Iron Goat Trail: Milepost 1712

Milepost 1712 in 2002. Photo by Cliff West.

View from near milepost 1712 looking east in 2000.

This view from the trail near Milepost 1712 looking east shows U.S. Highway 2 along the side of Cowboy Mountain to the right. I believe the mountain in the background is Big Chief Mountain.

View from near milepost 1712 in 2000 showing the old and new highways.

This picture shows the difference in elevation between the old U.S. Highway 2 and the present U.S. Highway 2. The old highway, now a forest service road, can be seen in the valley in the bottom third of the picture. The new highway is on the ridge visible through the trees in the center of the picture.

Concrete snowshed wall near Milepost 1712 in 2000.

There were two combination concrete-and-timber snowsheds in the area of Milepost 1712. The first was built in 1913 and was extended in 1915 and 1916 to a total of 1,532 feet. The east end of this snowshed was at milepost 1712.27. The concrete back wall still remains.

Concrete snowshed wall near Milepost 1712 in 2000.

View from near Milepost 1712 in 2000 showing the old and new highways.

Here is another picture, looking west, showing the difference in elevation between the old U.S. Highway 2 and the present U.S. Highway 2. The old highway can be seen in the valley in the bottom left corner of the picture. The new highway is on the ridge visible through the trees in the center of the left side of the picture. More mountain peaks can be seen in the distance.

Andrea looking up at a concrete snowshed wall near milepost 1712 in 2000.

The second combination concrete-and-timber snowshed was built in two stages in 1913 and 1915 and had a total length of 1,433 feet. The east end of this snowshed was at milepost 1711.87. This photo, taken at the west end of the concrete back wall of the snowshed, shows my sister Andrea looking up at the wall, illustrating just how tall these walls are.

Water cascading over a concrete snowshed wall near Milepost 1712 in 2000.

Concrete snowshed wall near Milepost 1712 in 2000.

View of Highway 2 from near Milepost 1712 in 2000.

This photo shows another view of U.S. Highway 2 across the valley. From this vantage point, the old highway is not visible through the trees.

View of concrete snowshed walls near Milepost 1712 from Highway 2 in 1994. Photo by Cliff West.

The concrete back walls of these snowsheds are visible from U.S. Highway 2. Before this section of the Iron Goat Trail was built, the view from the highway was the only easy way to view them. This 1994 view looking west from the highway shows the concrete walls and the valley below.

View of concrete snowshed walls near Milepost 1712 from Highway 2 in 1994. Photo by Cliff West.

This view is from a point further west on the highway looking east. The highway is at a lower elevation here, so the walls are more visible.

View of concrete snowshed walls near Milepost 1712 from Highway 2 in 1994. Photo by Cliff West.

From this viewpoint the highway is at about the same elevation as the old railroad route across the valley.

View of concrete snowshed walls near Milepost 1712 from Highway 2 in 1994.

This view looking east gives a sense of scale, showing the highway and the valley. The concrete walls are visible on the mountainside to the left near the center of the picture.

View of concrete snowshed walls near Milepost 1712 from Highway 2 in 1994.

Here is another view from further west on highway. From this viewpoint the old railroad route is at a higher elevation than the highway.

Continue to Concrete Snowshed…