Escalante, UT - Drive up Hells Backbone Rd

As soon as we finish work today, I make a picnic lunch and we head to Hell's Backbone Road.  Hell's Backbone was another Civilian Conservation Corps engineering feat built to connect Boulder, the last frontier town in the state that still relied on mules to deliver the mail, with Escalante, made famous by its tortuous Hole-In-The-Rock Expedition.  The 38 mile gravel road winds up to 9,000 feet through Box / Death Hollow Wilderness.

We head East

It starts out as the same road to Posey Lake

Horses out in the field

 It is part of the Dixie National Forest

Only 26 miles to go!

  

We start to see part of the Box Death Hollow Wilderness

The road gets a little more twisty turny through the Dixie National Forest

and we start getting some better views

Must be getting closer to the 9,000 elevation 

as the trees here haven't leafed out.

Pictures just don't do it justice

More barren trees

It's definitely cooler up here

We stopped along the road and did a short walk over to a view

Back on the road - what could be around the next bend?

Finally  we are reaching the Bridge!

Hell's Backbone Bridge is 109 feet long, and 14 feet wide. 

And has a 1,500-foot drop is on either side.

There is a nice pull out on the other side 

so we can park and have lunch.  Gary and Tucson stretch their legs.

I climb down the rocks so I can get up on a Pinnacle to get

a picture of the bridge.  People have carved their names in the rocks.

A picture of Gary . . .

Taking a picture of me

A shot of the bridge from my perch

I sit down and soak in the view for a  bit.

Gary says he's hungry so I head back

Everywhere you look is stunning

Did someone say there was a bone here?

Now the ride down the mountain to Boulder.  This side of the bridge the road is barely more than 1 lane wide.

And you don't want to veer off to either side

Tucson enjoys the view

The road veers to the left

But that's our road down there to the right

I can't believe people are biking up this road!

Must be getting close to the bottom

The road loops us back to ByWay 12 in Boulder and through
Grand-Staircase Escalante back to home

  Scenic Overlooks on opposing sides of the road

Can you guess the route of the Escalante River down there?

The final stretch home

 and Home!