4 days in Southern Utah

[JCMatthews]

Years ago I off roaded the portion of the Hole in the Rock trail on the east side of Lake Powell. Once in a rental Jeep and once in my stock XJ (which was quite impressive). I had never seen the west side or looked down the crack that the trail is named for.

For those of you who may not know, the Hole in the Rock is a crack in the cliff wall over looking Lake Powell. In LDS church history a group of settlers were asked to find a route to Southeastern Utah so that they could settle the Four Corners area to help deal with Indian problems. The settlers thought the route would take them 6 weeks and it ended up taking them 6 months. The Hole was one of many difficult obstacles and stands out due to its enormity. Here is a great link for more information www.hirf.org. I decided, in a fit of spring fever, that I would add this trip into my summer itinerary. I planned to go the first week in June following my 50 miles to Moab trip with my scouts. Our plan was to travel to Southern Utah and find a place to camp on Boulder Mt. out of the heat. Day 2: From there drive the Hole in the Rock Road and to see the Hole itself. Day 3: Travel the Burr Trail to Bull Frog Marina and take the ferry across the lake. From there find a place to camp somewhere near the Valley of the Gods. Day 4: On to San Juan Hill, the fort in Bluff and then home. This is a lot of traveling for four days, but we figured it to be doable. We chose to use our Expedition for this trip for its size and comfort, also because the Cherokee was in need of several repairs.

We live in Eastern Utah and the first leg of our journey was to travel south to the town of Boulder Utah and then up on Boulder Mountain to find a spot to camp. Along the way we traveled through Fish Lake National Forest and several little Utah towns. We stopped in Loa and had lunch and took pictures of their historical church. We had great scenery; however, in the pictures it is a little washed out due to the hot, sunny desert day.

 

[JCMatthews]

Day 1 Continued

We loved the mountain passes, and south of Torrey, UT. Boulder Mountain was just beautiful. My wife really wanted to eat at a fancy place in the town (I use this term loosely there is nothing really there) of Boulder that she had read about in Sunset Magazine, but one look at the menu prices and we were eating at the Boulder Mesa Restaurant on the Burr Trail. Dinner was good, the service was great, and they really catered to our kids with toys and books to color.

We were then off over Hell's Back Bone to find the Blue Spruce Campground. We use campgrounds because it is much easier with kids if there is someplace to go potty. The road was quite washboarded, but it did not detract from the amazing views, and the bridge across the back bone, :Wow1: Wow! What a road project. If you are ever in the area it is definately worth the drive.

We found our little forest service campground old, but very nice nestled in a small valley next to a rumbling creek. The tempurature there was perfect.

 

[JCMatthews]

Washboard With a View

We awoke to a beautiful morning and the sound of the creek running by our tent. Because once you leave camp you don't know what your schedule will be we always like to have a good breakfast. You can see by the apron and the faces of the kids that the food was good. I love how nicely my counter fits on the M416 and makes for a great camp kitchen.

We left camp headed for Escalante and Hole in the Rock Road. Along the way we saw a marker for a CCC camp. It appears that they lived on the mountain and built the road. Once down to the highway, it was quite easy to find the turn off to the Hole in the Rock road. There was large kiosk just off of the main highway. Looking at the mileage sign it did not seem like it would be to bad, right? Well we could have not been more wrong. I was thinking that the 54 miles would take us maybe 2 hours, well double that and you'd be right. It was slow going once on the road. I don't think that I have ever seen a road so washboardy. I kept thinking that the front end of the Expedition was going to fall right off. We decided to call our trip "washboard with a view", because this was our second day of washboards.

Our progress was slowed by some ranchers who were moving their cows up off of the desert to the higher country. We did not mind being stopped for this and we took some pictures of them. The picture of the boy is to show his pony. It looked almost like a Shetland.

We saw the Discovery in Boulder the day before and I had to take a shot of someone else out overlanding. We continued on down the road and encountered a road sign warning us of road damage. We had to laugh and take a picture because it was the nicest stretch of road we'd been on for hours. We thought the sign should have been placed back at the highway.

 

[JCMatthews]

Explorer Scout Post 36

The next thing we came to gets its own post. I have heard this story several times and being a scout leader makes it much more poignant.

In June of 1963 a group of 49 people including an Explorer Scout Post from Provo, Utah were heading down to the Hole in the Rock to be the last people to raft the Colorado before the Lake filled in the canyon. They had been in a bus and were not sure how it would do on the road so they put everyone in the back of a cattle truck. At this point on the road while trying to travel up a grade the driver missed a gear, and the breaks, being low on fluid, failed. The truck rolled backwards and over the edge throwing the passengers and killing 13.

The plaque does not tell all of the story. Even now the road is very remote, but in 1963 it was even more so. Two of the scouts were sent on foot towards Escalante for help. Those who remained and were able worked to get two boys who were pinned under the truck freed. As luck, or providence, would have it the boys who had gone for help found someone out driving the road and were able to get to Escalante more quickly. The closest hospital was in Panguitch, Utah over an hour away so people in town came in their own vehicles to help haul the injured to the hospital.

They were able to get the truck high enough to pull the boys out, but as it got higher it became more unstable. several times they thought it would fall. They decided that they would only be able to save one of the boys, because as they lifted the truck high enough to get one boy the other would be crushed. Here is the tear jerker. Each boy said to save his fellow scout instead of himself. Each young teenage boy was willing to let the other live. Neither had to give his life for his friend, the truck did not tip and they were both saved. The monument was placed 30 years after the tragic accident. To me this should be given similar quiet reverence as the Hole the settlers traveled down.

