What do you do if your church leaders call you to lead a group of pioneers to create a new settlement someplace you’ve never been? If you’re a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you start planning. And, in this case, your mission ends up with a big challenge to overcome and gains a catchy name, the Hole in the Rock Expedition.
Called to Establish a New Settlement
Mormons had already established settlements in Utah to escape religious persecution in the East. To expand their territory and gain new agricultural lands, the leaders of the church called on members to found a settlement at Montezuma, Utah, just west of the Colorado border.
The catch was finding a suitable route. The small scouting party, consisting of 26 men, two women, and eight children, left in mid-April 1879. They took a route to the south from Panguitch, Utah, into Arizona, crossed the Colorado River at Lee’s Ferry, and traveling into Navajo territory. From Moenkopi they needed to head northeast through the desert, passing through Kayenta, before arriving at their destination in early June.
Once there, they built some homes, planted crops, and left two families behind to further develop the settlement while the rest returned to report their findings. Instead of returning the way they’d come, they instead traveled north through Moab and connected with a portion of the Old Spanish Trail to return to Panguitch. Each route took about six weeks.
An Easier Way?
The goal was that the larger group would head out the same year and be settled before winter. They were excited to hear of a new route that went through the newly settled village of Escalante. They were told there were some difficult areas to navigate along the way but were confident their wagons and wagon masters could handle anything.
By mid-November, about 250 men, women, and children with 83 wagons and more than 1,000 heard of livestock had gathered at Forty Mile Spring, 40 miles southeast of Escalante. From there, there was no road and early reports were that conditions ahead were not favorable. However, early snow had blocked the return route, so there was nowhere to go but onward.
Finding and Expanding the Hole in the Rock
A month later when the party reached the Colorado River gorge, they faced a crevice so narrow that a man could barely pass through. This was the route they would need to follow to reach the river less than a mile away . . . and more than 1,500 feet below. They dubbed the crack in the sandstone wall “Hole in the Rock” and with true pioneer spirit, began using picks, axes, and the small amount of blasting powder they had to expand the crevice enough for wagons to pass. So, rather than spending six weeks on the northern or southern route previously explored, they spent six wintery weeks widening the crack.
Once it was determined the space was wide enough for wagons to pass, in the dead of winter on January 25, 1880, they began taking wagons on the trail up to and through the Hole in the Rock, and then, more frighteningly, down. The grade just after the peak was 50 percent leading to a long sand hill with an average grade of 25 degrees. One story says that the first wagon used blind horses so they wouldn’t balk at the steep downward path.
They locked the wheels to slow their descent of almost 2,000 feet and miraculously every wagon made it through without a serious accident. Some visitors today believe that wagons were dismantled to get them through the pass, but each was driven through intact.
There were no serious injuries or deaths during the entire expedition and two children were born, with middle names appropriate for their beginnings, “Desert” and “Rio.”
The pioneers reached what is now Bluff, Utah, on April 5. They decided to settle there rather than going an additional 20 miles to their original destination of Montezuma. They were just too tired to go on. Who could blame them?
Visiting Hole in the Rock Today
Hole in the Rock today is part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
You can hike their route, although it doesn’t look exactly as it did when Silas Smith’s Mormon settlers traveled through. The river was dammed, and Lake Powell was formed, making the distance they clambered up through the hole shorter as about a third of the trail is now under water. Rocks have fallen since their passage, over or around which hikers today must navigate.
You can still see some of the wagon grooves on the route that was used for two-way travel for several years until an easier route was found. You can also see miners’ stairs, added by the Hoskaninni Mining Company in the early 1900s.
The hiking route is about a half-mile each way, which can take up to an hour round trip. It’s a very rocky route, so wear sturdy hiking shoes, take plenty of water, and always let someone know where you’ll be.
Note that the route to get to the trail can be a challenge of its own. When it is dry, two-wheel drive vehicles with good ground clearance may be able to make the trip, although four-wheel drive vehicles are recommended by the National Park Service. After heavy rains, you’ll need a four-wheel drive. The National Park Service recommends checking with the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center before attempting a visit.
If you’re boating Lake Powell, you’ll have an easier way to approach the trail. Head to buoy 66, appropriately enough located 66 miles uplake from Glen Canyon Dam, and tie up along the shoreline. Find the trail to the right where you’ll also find an informational exhibit.
The Hole in the Rock expedition’s success in overcoming what seemed to be an unsurmountable challenge is a testament to what can be accomplished. While we may find hiking the half-mile trail a challenge, imagine what they went through to widen the gap and take 83 wagons through it.
