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 […]
Autumn of 2020 marks the 175th Anniversary of the first attempted crossing of Mt. Hood’s Oregon Trail and the 173rd Anniversary of the first toll road—known as the Barlow Trail—over the Cascade Mountain Range. The Barlow Trail was the final overland link of the Oregon Trail that allowed emigrant travelers a cheaper, quicker but still […]