Thaynes Canyon

We did a great hike up Thaynes Canyon in Millcreek Canyon.  It was Father's Day weekend and the canyon was crazy busy.  Instead of doing our usual hike up Desolation Trail, we decided to head up Thaynes Canyon.  The route up Thaynes is much steeper than Desolation, but it provides a bit of a break from the crowds.  We hiked up the narrow drainage for about 2 miles to the junction with Desolation Trail.  At the junction, we turned right and went about a 1.5 miles on a traverse route that eventually meets up with the Overlook.  From the Overlook, it was another 2.5 miles down to the car.  There was still quite a bit of snow near the top of Thaynes Canyon and across the traverse.  We had to do some route finding through the snow and quite a bit of bushwacking through fallen trees across the trail.  But overall, it was a great day of adventure and solitude off the beaten track of  the Desolation Trail.

Trailhead Elevation:  5,856 ft
Highest Point:  7,635 ft
Total Elevation Gain:  1,779 ft
Total Distance:  6 miles
Total Time:  3.5 hours