MT HOOD ROAD CYCLING
Cycling The Devil's Backbone
If you like spending your mountain time in motion, the roads around Rainbow Trout Farm, Alder Creek, Sleepy Hollow and Marmot provide great scenic drives and cycling. The road passing directly through Marmot was once called “The Devil’s Backbone,” and was part of the toll route Sam Barlow established for Oregon Trail pioneers.
As you enjoy the expansive views and gentle twists and turns of these quiet roads, imagine rolling along in a covered wagon behind a yoke of oxen, wondering how much longer to Oregon City and the end of the trail.
To give you a comparison between then and now, by car it’s about 40 minutes to drive the 30 miles from Marmot to Oregon City – but a covered wagon did only 15 or so miles a day. What a difference!
September/October 2007
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(Most of the stories) in this issue were written by Andrée Larson. Andrée grew up in the Portland/Vancouver area. She earned an MA in Art History at the University of Oregon, and writes about the history and culture of people and communities. She’s spent time in Europe and on the East Coast, and says the Pacific Northwest is hands down the best place to live. She currently lives in Tacoma with her husband, an artist.
