July 27 - Hole in the Rock & Lake Powell

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Hole in the Rock is at the end of a 45 mile road southeast from Escalante, where Mormon settlers in the late 1800's tried to find a "shortcut" crossing across the Colorado River. Hole in the Rock is a crack in the rock cliffs that was widened by the settlers into a steep descending track that drops 2000 feet in just a half-mile. It's pretty eroded today, but I could walk down to the river (now a dammed lake) where I found lots of recreational boaters. See in Google Maps See on a USGS topographic map See in Google Earth 37.255, -110.896 ,

Hole in the Rock - looking down (7/27 10:35 AM)Hole in the Rock - looking back (7/27 10:39 AM)Hole in the Rock - the lake below (7/27 10:42 AM)Hole in the Rock - steps carved into the rock (7/27 12:08 PM)Hole in the Rock - boaters at the bottom (7/27 12:29 PM)Hole in the Rock Road - there are some tricky sections near the end of the road to Hole in the Rock (7/27 1:23 PM)

Friday afternoon, I took Collet Canyon road, and then the rough Rec. Rd. 230 down to the cliffs above Lake Powell, where I camped on Romana Mesa, with a panoramic view of the water. See in Google Maps See on a USGS topographic map See in Google Earth 37.05238, -111.3721 

rough downhill section of Rec Rd. 230 & Lake Powell in the distance (7/27 5:02 PM)rough downhill section of Rec Rd. 230 (7/27 5:04 PM)sunset over Lake Powell (7/27 7:19 PM)