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Hole in the Rock has been one of my favorites for a long time. It is full of challenge and history.
This deteriating mining road follows much of the original route developed by early Mormon settlers
in the late 1800s. It is hard to conceive how difficult it must have been to cross this territory with
a covered wagon. The wagon route off of Grey Mesa is difficult enough on foot. This great trail keeps
me coming back year after year. For Thanksgiving 2001 I decided to tackle this trail with my motorcycle.
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We parked the camper near the Halls Crossing Airport. We brought our dual-sport bikes as much of this
route is in Glen Canyon NRA. About two and half hours later we reached the end of Hole in the Rock.
This included a few video stops and leisurely pace on Grey Mesa due to wind chill. At the end I enjoyed
a turkey sandwich made from left over Thanksgiving turkey.
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On the way back we decided to check out the Rincon. This side route ends up at Lake Powell by a fascinating
display of engineering in the form of switchbacks off of Grey Mesa. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this
road, which is something I have wanted to do for a while. The status of this route has been unclear.
I have heard that the BLM has closed it or wants to close it. At the time I rode it there were no signs
and plenty of tracks on this well-defined route.
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On the way back we enjoyed conquering the obstacles on the trail. The motorcycles made quick work out
of anything we came across. After exploring this route several times by 4x4, the motorcycle was a refreshing
change and offered a new sense of freedom. While we usually plan for three days on the trail with a
four-wheel drive, we had been able to see the entire Hole in the Rock trail plus the Rincon in one day,
which left us the rest of the weekend to explore some of the other roads in the area.
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