8 Days Backpacking Utah's Dark Canyon Wilderness (With Joey Coconato of MyOwnFrontier) April 2019
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- #darkcanyonwilderness #backpacking #coloradoriver #moabutah
This is a video is of an 8 Day/7 Night Backpacking/Packrafting trip in April 2019 in the Dark Canyon Wilderness.
This was a Huge trip, being the longest backpacking trip of my life. We had huge canyons, flowing water nearly everyday, waterfalls, fresh springs, bighorn sheep, lizards, birds, frogs, intense spiders, quicksand, snow, HUGE exposure, ledge walks, pack rafting, constant route-finding, mental and physical engagement 8+ hours a day, great company, and amazing views.
Day 1 we started at the Sundance Trailhead East of Hite, Lake Powell in Southern Utah. We dropped down 1400 feet in .8 of a mile into Dark Canyon where we hiked a couple miles up the canyon and camped for the first night.
Day 2 we hiked Dark Canyon to the mouth of Young's canyon which we would be ascending the next day. This day really showcased the beauty and layers of Dark Canyon. Flowing water and multiple colored layers of rock.
Day 3 we hiked up Young's Canyon, up on top of the Plateau, over and down into Fable Valley for the 3rd night. The hike out of Young's Canyon proved to be a big task, that had little to no trail and a very steep hike out to the canyon rim. We continued on to Fable Valley which is very secluded, with multiple ancient ruins and pictographs. This was a huge day with no water up top and full sun exposure.
Day 4 we woke up to 4 inches of snow in Fable Valley. It continued to stay cloudy with spotty rain/snow throughout the day as we headed north through Fable Valley to our destination in Gypsum Canyon. The descent into Gypsum Canyon had no trail/cairns/or even footprints, where it started to dump rain on us.
Day 5 we started down Gypsum Canyon towards our ultimate goal of reaching the Colorado River. This day was a huge day, and probably my favorite day of hiking that I have ever experienced. Route finding with no trail, 100+ foot waterfall drop-offs. The main goal was to reach the bottom of the canyon where we found a beautiful camp spot a mile or so from the Colorado River.
Day 6 we hiked down Gypsum Canyon to the Colorado River. We inflated our pack rafts and headed down the 5 mile stretch to Bodie Canyon. Floating the river with backpacks on our laps in the warm sun was an absolute highlight of this trip. We floated and got out at Bodie Canyon where our plan was to head up the canyon a few miles and find camp. Route finding proved more difficult than expected which made us reconsider the route forcing us to float the river again the next day to where Dark Canyon meets the Colorado River.
Day 7 we floated 8 more miles of the Colorado River to Dark Canyon where we hiked up nearly back to where we hiked in the first day. We found a great camp spot for our last night.
Day 8, we hiked out and back to the cars. This was in absolute stunner of a trip and the most wild experience of my life. This place is very very remote, and more diverse than one could ever imagine in Southern Utah.
Gear List -
Camera: www.amazon.com...
Backpack: www.amazon.com...
Tent: www.kelty.com/...
Sleeping Bag: www.rei.com/pr...
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Sleeping Pad: www.thermarest...
Pillow: www.rei.com/pr...
Raft: www.amazon.com...
GPS Device: www.findmespot...
Water Filter: www.amazon.com...
Water Storage: www.amazon.com...
Cook Set: www.amazon.com...
Bowl: www.rei.com/pr...
Mug: www.rei.com/pr...
Coffee Maker: www.rei.com/pr...
Power Bank: www.amazon.com...
Camera Pouch: www.amazon.com...
Tripod: www.amazon.com...
Headlamp: www.amazon.com...
Compression Sack: seatosummit.co...
Seat Pad: www.rei.com/pr...
Boots: www.rei.com/pr...
Sandals: www.rei.com/pr...
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One of my favorite trips of yours!
Awesome,awesome camera work and editing! 😎
Thank you so much! This trip still might be my favorite of all time. It was a lot of work, and tons of extra credit for the camera shots, but I love doing it. Thanks for checking it out!
sucks your buddy had to call it early, but smart to not push it. Awesome you are with both John and Joey on this one! 3 of our favorite youtubers in one video, in our favorite area to watch vids of hooray! //i could go on forever about the scenes but i will say holy WTF at about 32min!! Snow out of nowhere! lots of intense hiking and amazing scenes, ruins.. Rafting!! non stop awesome thanks so much for taking us with you
You nailed the description of this trip perfectly! John, Joey, Aaron, and Pete were awesome companions on the longest backpacking adventure of my life. There were some precarious ledges and paths we had to take to get down into canyon bottoms. I wish we would have had more time to explore Fable Valley and the many ruins but weather turned again as we dropped into Gypsum Canyon. Thanks for checking it out potatothorn!
