OAUSA Net - 7/24/14 - Hole in the Rock, Utah

[DaveK]

Our net this week will be on the destination, Hole in the Rock, Utah. There were three things which made this a very fascinating trip - the history, the scenery and the incredible engineering which went into building this road. We will be examining all three, complete with corresponding pictures. Join us for the net.

A brief history of the Hole in the Rock by Stewart Aitchison:

In 1879, 230 settlers in southwestern Utah heeded the call from leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pull up stakes and move to the distant San Juan country of southeastern Utah. Their year-long journey became one of the most extraordinary wagon trips ever undertaken in North America, their trail one of peril, difficulty, and spectacular vistas. Beginning in Cedar City, Utah, this trail crosses today’s Dixie National Forest, skirts Bryce Canyon National Park, bisects the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, crosses the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and comes close to Natural Bridges National Monument on its way to Bluff, Utah.

For those interested in gaining a more detailed history of this landmark and the trail leading to it, there are many books and articles which can help. For me, I relied on Stewart Aitchison's book, entitled "Hole-In_The-Rock Trail". It is available from Amazon for about $11.00, see: http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Southern-Ut ... n+the+rock .

Hole in the Rock Aitchison.jpg (53 KiB) Viewed 1340 times

[DaveK]

Below are my pictures of our travel down the actual Hole in the Rock. The original trail started in the town of Escalante, which is where we started our trek as well. As with most pictures, it is difficult to gain a full appreciation of the angles of the terrain or the difficulty of the trail. It is also impossible to fully appreciate the magnitude of the difficulty involved in making this trail. The descent down the hiking trail is about 650 feet. Even my use of the word "trail" is pretty generous. You really don't know you are on the right trail unless you are headed down.

In the winter of 1878-1880, it took about 6 week to blast and dig a 3/4 mile road down to the Colorado River. Once completed, the trek down the Hole was successfully made by 80 wagons, 250 men, women and children and hundreds of horses and cattle. Not a single wagon tipped over nor were there any serious injuries. The success of this trek was a testament to the infinite dedication and ingenuity that these pioneers possessed as well, of course, as their belief in God. The trip was made ever so much more difficult as it happened during the depth of of a very difficult and cold winter.

I have numbered the pictures so as to correspond to our discussion during the net.

ARCHES

1

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2

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3

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VIEWS FROM 50 MILE BENCH ROAD

4

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5

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6

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ON THE WAY TO THE HOLE IN THE ROCK

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8

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9

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HISTORICAL MARKER FOR THE TRAIL

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THE ONLY CAMPING SPOT WITH TREES

11

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12

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HOO-DOOS AT DEVILS GARDEN

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15

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SLOT CANYONS

15 A

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15 B

IMG_0167 (Large).JPG (71.6 KiB) Viewed 1294 times

VIEWS OF HOLE IN THE ROCK

16

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17

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18

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19

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21

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22

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HOLE IN THE ROCK SIGN - ALMOST ALL THE WAY DOWN THE TRAIL

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ALMOST TO THE RIVER

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AT THE LAKE

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VIEW UP THE TRAIL

28

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[taugust]

Great photos, Dave. Sorry I missed the net (on my way to Vegas). Eric and Ian and I did that trip about 8 years ago. Didn't get to the slots. We camped at Dance Hall Rock and climbed to the top. That was a spectacular view. We also hiked to the river. Tough hike. Lots of great history there. That book is a great resource.

[DaveK]

Great photos, Dave. Sorry I missed the net (on my way to Vegas). Eric and Ian and I did that trip about 8 years ago. Didn't get to the slots. We camped at Dance Hall Rock and climbed to the top. That was a spectacular view. We also hiked to the river. Tough hike. Lots of great history there. That book is a great resource.

Tim

I agree that the book is a great resource, and if memory serves, it was you that referred it to me. Thanks!