I've decided to call this the Cabin Creek Fragment rather than the Starvation Creek Fragment, as the 2010 Cultural Landscape Inventory does, to help distinguish this section from the Starvation Creek to Viento Segment.

ODOT, Cultural Landscape Inventory: Shellrock Mountain to Ruthton Point - Historic Columbia River Highway

This segment of the HCRH consists of a short segment, associated with Cabin Creek, to the west of the Starvation Creek State Park parking lot. It parallels I-84 at water level, as it did the railroad before the Interstate was constructed. The vegetation is moist, mixed conifer forest, with an overstory of Douglas fir and western hemlock and a fairly dense understory of shrubs and broad leaved riparian trees. The large Columbia River Basalt cliffs above the historic highway are close to the road near the Starvation Creek Parking lot and Cabin Falls, but are separated from it by old rock slides described by Elliot (1914). These slides have been overgrown with trees and shrubs, which have stabilized them and obscure the geology. They reveal only glimpses of the cliffs above. More recent slides have buried parts of the roadbed.

Cabin Creek crosses the historic highway, with a dramatic waterfall visible from the road.

The major features of this segment are Cabin Creek Falls and the long retaining wall below the

road west of the falls. Elliot (1914) writes of the necessity of building this wall, and a corresponding face wall above the road to contain the slide. The construction of the water level road apparently removed these walls, except for the remaining piece identified here. Cabin Creek Falls was a feature of the road, as evidenced by the more elaborate culvert design, a short designed trail and turn out parking area associated with the it. Evidence from the 1939 aerial suggests that historically this area was more open, and views up to the cliffs and rock columns would have enhanced the approach to the falls. The Mount Defiance Trail terminates in this segment of the historic highway.

Buildings and Structures

The inventory recorded two culverts in this segment. The Cabin Creek culvert was designed to be seen from the trail to the Falls, and consists of 36” concrete culvert set in a six foot wide headwall of coursed basalt stones that have been hewn and bossed, laid with mortar. Above and to the sides of the mortared headwall is a continuation and wing walls of unhewn, dry laid rubble wall. This rubble wall appears to have been repaired or modified at some time. Because of these modifications and some missing stones, the culvert is considered to be in poor condition.

A second concrete culvert with basalt stone detailing around the mouth is in poor condition because it is almost entirely buried and clogged.

The retaining wall below the road is a portion of the long retaining wall built by Elliot. It is a 267 feet long dry-laid battered basalt stone wall, standing about five feet tall. The stones are hewn and bossed, and laid in a random to semi-coursed pattern. The top layer of stones has been mortared. Now covered in moss and fern, with many missing chink stones, it is in fair condition. A contemporary wire and steel post fence runs along the top of the historic retaining wall.

Topography

There were two possible small rock cuts on either side of Cabin Falls, but it was not clear if these are created or natural rock face.

Circulation

The HCRH road surface appears to be mostly intact, with some crumbled areas and potholes. It is covered in a thin layer of duff and mud. The gutter area along the south edge is buried in debris and overgrown with vegetation. There are two areas where slides have brought rock and mud onto the road. The historic highway pavement terminates at wheel 1207 along the centerline, near the off ramp from I-84.

Two trails intersect the HCRH in this segment. There is a the short, informal path up from the road to Cabin Creek Falls. The Starvation Creek cut-off trail also terminates in the historic highway near Cabin Creek Falls. It is a dirt trail in fair condition.

Views and Vistas

The major view in the segment is a framed vista of Cabin Creek Falls from the road. The view of the falls is framed by a towering boulder or rock outcrop. The 1939 aerial shows this area as more open than it is today; now it is overgrown with trees and vegetation. To the east of the falls is another view of rock columns, also obscured by trees.

June 11, 2020

While I have walked this section of the state trail and filmed the dedication ceremonies in 2016, all of that material is on the hard drives that are currently not in my possession. I'll be getting those back later this summer and fleshing out this section with more current material later this year,

For quite awhile, I did not notice the old masonry underneath the edge of this road bed... And I thought that the grade had been "cut" by the freeway, narrower than it once was. Yes, it is narrower than it once was, but not because of the construction of the interstate. It's actually narrower because the hillside on the left in the photo above has been slowly sliding down, burying the old highway...

Cabin Creek Falls

CLICK HERE for more information on CABIN CREEK FALLS

Heading into the current Starvation Creek State Park parking area, the old route becomes indecipherable until it is picked up again with the State Trail on the other side of Starvation Creek.

CLICK HERE to continue exploring the highway