April 7th, 2017 I met my brother Ron Hunt from Colorado and two friends Mark and Terrie Meadows from Northern Utah and camped out at the beginning of the East side of the Hole in the Rock trail.   In 1880 about 250 Mormon Pioneers left Cedar City, Parowan, Paragonah and Panguitch Utah, crossed east thru Escalante and pressed on to the Hole in the Rock on the Colorado river canyon.  After a month of digging, blasting and engineering a road was built down to the Colorado River.  The pioneers then ferried their wagons across the river and moved much further east on their 200 mile trek, eventually stopping on the San Jaun river and founding the community of Bluff Utah.

Map highlighting the entire trail from Escalante to Bluff.  Hole in the Rock Trail.

Majestic Navajo Mountain

Video of Terrain and Ride, Ron, Terrie and Mark

Ron and Lyle searching for the trail in very desolate country
Ron going down one of the steep Ridges
Ron at the crest of the first hill
Selfie with Lyle in front and Ron in background
Terrie

Mark and Terrie

Lyle helping Mark over a very steep rock ledge in front of ATV.
Hole in Rock Trail left and East Lake Canyon Trail to RightTerrie looking down the Trail

End of the East Lake Canyon Trail which has washed out and closed the trail.  The pioneers crossed lake canyon on a similar sandbar which created a lake upstream.  This sandbar washed away and would have made the canyon completely un-crossable.  In recent years this road provided a bypass of lake canyon but as you can see is now washed out.

Capital Reef, Hite and Natural Bridges

Sunset over Capital Reef, it was too dark to get any shots.

Camped out by the Colorado River just below the town of Hite’s Ferry.

Hites bridge over the Colorado River.

Natural Bridges

Sipapu Bridge from the Overlook.

Knarly twisted tree on the trail into the Sipapu bridge canyon.

Wooden and metal Ladders as part of the trail

Backside of Sipapu bridge

Owachoma Natural Bridge, almost camouflaged

Twisted and folded Rock