The hardest part of the Oregon Trail emigrants’ journey was the descent. In addition to the swampy bogs and dense forests, there was the infamous Laurel Hill. The pioneers mistakenly called the rhododendrons that were clinging to the steep slopes “laurels.” In places the grade on Laurel Hill was 60%–more vertical than horizontal. Here the […]
The road building was slow. The emigrants had only axes and saws and only one grindstone in the entire company, therefore much of the clearing was done by burning. From mid-September through December, they battled their way through the thick timber of the Mountain’s southern flank. They realized they would not have time to finish […]
While traveling down the Columbia River on Sunday, November 3, 1805, Captain William Clark wrote in his journal: “The Fog so thick this morning that we could not see a man 50 Steps off, this fog detained us until 10 oClock at which time we Set out, accompanied by our Indian friends who are from […]
