This scenic mile-high road, completed in 1928, was conceived, promoted, surveyed, and built under the direction of William H. Kendall, who was employed by the U. S. Forest Service from 1907 to 1931. Before the road was built, Kendall was hunting in the backcountry and was shot in the shoulder by a hunting partner. He nearly died and had to be carried several miles to the nearest road by rescuers from Dayton. Kendall was fortunate that the man who mistook him for a deer was Dr. W. W. Day, whose emergency treatment probably saved his life.