In May 2013, my friend Brad and I traveled to Utah for our annual backpacking trip. After a lot of research and waffling on where we should invest our time, we decided on the Long Canyon & Gravel Canyon Loop in the White Canyon Wilderness of Southern Utah. This route was pioneered by Steve Allen and is documented in Allen's book Canyoneering 2: Technical Loop Hikes in Southern Utah. We were drawn to this particular route due to its remoteness, opportunity for solitude, technical challenge, and promise of sustained interest in the form of canyon narrows, swimming, scrambling, and technical canyoneering. The route surely did not disappoint.

I must mention that this route was superbly researched and documented by Mr. Allen. The route is not obvious and must have taken weeks in the wilderness to piece together. Allen guides you to various cracks and breaks into otherwise impenetrable walls that allows this route to "go". Mr. Allen also documents well when you should stay high and where you should stay low in the canyons in order to avoid cliff-outs that would require you retrace your steps. I can only imagine the number of hours Allen must have invested in documenting this spectacular route.

As far as the actual route, as promised, it was continuously interesting. Hiking up Long Canyon we were presented with wonderful narrows, many cold swims (bring your wetsuit!), and numerous side canyons begging for exploration. Campsites in Long Canyon were simply spectacular and we saw the Milky Way like never before. After Long Canyon you make the long traverse between Long and Gravel Canyons. Walking on slick rock benches one gains a couple thousand feet and is presented with wonderful views of the Henry Mountains and Jacob's Chair. Eventually you make your way to the head of Gravel Canyon and if you thought Long Canyon was fun, just wait! Gravel Canyon is a very large and complex canyon system with many side canyons. In Gravel Canyon the canyoneer is presented with innumerable boulder problems, astounding and sustained narrows, much swimming, and a technical canyoneering section that rivals the best on the Colorado Plateau. Additionally, Gravel Canyon offers no less that six major side canyons, each with their own set of interesting narrows.

I rate our trip in the White Canyon Wilderness above all previous desert trips that Brad and I have done, far surpassing our Choprock, Neon, Ringtail trip in Escalante from two years ago. The only bad thing about this trip is that I don't think it can be surpassed; it is truly the best on the Colorado Plateau.

After our main backpacking trip Brad and I descended a few other canyons in the area before returning home. We enjoyed Fry Canyon, Black Hole, and Leprechaun Canyon. These three descents are also documented below.