Jacob Hamblin: History of Honeymoon Trail
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Jacob Hamblin took his missionary assignment to the Indians very seriously. Traveling to the various tribes throughout southern Utah and eastern Arizona required that he find a workable route through rough terrain.
Crossing Buckskin Mountain, or the Kaibab Plateau, posed the greatest challenge. A trail had been forged across the mountain many years before and had been used by the exploration parties of Dominguez and Escalante. But the trail had fallen into disuse about 90 years before Hamblin arrived, leaving the trail grown over and largely undetectable until Hamblin befriended a Piute who showed him across this steep, often winding and rocky trail.
Hamblin memorized the rather complicated route with one demonstration. Crossing over the mountain many times in the following years to conduct his missionary labors, he wore a trail. Members of the Church began using the trail as they forged their way from Mexico and Arizona to the St. George temple to be sealed.
Because of the many couples who used the trail, it became romanticized as the "Honeymoon Trail." The scenic trail is still popular today among outdoor enthusiasts.
