Journalist By Nature: Hiking History or Tumbling Down the Pioneer Bridle Trail

No place to go but down

Eager to start new lives, get rich quick, escape slavery or the crush of emigrants from Europe, thousands of people gathered in Missouri during the nineteenth century to embark on a hazardous adventure to the West. Fast forward to Oregon, the terminus of their trip and one final hurdle: Laurel Hill, so named as the people thought the rhododendrons were laurel shrubs. Not all pioneers came to this point, but those who did, exhausted from struggling through countless life and death scenarios and daily hardships, found themselves facing a 60% downgrade with no convenient route around the slopes. See here for historical data.

Ingenuity having favored them thus far, the travelers walked the oxen and horses through the forest and down the slopes. They then turned the emptied wagons tongue forward, lashed a freshly cut tree to the back as a brace and weight and slowly, very slowly winched and roped each wagon over the edge and down the boulder-riddled hill to a continuation of the trail far below. Some of the wagon ruts are still visible today in the area of the Pioneer Bridle trail.

Making a dangerous cross-traffic left turn on Highway 26 just east of mile post 52 at the "Glacier View Sno-park" sign (there is no left turn lane and this move is not recommended; make a reverse turn at Government Camp and come back down to the parking area), we scooted into a gravel parking space and piled out of our shuttle cars to begin a little hike through history. For history buffs, check out here and here to get you started.

Mid-summer heat was ramping up as we headed down the needle-strewn path toward the little town of Rhododendron. Hemlock and cedar, interspersing the Douglas firs, released their scented oils into the morning air, lending a slight cedar chest or freshly sharpened pencil olfactory ambiance to the hike. Not much was blooming by this time except for the occasional lupine clump and a scattering of twin flowers below dark blue huckleberries and salal berries. A quick taste told us neither was quite ready for picking! The open and sparse understory, dry, dusty and thirsty in August, hosted a few ferns and flowerless trilliums but not much else.

Fairly wide and flat at the beginning, the trail began to take on a v-shape carved by the many mountain bikes sharing this space. Bolstered by small rocks it made for an exciting bike ride but was difficult to navigate by foot without rolling and twisting. Add to that some downhill slopes and we found ourselves toppling and tumbling while keeping a sharp lookout for fast bicyclists. A chance meeting connected one of our hikers with her neighbor out for a morning's ride. Small world.

At an old highway tunnel we took a short side trip to Little Zigzag Falls, a lovely cascade of clear, cold water singing its way over logs and boulders and then quietly shimmering and slinking through the forest land on a more level bearing. A family from Minnesota joined us briefly for pictures and a quick list of places to see on a one-day tour of Portland. A picnic table allowed us to sit for lunch and just listen to the quiet of the place, admiring the stone walls built by the 1935 Civilian Conservation Corps workers. The pattern of arches and cement blocks is the signature of their work throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Old Columbia Highway is lined with such as are the trails in Forest Park and other hiking grounds. In some places the forest has nearly swallowed parts of walls with mosses, ferns and seedlings that crowd out the stonework.

Road crew near Mirror Lake

Back on the main trail we walked directly beside and then below the edge of Highway 26, huge retaining walls holding the earth steady as cars and trucks roared past. The road widening project, years in the making, plods along claiming slow progress at the curves west of Government Camp. Finding ourselves slower hikers on this hot day and having consumed our last glugs of water, we broke into a clearing where a shuttle car awaited passengers. It's always pleasant to share a trail with friends, catch up on life's activities and appreciate the vast forests that offer hiking adventures to anyone entering them. Summer is slipping quickly away; don't delay that wish list of woodsy excursions filled with wonderful sights. Just go!