next water You got maps?"
I nod. Yes, I have maps. I’m secretly hoping that they’ll offer me a plate of breakfast but they don't. There doesn‘t seem to be much left to say. “Well, genetlemen, thanks for the information. Guess I best be making some tracks before it gets too hot.”
Not far past the cowboy camp I come across a signpost with an arrow pointing straight ahead to the west and the words Rig Canyon. Another arrow points to the north with the words Dark Canyon. I continue into Dark Canyon I only have one of my water bottles full, so after starting into Dark Canyon I make my way over to the stream before it dries up. I drink the remainder of the water in my bottle and then fill up both, so I have two liters. That should be more than enough to take me eight miles.
I don’t go more than a hundred yards before I run into Steve and Nate, the men I met walking past my camp the night before. They are just leaving their camp, also headed into Dark Canyon, so we decide to walk together. Along the way they tell me that they're from Estes Park, Colo, and that they’re in for six days, They are going to try and make it to Woodenshoe today and get down into lower Dark Canyon in the following days. Steve takes out his GPS and enters in the coordinates of their camp. He then enters in the coordinates of the first spring that we’ll come to.
This section of Dark Canyon runs in a northerly direction for about two miles before turning to the west again. At the point where it turns west a large side canyon, Poison Canyon, breaks off and runs east. Before we even make it that far the day has already turned hot and the trails become sandy. A large percentage of each step’s energy is lost in the displacement of sand, and I soon beginning to feel the exertion in my calves. I don't really look at my map closely since Steve is using his GPS unit. It turns out that Steve and Nate aren’t consulting their maps too closely either. After we’ve been hiking about an hour the GPS show that the spring is still 5.6 miles away. But that’s as the crow flies. The trail we’re on for the most part follows the meandering path of the now-dry streambed. We soon realize that we walk a lot more than a mile to get a ”mile” closer to the spring.
The cliff walls are now l,100 feet above the canyon floor. The walls aren’t sheer from canyon floor to canyon rim but terraced from mesa to mesa, The trail roller-coasters along over and around juniper and sagebrush-covered foothills that extend from the mesas like biceps.
It's a wonderful, beautiful day. Steve, Nate and I have fallen into a comfortable pace. We’re making steady headway down the trail, but we’re also going slow enough that we can take in the beauties around us.
On the north side of the canyon a stand of aspen trees glow like straws drinking in the sunlight. That’s how I feel, too. I feel like my skin and heart are made up of chlorophyll and the wonderful sun is shining down upon me with a big, happy grin. A bit farther down the trail four butterflies make a white ribbon as they chase each other over a field of sagebrush. Barrel cacti look like flowering hand grenades The larger ones look like a voodoo practitioner is taking revenge on a watermelon. I feel as if my senses have been sealed inside a can and this day in Dark Canyon is the screwdriver that pries the lid off.
We hike for about 2.5 hours and rest in the shade among the junipers. I drink some water and eat my Clif bar. The GPS shows we’re still 2.8 miles away from the spring but in this terrain that could be more like six or seven miles of actual walking. That’s no big deal. It’s hot, though still a very beautiful day, and I’m in no hurry.
Unlike Steve and Nate, who are burning through the canyon with the notion to see as much of it as they can while it flashes by them, I am only hiking to the spring where I'll be camping tonight. We rest for about 20 minutes.
We reach the spring about an hour and a half later The spring is in the bottom of a sharp ravine. The trail runs right beside it. It's impossible to miss. A good quality in a desert spring. On the south side of the canyon the decline from canyon rim to canyon floor is gradual, gently sloped, as if the spring were a weight in a pillow. But the north side of the canyon is much more rugged and steep.
We sit in the cool grass growing beside the spring, drink lots of water and take it easy for a while. Steve and Nate announce that they're going to push on to Woodenshoe, about another 10 miles away. I’m content to stay here. It was good having some company during my morning hike but it’s nice to be alone again.
After resting in the shade a few more minutes, I climb up onto a bluff above the spring and inspect it for campsites. I find several good ones. The wind kicks up a little. It feels good blowing through my sweaty clothes. I find some shade, unroll my sleeping bag and read until I doze off.
The Peavine-Wondenshoe Loop is most commonly done in four or five days. The best time to do it is during the spring or early summer, from mid-May to mid-July, for the simple reason that this is when water is most plentiful. During spring months hikers can find water quite reliably throughout Woodenshoe and Dark Canyon, but you should be prepared to hike through the Peavine leg in one day, as there is no reliable water source in it.
During the spring months Wooden shoe Canyon has water every four or five miles, with a seep that’s dependable year round at its lower end, about a mile from where it joins Dark Canyon. The seep originates about 50 feet up on the cliff and tumbles down its face and collects in pools at its base. There are also springs in upper Woodenshoe that originate in the canyon floor. Patches of swamp grass form around the springs, giving the water a swampy taste. All water, even that taken from the springs, should be purified before drinking. Campsites are plentiful near the springs.
Getting there
Dark Canyon is approximately 43 miles west off Blanding, which is some 310 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. From Blanding go west on U-95, or from Hite go southeast on U-95, until you reach U-275, near Natural Bridges National Monument. Turn onto 275 and proceed for roughly one mile to Forest Road 088, which you will follow northeast for 6.8 miles (you will go through the Bears Ears Pass) to the intersection of FR 088 and Fr 108. Go left (west) on 108. From there it’s two miles to the Peavine trailhead, or 3.0 miles to the Woodenshoe trailhead.
The road through Bears Ears Pass is dirt and may become treacherous during rainy or snotty weather, It may not be passable because of snow and mud until mid to late-May.
For the most recent information about trail accessibility and water availability, call the Monticello Ranger District (435) 587-2041.
