Wyeth
Milepost 2016 - Section A
Old mile posts: 53 - 54
While there are not a lot of proven CRH fragments in this section, the two that are confirmed are pretty interesting, the Gorton Creek Bridge Fragment and the "Secret" Northern Fragment, west of Shellrock Mountain.
ODOT's planning documents for the State Trail provide a fairly comprehensive overview of the territory covered in this chapter.
This section starts with "a small section of original historic pavement and an original bridge over Gorton Creek." (ODOT, 2006) After this, the "Herman Creek Road terminates at the existing, undeveloped Lang State Park property... This open, grassy field provides an excellent trailhead and staging area." (ODOT, 2009)
Eventually, for several reasons including the desire of the USFS to utilize the land west of Gorton Creek and for better access to local hiking trails, I believe, the new trailhead would eventually be moved to the west.
From the end of the Herman Creek Road, later State Trail plans located the route along and old embankment fill just past the grassy field, noting "[t]he history of the embankment is not know at this time." (ODOT, 2010) This being an abandoned section of the HCRH is a possibility, but difficult to confirm or rule out with the sources I have available at this time.
A bit further east, after running along the freeway shoulder for some distance, the planned route of the trail rose up to "an old roadbed" that, in 2009, ODOT thought was "possibly Historic Columbia River Highway." Later documentation does not confirm this as being a fragment of the old road, and it may be another detour road bypassing construction of the interstate.
As with the earlier embankment fill, further research is required to confirm or rule out this abandoned grade.
From this grade, the plans for the State Trail had the route dropping back down to the freeway for "approximately 900 feet", before:
...heading south away from Interstate 84 generally following an existing regional utility (BPA) access road and passing several interesting building foundations. The trail follows along the top of a bank created during Interstate 84 construction then descends the slope to meet up with Interstate 84 at the base of Shellrock Mountain. (ODOT, 2009)
However, across the freeway from the access road lies the true star of this segment, the abandoned CRH fragment north of the I-84 and the UP tracks. Getting there is a bitch, and I am not going to tell you how to do it unless you have a boat. Please respect UP property and do not trespass on their right of way and. for the love of everything, keep everyone safe and alive by not doing anything stupid on I-84.
