Lost in Lost Canyon

[wyboy]

Lost in Lost Canyon
Last year I hiked up Lost Canyon from the Dark Canyon-Lost Canyonjunction for a couple miles until the pour off. In May I am going on a trip-theLong Canyon-Gravel Canyon loop and want to add a couple days and drop into DarkCanyon from the head of Lost Canyon, spend a day in Dark Canyon and then come backthe same way up Long Canyon and continue our loop or hike up Dark Canyon toBlack Steer and then up Black Steer to Gravel Canyon and continue our loop. Iwill have one rope so I can descend the pour off in Lost Canyon. Has anybodydone this trip and if so do they know if there the pour off above Dark Canyonis the only one? I will only have one rope. Can Black Steer Canyon be climbedout of? We are both experienced Mountaineers but are getting a bit long in thetooth.
Thanks for any thoughts!!

[Scott P]

Can Black Steer Canyon be climbedout of?

Yes, but the route doesn't go directly up the canyon. It climbs up the left side (when looking up canyon) not far above the mouth. The route weaves in and out before reaching the rim.

I haven't been all the way through Lost, but others have (it was featured in the movie Gorging). Maybe ask Kesley.

That said though, the Youngs Canyon/Lean To loop would be a more scenic route than the Lost/Black Steer Loop and would cover the same section of Dark Canyon. The main reason that I haven't been all the way through Lost is because I didn't find the canyon to be as spectacular as the others in the Dark Canyon complex. There really isn't anything that special about Black Steer Canyon either (though it makes a good route to do with a car shuttle in order to see the best parts of Dark). On the other hand, Youngs Canyon, at least in the lower end, is one of the best places on the entire Colorado Plateau. It is rugged, but that loop is probably no more rugged than the one you are proposing.

[reverse_dyno]

Here is a trip report (http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthread.php?65446-Dark-Canyon-Lean-to-Youngs-Canyon-5-day-Loop) about the Youngs Canyon/Lean-To loop. I did it a few years back. It is a very nice loop. Just watch the season you go, as the bench sections can get pretty hot.

[wyboy]

Thanks for the information. We really want to do the LongCanyon-Gravel Canyon loop but we have a couple extra days and thought addingthe Lost Canyon-Dark Canyon-Black Steer Canyon to the Long-Gravel hike would bedoable and allow us to see a part of Dark Canyon we haven’t seen. It soundslike it can be done! Thanks for the information.