The land Behind the Rocks is an elevated area south of Moab bounded roughly by the Moab Rim cliffs and the rim of Kane Springs Canyon, which is still farther south and west in Utah (USA). This 29 miles trail follows the most difficult of the several routes in this region of San Juan County, and gets its renown and its high rating mostly for White Knuckle Hill. Going down the hill is a bit scary but on the easy side of 4+. It may be the most difficult hill hereabouts that is ascended on a fairly regular basis, although the regularity is diminishing as it erodes. In the reverse of the normal direction, the most difficult obstacles must be climbed, which calls for locking differentials front and rear.
The rock layers behind the Moab Rim slope downward, and a virtually impenetrable area of Navajo Sandstone domes and fins is in view most of the time. Canyons, including lovely Hunters Canyon, are cut into older layers. Balcony Arch, Picture Frame Arch, and Pritchett Arch (a distant view) may be seen; other arches and bridges are nearby.
Most of the road is sandy dirt with occasional rock outcrops. To get in and out of the many small canyons is to take a bumpy trip over sandstone ledges.
There is a warm-up hill soon after leaving the highway and numerous minor canyon crossings before reaching High-Dive Canyon. This very steep, rough descent is a short walk upstream from a "high-dive" pouroff into a lovely pool. The climb out of the small canyon can be either via a tricky ledge or the difficult "Upchuck Hill." A few interesting miles farther is White Knuckle Hill, which descends some huge steps from a plateau area to a lower bench.
White Knuckle Hill consists of some ledges and big outcroppings of rock that you must drop down before completing the final part of the hill that is very nearly vertical and about ten feet tall. There are things you can do to make this hill safer, like stacking enough rocks at the bottom to make it more sloped there, and having a few friends hold a tow rope tied to the back of your vehicle as you go down. If you don't take any of these precautions, prepare for a little slide as you slip down the last part of the hill. When your tires touch the bottom you need to use the gas pedal to pull your front tires away from the hill so your rear end doesn't come over. Stacking a few rocks will make this much less urgent, though the hill is still very steep.
