Utah's First All-American Road--Scenic Byway 12
Trip Start
Nov 22, 2007
1
40
55
Trip End
Dec 01, 2008
Torrey, Utah
Friday, July 18, 2008
We encountered some rainy days while camping near Capitol Reef. Since our motorcycles are our only form of travel while we are camping, that limited some of our plans for time in the park. One rainy day, we decided to rent a little 4WD SUV and take a ride to Escalante-home of the Grand-Staircase-Escalante National Monument-more cliffs and canyons and geologic wonders. Route 12 was recently declared a National Scenic Byway-something the Utahans are very proud of. You can get to Capitol Reef from Bryce Canyon by taking Route 12, but it is slow going for large rigs, with lots of mountains and hills to climb, as well as many switchbacks. But it shouldn't be missed if you have time, and we would suggest a car or motorcycle as the best means of travel since you will want to stop along the way, or maybe take a side trip.
We rode Route 12 up over Boulder Mountain to the town of Boulder. Along the way we stopped numerous times to take in the views. Many cattle free-range here, and you best be on the lookout as you drive. You will see them crossing the road, or congregating under the quaking aspen that line the slopes up the mountain. Or they may be grazing in the wildflower dotted meadows. As we were driving, the roadside became white, as of a light snowfall or early frost. We stopped for a few pictures of the cattle, and found the white stuff was hail from the recent thunderstorm that had not yet melted. Moving on up the mountain we forayed down a dirt road through a field that opened up to a lovely panorama of the valley footing Boulder Mountain. We stopped at a place called Chriss Lake and spent a couple hours bird watching-we added a number of "first sightings" from our observations at the meadow that flanks the top of the Chriss Lake trailhead. It was amazing how many birds and their variety in this one meadow! And we even got some pictures of the elusive western tanager that we had been looking for since our first sighting at Bryce!
After lunch in the meadow, we got back in the car and headed further down the mountain toward Boulder. Just past Boulder, you can continue on Route 12 to Escalante and beyond to Bryce. Those who are brave can take a side road, Hell's Backbone Road, to Escalante. Guess which we did. Here is how the route guide for Scenic Byway 12 (which we picked up at the visitor center) describes this road: "Hell's Backbone Road is one of the most dramatic stretches of road in Utah as it travels along a ridge with a sheer drop on both sides. Hell's Backbone Bridge spans a crevasse on a narrow ridge no wider than the bridge itself." I can't say it better myself! The unpaved road meanders for miles and miles through farmland, forest, mountains and canyons. It's slow going-plan on 3-4 hours at least to navigate the potholes and deal with the rough ridges left by trucks and construction vehicles that act as natural speed bumps. Besides that, you will want to be on the lookout for wildlife and occasional oncoming traffic.
We saw a large snake in the road (one of the locals called it a blow snake) that got away before we could get a picture. We also saved a baby bird that appeared to have failed to clear the road on its first flight test. We saw deer and the omnipresent chipmunks and squirrels. When we finally reached Hell's Backbone Bridge, we stopped for a while to admire the colorful cliffs and wonder at the narrowness of the ridge that supports the bridge. My feet felt queasy just standing near the edge. . .and I held my breath as we crossed over.
Once you are over the bridge, the road slowly descends through the hills and forestlands to the drier foothills outside of Escalante-at the foot of the Grand Staircase, if you will. Here the country is open and filled with horses, cattle, wild turkeys and bluebirds. We arrived in time for an awesome Utah sunset complete with rainbow colors projecting from a cloud prism in the rays spanning to the right of the sun. Well, I guess you could say we've been to Hell and back!
Comments
nice write up
we're heading there at the end of July. by car. I bet that hail was a surprise!
Re: nice write up
Nice bike! too bad you won't be taking that! we would have loved to take the bikes up route 12, although then we would not have done the backbone. have a great time!
Nice travel description and wonderful photos.
Have been at Boulder many years ago. I saw a hint like 'difficult with normal cars', so I took the Rt 12 instead. As I see, I missed a beautiful scenic tour. Thank you for your photos