"80 Miles to Fort Bridger"
Hogsback Summit
"The country west looks rough and mountainous,"
wrote William Clayton, describing this panorama of
the Wasatch Mountains. Modern historians have
dubbed this summit "Heartbreak Ridge" to describe
the feelings of many early Mormon Pioneers who
crested this ridge. After months on the trail,
traveling over 1,200 weary miles, it was heart-
wrenching to discover that the most difficult part of
the journey still lay ahead. Some people must have
broken down and wept. Others gritted their teeth
with determination and moved southwest down off
Hogsback Summit to challenge the mountains and
canyons that
lay ahead.
“...arrived [July 19] on the suummit of the dividing
ridge and put a guide hard up, "80 miles to Fort
Bridger"... The descent is not very steep but
exceedingly dangerous to wagons being mostly on
the side hill over large cobble stones, causing the
wagons to slide very badly.”
William Clayton
A UDOT enhancement project sponsored by the Utah Historic Trail Consortium