 

[JCMatthews]

Back at it

Well I have been very busy and have not had time to sit down and resize pictures and finish our tale, so tonight I thought I'd add some more. Sorry about the pictures, since the redo on the website, attachment only show up as links and not images. It makes my threads less interesting, because I don't photobucket.

 

[JCMatthews]

The Hole

We followed a beautiful mesa that was on our right for a long while. It is known as 50 mile bench. There is a side road one can take to travel on it, but we were in no shape to take a side route. We were so happy to reach the end of the road, it had only taken us 4 hours to drive the 54 miles. In the back of our minds we kept thinking we have to drive out, and that dread took some of the enjoyment out of the scenery for me. For those who have not been here this crack was the only place where the pioneers could get access to the Colorado river. So they blasted it wide enough to drive wagons down it. They also built a dugway off of the side of the cliff in one section where all but one wheel of the wagon was suspended by logs anchored to the rock. We found it quite amazingly beautiful and rugged. Luckily we were not alone here and were able to get a family shot. I ventured down into the crack a little ways and took a few shots. Before we left, I checked the tires and aired them down. My local Big O Tire had all of my tires over inflated. They were all at 50 psi. The door jam said to have them at 30 and 35 psi. On the way out I set them at 20 and 25 psi, and it was night and day difference. It only took us 2 1/2 hours on the return trip due to the softened ride. We watched as we left and could tell where the crack was from quite a distance. We also stopped to get a piture of Dance Hall Rock, The Mormon's actually held dances here as they waited for the road to be completed.

 

[JCMatthews]

Morning of Day 3

After our long day driving the Hole in the Rock road, we slept hard. As I said in an earlier post, the temperatures up on the mountain were perfect. On the second night we were not alone as a family from NM found our little campground. They did not stay next to us and with the sound of the creek we could have shouted and not been heard. I took a few morning shots of the camp, the creek, and the kids, I am still playing with the new camera.

 

[JCMatthews]

What a cool expo rig!

Getting air in Escalante was a joke. I mentioned earlier that I had aired down so that the trip out from the Hole in the rock would be smoother. Well for obvious reasons I did not want to run on the highway with my tires down 10 psi. However, getting air in town was difficult. I tried one place and there compressor was down. Then I tried the Philip's 66 and for whatever reason, the compressor aired one tire up and with a lot of effort would only put 5 psi in the others. So I had to let the air back out of the one to even things out.

At the station however, I saw an amazing truck with an amazing story.:Wow1: As I got out to get air and gas, I could hear a loud diesel engine running. I looked around and assumed it was a newer Ford truck I could see. I quickly realized however, that I was mistaken. Reg is he owner of the 1974 Dodge turbo Cummings that I happened to pull in next to. Yes I said turbo Cummings and 1974. I understand it was not an option that year, but looking at this truck you would have thought that it was. Reg rescued this truck from a barn a few years back. It was in immaculate condition when he found it. The paint on the truck is original and he showed me the perfect condition plaid seat. It even had a working factory in dash CB. He told me it had a period camper that came with it but that his wife preferred the newer Lance, and to keep her happy the switch was made. The truck itself has had the engine and running gear from a '93 dodge installed to make it an oil burner. He told me that not only does it work well, he said the harder you push it the better it runs. His truck has been featured in a diesel truck mag, but I can't remember the title. He also showed me what they carry in the trailer. He said that it was his wifes car and they used it to see the sights when they were stopped. I drooled a little over the truck (OK a lot) :drool: and then I had to say good bye and get the rest of my day started.

 

[Hoosier 45]

Nice report, thanks.

 

[JCMatthews]

Nice report, thanks.

Thanks for the comment, it's always nice to know someone is reading.

 

[JCMatthews]

Day 3 continued

After talking with Reg and leaving Escalante, we headed east toward Boulder and the start of the Burr trail. I have never been in this part of Utah, so I did not know what to expect. We did not get any pictures, but the highway between the two towns crosses a ridge where there is literally no shoulder to the road, and there might be 10 feet of dirt on either side before an abrupt drop off. We kept saying that we would not let teenagers drive there after dark. The canyons between the two towns were amazing, and the red rock was beautiful. We stopped at a few overlooks and took a couple pictures.

I had heard of the Burr Trail, and in planning this trip had done some good research on it. So I was quite excited to get on to this leg of the journey. Even though I had seen some video of the road and the switch backs, being there in person was much more spectacular. As we entered Capital Reef I had to stop and have my children pose for the quintessential national park photo that would make my grandfather proud.

The Burr Trail gets its name from the switch backs that accend the Water Pocket Fold. A rancher by the name of Burr made a cattle trail up through the canyon. The Water Pocket Fold is the land form that is the reason for the creation of Capital Reef National Park. At the top of the switch backs there was a sign that read, "down grade 1 mile" they were not kidding.

The switch backs were not narrow or scary, but they wound straight down a narrow little canyon for one mile. The views looking back up at the Water Pocket Fold were amazing.:Wow1:

Due to the limit of 10 attachments per post I will have to post twice for this leg of the trip.

 

[JCMatthews]

More Burr Trail Pictures

Here are the last shots from the Burr Trail. The last one is of the canyon that the road accends. Even zoomed in it is hard to see any portion of the road.

 

[CSG]

I've been reading too.

BTW, I'm sure it's occurred to you now to get a little 12v compressor. They're great for light duty use such as this case.

 

[Tucson T4R]

Great trip report and pics. Thanks for sharing. Lots of amazing country you passed through. :wings:

 

[JCMatthews]

I have been

I've been reading too.

BTW, I'm sure it's occurred to you now to get a little 12v compressor. They're great for light duty use such as this case.

I have been for years, but I don't want just any compressor. I am always looking at those out of my price range.