Never knew you posted this Mike. What an incredible hike that was. I lost all my footage to a hard drive that crashed, so I never could make my version... thanks for the memories brotha!
John its nice hearing from you! That's unfortunate about your footage, but it was an amazing trip regardless, and I love your company. I've been keeping an eye out for your new content as well! Happy New Year my friend!
What a hike! Snow, rain, cold, and warm enough to raft! Outstanding video and commentary. So Jealous.
Thanks so much Chris!! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have more videos coming soon.
Camping in the snow! Brrrr!!! I love it. Great video. Subscribed
Thanks for subscribing Middle Earth Tenkara! I hope you enjoyed the video as much as I did making it. It was truly an awesome back country adventure.
This was so much fun! Thanks for sharing! 20..30..40 marks are very cool! Keep Hiking! Happy Trails! 💕
Wendy M Thanks Wendy. It truly was an amazing trip. Thanks for watching!
What an amazing adventure, and what an incredible route. It had a little bit of everything! Thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for checking out the channel Maryann! It was an absolute stunner of a trip. The kind that you walk out of with a different perspective on life. Being able to explore such a remote area reminds me how lucky I am to live in this beautiful part of the country.
I have a short 2 day Backpacking trip planned next month where we will be hiking a 14er as well. This year has been crazy, as I started a new job and then the pandemic hit, and I have yet to get out for an official backpack trip.
I do have a few 14er hiking videos coming out soon, that still feature good beer and great hikes. Thanks for the support and stay tuned!
What an amazing place to hike thru. I've done a lot of hiking in remote areas of my favourite State of Utah since 1989, but nothing as dramatic as this ! I wish I was young again!
Oldtimer Englishman from Shropshire missing the slickrock sandstone beneath my feet. Ps, I've watched this vid three times, following your route on my Topo map.
Martin what a treat that you had a chance to enjoy the beautiful state of Utah for so long. It truly is one of the most magical places I've ever been to.
This route was quite ambitious and I give thanks to Joey Coconato (MyOwnFrontier) being the trip leader and finding beta on some of these off trail sections. Specifically the day we hiked through Gypsum Canyon not knowing if the ledges would truly connect to the canyon floor at some point. We had our other party member hiking in front of us the majority of the days, and he had yet to get turned around which meant we knew there was a path ahead somewhere.
Once we turned that corner and had views down Gypsum to the Colorado River it was quite a relief. There was a visible scree ramp to the valley floor, and it was a beautiful afternoon in a wild place.
Thanks for watching the video(Multiple Times)!!
Safe Trails
Such a beautiful place, only got through half of the video so far will be back later lol. Thanks for sharing, awesome.
Libolt Adventures Thanks for checking out my channel! This was the biggest trip of my life and an absolute stunner in regards to differing terrain, weather, and the route entirely. I am currently working on a 6 day Glacier National Park video we backpacked in August of this year. It will most likely be 2 videos due to being over an hour already and I am only at morning of our third day in editing. I hope you continue to check out my videos, and thanks for the support!
So funny how all the hiking people I follow on youtube know each other ;-) I saw a video from Joey and Catherine about Death Hollow that encouraged me to do this hike next month.
You guys probably know Jamal Green as well?
Btw. great hike, great landscape as always!
Utah blows my mind, can't wait to see it in reality
Safe trips
Thanks @JimBobele. I have seen Joey's video of Death Hollow that you are mentioning, and just like you I was inspired to hike it myself. I do not know Jamal personally, but I do subscribe to his channel and enjoy his videos very much. Some of the less known parts of this Dark Canyon trip is mentioned and featured in some of Jamals' videos. Thanks for checking out my channel!
Great video and trip! Hope to see a video of a Sierra trip one day.
