Recent posts have dealt with history for the most part – military history, mostly – World War 1 and the American Civil War. There are several more to come dealing with the later, so I thought to break it up a bit.
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Flying along Interstate 84, you might catch an ephemeral glance at a waterfall or two. If you know when to look. Traffic speeds along well above the speed limit of 65 mph. The number of cars and trucks seem to exponentially increase with the years. Pity the traveler who finds themselves stuck behind one of the giant propellors heading to the wind farms just south of the east end of the Columbia River Gorge. Road travel has come a long way since the first road was put in over 150 years ago. Basalt columns occur in many areas along the way. So, the columns and cliffs jutting up to the south of the freeway just west of the Bridal Veil exit – exit 44 – might not garner an extra glance from a speeding car. You have just missed noting the Pillars of Hercules.
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Oregon and Washington have used prison labor for various projects throughout their history. Convicts have been working on a variety of projects from laundry to license plates to agriculture. They also worked on convict road projects, though that only arose in the early 20th century. Penitentiaries hoped to relieve overcrowding in the prisons while at the same time providing employment not conflicting with free labor. They saw the employment also as a form of reward to their better behaving prisoners. Prisoners had marks of degradation such as stripes, chains and shaven heads done away with. Here, they gained a certain amount of freedom. The work, done in the public good, was also seen as reformative.
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Funds for The Dalles – Sandy Military Road gained appropriation from the Oregon legislature in 1872 – $50,000. The road finally finished in 1876 after another $50,000 infusion. The road suffers from memory – too windy and parts too steep (20 % grades!). Much of the road was said to have been destroyed by the 1880 building of the railway through the Gorge. Some areas remained to be incorporated into the subsequent Columbia River highway. Other areas were abandoned, though only one section of the old wagon road – Shellrock Mountain – remains known from its day.
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The area around Starvation Creek along I-84 has undergone some changes with the recent restoration of the Historic Columbia River Highway here in 2019. For a long time, the site has been a rest area with a short trail leading to the drama of Starvation Creek Falls. It is also the beginning of a couple of the hardest trails found in the Gorge, Starvation Ridge and Mount Defiance trails. These trails entail a gain of 5,000 feet, with the latter trail doing it in under five miles. But before going high there is a lot to discover down below.
In the short stretch between the rest area and Shellrock Mountain about two miles to the west, five waterfalls easily come into view; one other notable if it has rained hard recently and two or three others a bit harder to access – especially if you have to carry a 38-pound cogi.
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To date, the Twin Tunnels of Mosier make up the most spectacular section of the Historic Columbia River Highway formerly lost, now restored. That honor will probably fall in a couple years, superseded when the Mitchell Point section comes back. From the viewpoint near the tunnels, you look out to the magnificence of the tilted synclines on both sides of the mighty river. Come in springtime and the floral display will be on to add to the magic.
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In Scott Cook’s wonderful round-up gem of places lesser known in the Columbia River Gorge, Curious Gorge, Mist Falls is uncovered and revealed. This waterfall moods changes dramatically with the seasons, from a solid waterfall after a rain to one with mists dancing in the wind. Mists never seeming to be in any hurry to settle back on the ground as they enjoy their brief moment of freedom. It sits as a nearby neighbor to the king, Multnomah Falls. The waterfall is most visible to the motorists ripping along Interstate 84. Those motorists – the drivers, anyway – only get a fleeting glance. Their attentions quickly focus on cars using the left-hand exit for the nearby huge parking lot at Multnomah. Mist Falls is a true overlooked gem in the midst of Waterfall Alley.
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Samuel Lancaster established himself one of the pioneers of modern American highway construction with his connection to the Columbia River Gorge highway project in 1915. That highway was only one of a myriad of programs involving Lancaster over a busy lifetime.
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To say Samuel Hill lived a fascinating life is almost an understatement. A frenetic Quaker, Sam’s life is magnificently on display online where you can find his excellent biography Sam Hill, The Prince of Castle Nowhere written by John Tuhy. Among his many interests was his participation in the Good Roads movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hill was instrumental in the development of both the Pacific Highway, a route linking the three Coastal States to each other from Canada to Mexico. He pushed for the development of a true coastal highway paralleling the Pacific Highway – today’s US 101 – as well. But Hill is best known for his role in the development of the Columbia River Gorge Highway, now over a hundred years old.
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Magic is a word overused in the Columbia Gorge. Magic, awe, wonder all terms liberally employed by visitors and writers when trying to describe the majesty of the Gorge. One of those sites spectacularly earning such accolades is Shepperd’s Dell.
Shepperd’s Dell is one of those places I never seem to have time to stop for. There is very little parking – always full on the weekends – and only a small waterfall to be fleetingly glanced at as you cross over a bridge. The Dell lies along one of the most scenic stretches of the Historic Columbia River Highway – HCRH – a true highlight between Multnomah Falls and Crown Point.
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