Hole In the Rock Trail, Sept 2025

mbryson

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Location
Bountiful, land of rocks
I need to get somewhat i have a betterer internet connection for better planning. I'll be doing this a week or two after Labor Day on a weekend. I need to form up a plan but throwing the trip out there. I may camp one or possibly two nights. I'm not a great camper but don't bitch about it while I'm out there.

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Just posting up for reference and planning. I'm sure there's some good planning resources on the Expedition Utah I'll reference here.


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The west side is basically just a long bumpy dirt road. There are some cool sights/side trips along the way. And ExpUT is a great place to research those. It's been probably 15 years since I've done it and really don't need to do it again.

But the HITR trail on the other side is a way more fun trip. And ExpUT is a great place to research that too. I've done that several times, but it's been probably 10 years since the last time, but would love to do it again.

That time of year, I'm not likely to make it though. Coyotes need my attention right about then :D .

- DAA
 
kmboren said:
Don't forget to hot Pickaboo and spoky Slot canyons. If the weekend turns out right maybe I'll bring my duckless YJ out.
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Post up when you're available. (Your YJ may get ducked on a trip like this ;) )



glockman said:
My LJ was brand new to me last time we failed at it. I'd like to finish it.
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DAA said:
The west side is basically just a long bumpy dirt road. There are some cool sights/side trips along the way. And ExpUT is a great place to research those. It's been probably 15 years since I've done it and really don't need to do it again.

But the HITR trail on the other side is a way more fun trip. And ExpUT is a great place to research that too. I've done that several times, but it's been probably 10 years since the last time, but would love to do it again.

That time of year, I'm not likely to make it though. Coyotes need my attention right about then :D .

- DAA
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I do plan to do the east side as well. Not sure exactly when but sometime in the fall. Ive been invited by a friend in the past and couldn't make it either time. We chatted about the east side at Winter Jamboree. If I go with him, it'd be his trip and I'm a guest.

I'm open to two trips ;)
 
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In for the east side, pending dates. I'm less interested in the west side but probably oughta do it at some point just to say I did.
 
The west side has some cool sights. It's a long bumpy road that has cool history but gets a ton of traffic due to slot canyons and hikes along the route.

The East side is a long BUMPY and fairly technical route. I need to get back and do that side again.
 
For the east side, I would like to do it again in the buggy, and be done in a single day. I definitely don’t recommend doing it that quick for your first time, as there are too many historical spots to check out.

If you plan to camp on the trail and it’s gonna be windy, I’d postpone the trip until it isn’t windy. My second time was windy and it was the absolute worst tent camping experience I’ve ever had. Sleeping inside a vehicle would certainly help, but you won’t have a campfire or chat around it. There is no shelter from that wind.
 
We did the Hole in the Rock Road (easy, West side) several years ago, it's a long and bumpy ride but the scenery and realization of how challenging the drop down to the river was at the end was mind blowing. We made a long weekend of the trip in February, staying in Escalante and venturing out from there. The slot canyons were worth the hike, the drive down HITR Road was long but worth it. The trip to the end and back can be done in a day.

Greg

Thread 'Exploring Escalante and beyond!'

My wife and I had a chance for a 3 day weekend with Presidents Day and since it was also Valentines Day on Sunday we decided to make a fun, just-the-2-of-us trip. Rather than camp like we'd normally do, we opted for a hotel with a comfy bed and hot shower. We headed to Escalante, Utah early on Friday morning, stopping in Hanksville to check out the Wolverton Mill at the BLM office. We made the drive thru Torrey, over the 9,500' pass on Highway 12 into Boulder and turned off at the Lower Calf Creek Falls parking lot to start our hiking. This hike is easy, but over 6 miles round trip... I...


I ran Hole in the Rock Trail (challenging, East side) with @DAA and his friends years ago, I'm looking for the Report but in the mean time, here's my photo album. I was in my unlocked 80 Series on 33's and we took 3 days to make it. It was an amazing trip, I'd do it again.

greg-catherine.smugmug.com

Hole in the Rock Trail - greg-catherine

Photos from the Gardner family, Greg, Catherine & Daisy!
greg-catherine.smugmug.com greg-catherine.smugmug.com
 
Both sides are worth doing imo, particularly if you're immersing in the history of the San Juan Mission and the stalwart conviction of those travelers. As you know, I'm not much of a religious guy though I do often quip that I'm an ancestral Mormon or indigenous Mormon. That said, the faith and fortitude those folks mustered day after day was nothing short of inspiring and worthy of any/all respect.

If you do the west side, don't skip out on an opportunity to go for a swim, even if it's winter :D
 
One of my life goals is to retrace the Pioneer steps from Cedar to Bluff. It'll take organization to have someone pick me up with a boat from the West side and shuttle me across Powell, then hike to the end of the East side and have someone pick me up there to finish the route out and then to Bluff.

When I get ambitious enough to organize it, I'll post up because it'll take quite a few folks to pull it off.
 
moab_cj5 said:
One of my life goals is to retrace the Pioneer steps from Cedar to Bluff. It'll take organization to have someone pick me up with a boat from the West side and shuttle me across Powell, then hike to the end of the East side and have someone pick me up there to finish the route out and then to Bluff.

When I get ambitious enough to organize it, I'll post up because it'll take quite a few folks to pull it off.
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You have my attention. Stash a couple inflatable rafts with some water and food?
 
The west side is not too difficult unless you do it when we did right after three weeks of rain. We had to cross three washed out sections of the road and many large pools of water. On one of the washed out sections my son in law sank his XJ in quick sand and it took some work to get him out. The rancher who ran cows out there came by and asked us what in the heck we were doing out there. He even offered to let us use his cabin if we didn't make it out.
One of the authors of the books shown was David E Miller. As a teenager I used to mow his lawn. If I had known how important his book was I would have traded work for one of his books. He told me about his research but I didn't know anything about the trail at that age. The one connection I have to the expedition is that my third great grandfather was the one that sent them on the mission.
 
moab_cj5 said:
One of my life goals is to retrace the Pioneer steps from Cedar to Bluff. It'll take organization to have someone pick me up with a boat from the West side and shuttle me across Powell, then hike to the end of the East side and have someone pick me up there to finish the route out and then to Bluff.

When I get ambitious enough to organize it, I'll post up because it'll take quite a few folks to pull it off.
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That would be a neat trip.

You've likely heard my similar Lake Powell trip. Blue Notch, put bikes or 4x4's on a boat or barge. Dump off at Rincon, ride out HITR. There are some other loops that could be neat. I went as far as to contact a boat captain that worked for a major concessionaire on the lake that ran the barge that hauled fuel trucks and trash. He was absolutely willing to assist if we could get NPS approval... not happening with the Rincon as you know.
 
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