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Hole In The Rock : Escalante Side (3/96)
Pre-lift. Check out the clearance! My stock springs were about shot at this point
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Nice shot of the trail and La Sal mountains in the background
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Typical obstacle near the end of the trail
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Tougher than it looks, especially if you're draggin' tail!
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Amy and I did the Hole In The Rock trail in March of 1996. This was the first real off-roading I'd done in a basically stock Jeep. The only improvement was slightly larger tires (235-75's instead of 215-75's.) We had a pretty good load, and with the sagging rear springs, scraped and dragged our way the whole 50 or so miles from Escalante out to the rim of Lake Powell. I think it was on this trip that I decided a lift would be a future necessity.
The road to Hole In The Rock leaves state road 12 about 4 miles southeast of the town of Escalante.The first 30 miles of the trail is a pretty good but heavily rutted dirt road that runs south and east toward Lake Powell. Part of the appeal of this trail is its remoteness. There are numerous side canyons to explore along the way, but you better take plenty of gas and water. We started down the road late enough in the day that we were forced to stop and camp before we made it to the end of the trail. In the morning we discovered we only had another three or four miles to go, but the last section traverses unmarked slickrock. At night it's very difficult to tell where the trail goes, so we stopped before we got into trouble. This prompted me to get my light bar and Hella 500's as soon as I got home:)
The final leg of the trail requires 4WD and some clearance or careful driving as it climbs up onto the slickrock and heads toward the rim. We only passed one other vehicle in three days. Camping is permitted at the end of the trail but there are no facilities--pack out whatever you pack in and tread lightly! It is possible to climb down the gap via a series of steps cut out of the rock to get to the Lake. Steep going down, strenuous going back up, but well worth it for a swim. The views all along the trail are spectacular and well worth the hassle of travelling to a very remote part of Utah.
View of Lake Powell and Cottonwood Canyon (looking East) through the gap that Mormon pioneers blasted to exit Glenn Canyon on their journey West
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Amy goes for a swim in the lake. It was pretty cold in early March!
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The view across Glenn Canyon into Cottonwood Canyon.You can just make out a houseboat headed toward Bullfrog marina (lower right). A rare site in March
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Our humble camp. Just over the hood you can see the gap which leads down to the lake. Bring your own shade!
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