Jordan Lujan I would love to backpack the Sierra Nevada. I grew up in Southern California and we camped yearly at Rock Creek Lake North of Bishop in the Sierras. I had temptations of putting in for a JMT permit this year, but was offered a job that will relocate me to Denver early next year. I would love get back to the Sierra.
@@TheWayOutdoors That's awesome. I wish my family camped more when I was little. Hope one day you can make it back out here! Good luck with the new job location.
Very good video.looks like you all had a good time. Thank you
Ginger Bread A great time for sure. Thanks for checking it out!
I would say that the second layer under the sandstone is either shale, which is made from mud and flakes away like it is, or limestone. The piece at 1:15 I am almost certain is Limestone and you are looking at some sort of fossilized remains of a simple organism that lived in a shallow tropical sea from long ago.
AARON FULWIDER Awesome insight into the geology of the area! There are so many layers of rock as you travel deeper into the canyon, it is curious to think of the past and how those bands were formed. Thanks for checking out the video!
Loved the video, where did you get the rafts??
Thanks for checking out the video George!
I got the raft on Amazon. It is the Klymit Lite Water Dinghy and can be found below.
www.amazon.com/LiteWater-Dinghy-LWD-Packraft-Orange/dp/B07YP7X1QP/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=klymit+dinghy&qid=1583369955&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyMUlKODM1SkVQODA0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDcxNTE1MlpRTTE2UThEQ1BCWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTg2NTAxWks0TFFCSUQwWkNRJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
Too bad you choked on Bowdie...there's a route up and you missed it as it's easier to find coming down canyon. Bowdie is a fantastic canyon and the there is one significant area you have to climb way up on ledges to get back into the stream bed...stay right if going upstream. Eventually you'll come to a pour off that takes two people to get up, one providing a boost...not for solo hikers coming upstream. Once past the "Village", there's an exit canyon right to get up top then it's over to Lean-To Canyon down to Dark and the Sundance trail. I know that entire area like the back of my hand...been hiking, backpacking and truck camping there for 35 years. About as remote as you can get in the lower 48. Yeah, Gypsum is no joke. Congratulations...you guys did good. Too bad about Bowdie, though...perhaps you can go back and come in from the top. The very upper section is a bit boring, but where the two arms split, downstream from that it's great.
Do you need high clearance or 4wd to get to the sundance trailhead???? Awesome video btw!
mack attack I think a 2 Wheel Drive with decent clearance could make it to the trailhead. There is a small rock obstacle right before the trailhead but it might just take a spotter. Thanks for checking out the video mack attack!
do u have to carry your waste with you ? if so I could never do it
Hello Darren, thanks for checking out the video.
Dark Canyon Wilderness regulations do not state the need to pack out your waste. It is recommended to dig a hole at least 6 inches deep and not near a water source. You are not required to pack out used toilet paper, but it is highly encouraged.
@@TheWayOutdoors thanks what about Zion ? great video btw
@@darenroth7390 I am not sure about Zion backcountry regulations, but with how popular it is there I'm sure there is some form of regulations. Surprisingly enough, I have never been to Zion. Hearing the horrow stories of the crowds has deterred me, yet I will get there sooner than later. Thanks for checking out the video!
I will be heading out to the desert again for a solo trip very soon!
@@TheWayOutdoors thank you..Looking fooward to your next video...Loved this one especially the snow and creeks
What was your total mileage from start to finish?
Unfortunately I do not have the exact mileage due to my Fitbit dying and not tracking it. I do remember talking about 60-70ish miles in total. We did float the river for a few miles as well. Top 3 trip of my lifetime for sure!
@@TheWayOutdoors Awesome! Do you remember how long it took to float from Gypsum to Bowdie and then Bodie to Dark?
Nice scenery but the camera was moving kinda fast
Cheryl W Thanks. I’m trying to work on camera stabilization in my editing software. You should check out my Glacier video from this past year. Part 2 is being edited as we speak, and I’ve been using some new techniques. Thanks for checking out the video.
Awesome ... can’t wait . I subscribed 😊
What was Joey so butt hert about at the beginning?
Tom Which part are you referring to? He was in a great mood the whole trip from what I remember. Hahha
Late at the start, not talking much (not typical)...it’s all good we all have our days. Great video
Tom They camped near the trailhead the night before, and now that you mention it I think they consumed some alcohol the night before. Thanks for checking out the video though. It was truly an incredible place.