Dead Horse Point-blank. The normal view of Dead Horse Point, and it’s a beauty, lies way above this view. There’s a reason for that too. The road down to this point is dangerous, mind bogglingly steep and guaranteed to give you white knuckles or worse. The Schafer Canyon Road is listed as a dangerous road and is described thusly:
“This road has humbled many egos. It’s not for the sissies and shouldn’t be attempted by novice drivers. The road is in dreadful condition and requires strong nerves to negotiate it. It’s certainly breathtaking and it has a fearsome reputation. It still remains an adrenaline-pumping journey and is definitely not for the faint of lungs, heart, or legs. Words can’t describe the road and pictures don’t do it justice.”
The road certainly starts out well, wide and in good condition. Then the wide expanse to the left begins to narrow. This quickly becomes a rock shelf road hugging the side of the cliff face, 1,000s of feet in the air. To make matters worse, the drop is not the least bit gradual. If you glance to the left, the drop will buckle your knees it is so sheer. The road here on the cliff face is so narrow I can’t imagine having to pass another car. Today I’m in luck and don’t have to.
After looping around the cliff face a few times I came to the start of the switchbacks. Here is where the real adventure begins. Hairpin turns with barely enough room to turn before going in the opposite direction. Scant inches separate my tires an unimaginable fate. You simply can’t think about it. Seriously. And look? No way, unless you are stopped.
But the road leads to several points, several points that make it worth the white knuckles and the puckered extremities. This is one, Musselman Arch and Thelma and Louise’s jump point. The jump spot actually wasn’t the Grand Canyon it was about 3-4 miles from this spot.
I loved this view the second I saw it. I wish the Milky Way had been more shifted right but it’s still a decent view in my mind. How about yours?
Please Like the page, the image, share and for Pete’s sake comment! Thanks to all of you for pushing me on with your kind words to do ever more detail and danger.
Technical: 42 images, Canon 6D, 50mm lens at 1.8, ISO 6400, assembled and calibrated in Pixinsight and PS.
Video of top of Schafer Canyon Road here:
