Ranger Station Fragment
Route 2
July 23, 2020
Ok, there is a lot going on here, so let's break it down... First of all, while I am not 100% on the yellow section on the map, I am confident enough to put is down in yellow (Confirmed, Walkable) instead of Orange (Unconfirmed Possibility). I've been poking at this little piece for years, revisited it in March with Kirk, and it just feels right. I know that feelings are not facts, but it reminds me so much of the fragment at Bradley under the lawn there that I am really just going with this.
For one thing, the shape of the lawn makes no sense unless it was once a road. Kirk and I did check pretty thoroughly for pavement, and found none, but that is not a deal breaker for me here since I believe the pavement was taken out specifically so the lawn could be planted. Under the lawn, there is a stoney mixture that seems consistent with road fill.
In the photo below, looking at the west end of the yellow fragment, there is a road that curves off to the southwest, following the dry masonry wall visible on the left side of the picture. It is marked in orange on the map.
This curved road, I am less certain about. It could have just been an access road to the power plant, but there is some pretty good engineering going on too, with the retaining wall on the south side and a support wall on the north side... This could very likely be a remnant of The Dalles to Sandy River Military Road, which was used as the Columbia River Highway between Cascade Locks and Wyeth until 1917 / 1918.
Honestly, I think the 1917 road traveled straight west from here. Both times I've really taken time to explore this fragment, the west end was so choked with blackberry vines that it was impossible to explore. If it did run west from here, there would almost surely be evidence of the old highway under all those vines as it traverses a marsh and a small creek. Heck, there might even be evidence of a bridge. The old road log and OHC Reports may offer further clues, though it still would not necessarily clarify if the Route 2 alignment was here or under the improved US 30 grade just feet away to the north.
One thing I have not done is to try to access that area from the west side of the drainage, which I plan on doing while looking for evidence of the possible Ranger Station West fragment.
One huge problem with this location is that this is the front yard of the Herman Lake Ranger Station / Columbia Gorge Work Center, which has been around, and very active, since at least 1916. A lot of work has happened here over the last century and it is difficult to sort it all out. The Forest Service may have all the answers. Contacting them is on my long term task list.
This is the top of the supporting wall on the curved road.
Ranger Station FragmentPhoto by A. F. Litt, March 11, 2020
Looking at the east end of the curved road while Kirk tests for pavement on the yellow grade.
Ranger Station FragmentPhoto by A. F. Litt, March 11, 2020
The very old retaining wall (look at the size of that tree!) and the east end of the curved road.
Ranger Station FragmentPhoto by A. F. Litt, March 11, 2020
The dry masonry retaining wall buried under ivy and moss. Someone cleared a spot here a few years before Kirk and I came along.
Ranger Station FragmentPhoto by A. F. Litt, March 11, 2020
Eastbound on the yellow fragment; this shot shows the somewhat strange shape of the lawn that makes me suspect that it was once the Columbia River Highway.
Ranger Station FragmentPhoto by A. F. Litt, March 11, 2020
The very health of the lawn seems to tell our story here. You can see where the road once was.
East to the Government Cove FragmentRanger Station FragmentPhoto by A. F. Litt, March 11, 2020
East of here, the original highway was cut away by the construction of the improved US 30 water level route until it re-appears, higher on the hillside, at the Government Cove Fragment.
