SHELLROCK MOUNTAIN – WAGONS AND CONVICTS HIDING IN THE SHALE

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One road above the other in the Columbia River Gorge; Ollie looking down from the 1876 wagon road on the late 1960 freeway.
One road above the other in the Columbia River Gorge; Ollie looking down from the 1876 wagon road on the late 1960 freeway.

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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STARVATION CREEK – UNCOVERING MAGIC IN THE MINIATURE WATERFALL ALLEY

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Wind Mountain stands across the river from Camp Benson Falls next to Shellrock Mountain.

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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TWIN TUNNELS OF MOSIER; WINDOWS REVEAL MAGIC OF THE SYNCLINE

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Deep in the heart of the Twin Tunnels.
Deep in the heart of the Twin Tunnels.

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 That honor will probably fall in a couple years, superseded when the Mitchell Point section comes back.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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MIST FALLS – GAINING THE SECRETS OF THE GORGE’S DIAPHONOUS PRINCESS

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Mist Falls turned down - from Hartmann Pond in Benson State Park.
Mist Falls turned down – from Hartmann Pond in Benson State Park.

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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LINNTON TRAIL – ASCENDING INTO THE PRIMEVAL MAGIC

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As Portland grew during the 19th and 20th centuries, smaller towns were annexed along the way. Some of those towns were substantial, like East Portland. Others were much smaller, like the little town of Linnton across the Willamette River from St Johns. The last post touched on the Lower Columbia River Highway. This time we will come back closer to the beginning of that road.

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LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY – MAGIC IN THE REMAINS

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Dogs water in the plunge pool beneath Beaver Falls.
Dogs water in the plunge pool beneath Beaver Falls.

After posts on Samuel Hill, Samuel Lancaster, and Henry Bowlby it was time for me to revisit some of the projects they inspired and oversaw. The Columbia River Highway remains the magic the three men. That magic best shared along the Upper Columbia River Highway, known today as the Historic Columbia River Highway. A couple fine books exist detailing this road. And while in the future, I may hit upon some of the highlights (Shepperd’s Dell is one such case), today it is the Lower Columbia River Highway.

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HENRY BOWLBY – FLYING BISCUITS TO THE COLUMBIA

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The two Samuel’s – Hill and Lancaster – get all of the attention for the building of the Columbia River highway in the Gorge where the mighty river bores through the Cascades Range. The highway project proposed by Sam Hill included a highway from Portland downriver to the ocean at Astoria. Enter Henry Lee Bowlby.

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SAMUEL LANCASTER – CREATING THE FRAME TO THE BEAUTIFUL PICTURE

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Samuel Lancaster plaque on the Vista House.
Samuel Lancaster plaque on the Vista House.

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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ITALY IN SLOVENIA – NEW “Natural Borders” TO DEFEND

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Postcard shows new ‘natural borders’ added as a result of Italia irredenta,

It is easy to forget which ruins are from which war as you wander about in the Julian Alps.  Many trails have beginnings in one of the World Wars or in the events preceding or suceeding.  Many mule tracks still hiked on built by either Italian or Austro-Hungarian military engineers. Vršic Pass became a main road only during the First War. The cost of hundreds of Russian prisoners of war dying during in its construction by some ten thousand POWs. The Julians were set to become Italy’s new “natural borders” with the east.

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LUKNJA – MAGIC UNVEILED WALKING IN THE SHADOW OF TRIGLAV.

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The majestic North Face of Triglav towering above the upper Vrata Valley.

Triglav is the mountain defining Slovenia. The three-headed mountain – Triglav means three heads – is so beloved, it takes center stage on the nation’s flag (Quick aside – Slovenia is one of eight countries with mountains on their flags and one of three featuring a three headed peak –San Marino and Slovakia are the other two. Costa Rica has three peaks on its flag, but they are separate mountains, actually representing different mountain chains, Slovakia’s three bumps also represent three separate chains.). A hike to Luknja in the shadow of the giant mountain can unveil magic on an incredible scale at nor too hard a physical cost, not always an easy sale on Slovene mountain trails.

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