Since the tread is generally rocky, constant attention is required and progress will be slow. At times the trail turns in unexpected directions and crosses areas of slickrock. Keep an eye out for cairns to stay on course. The sundrenched slopes are dominated by a woodland of pinyon and juniper, with an occasional Douglasfir mixing into their ranks. The rocky flanks of the canyon are mantled in a shrub cover of Utah serviceberry, littleleaf mountain mahogany, and manzanita.
Green gentians adorn the trailside with their conspicuously tall, green flowering stalks.
Trail Canyon is a seldom-used access into Dark Canyon. At length you briefly touch the wash, then resume a steep and rocky descent above its banks on the left side. After about one hour of slow, careful walking from the trailhead, you regain the wash and follow it downcanyon. Tall ponderosa pines, Douglasfirs, and the trees of the pinyonjuniper woodland, combined with the confining canyon walls, now offer some relief from the sun. The trail ahead follows the rockstrewn, gravelly wash at times, but most often traverses either bank while avoiding pouroffs and boulderchoked stretches.