Slippery Ford to Strawberry on the Lincoln Highway, part 5

We have explored the Slippery Ford area on our eastward journey on the Lincoln Highway from Stateline to Placerville in part 4 of our El Dorado County Lincoln Highway adventure here. The Slippery Ford area is rich in history, and if you like hiking, it’s a great trip from Lover’s Leap campground to the Slippery Ford parking lot. If you are going to walk in both directions, we recommend starting at Lovers Leap campground and heading uphill first, then returning with the downhill, making it a bit easier to finish. The other option would be two cars with one parked at your destination. The walk is medium difficulty, though in the summer it can become scorching. The gravel roadbed has eroded in some areas making it difficult to walk over the small loose gravel.

Swan-Henry Toll Road and Lincoln Highway looking east.

The photo above shows a boulder that has fallen into the roadbed. We are a few hundred yards from the Slippery Ford Trail parking lot at Twin Bridges. This part of the old roadbed is easy to walk as it is not very steep. A forested area behind the photographer, a hundred yards or so, provides some welcome relief from the summer sun.

Pretty soon, we come to a wonderful rock which has been marked by old-time travelers. What era did they write this? We don’t know, but the Pony Express, Swan-Henry Toll Road, and the 1913 Lincoln Highway passed by this very rock. Someone wanted to record their passage through this historic route.

Register Rock on the Pony Express Trail, Swan-Henry Toll Road, and Lincoln Highway.

Heading down the old road a bit, we can see off to our right and below a rock building lacking a roof. At some point in the 1930s, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) built this as a ski hut. Apparently, it was never finished or used. You can head down and check it out from the trail.

Ski Hut built by the CCC in the 1930s. Never used. We are looking north.

A bit further on, we come to the Slippery Ford House site, a boarding house and supply stop for travelers in the 1860’s. This spot is amazing as there is literally nothing left of this old place other than debris, which should be left in place as archeological evidence. It’s great fun to take the photo below and compare it to the site today.

1866 photo shows Slippery Ford House with teams outside. The team is headed up-hill, east, towards Slippery Ford. . Library of congress photo.

Below you will find a short video we made in 2018 at the Slippery Ford House site.

These historic photographs come to us from the Library of Congress, Lawrence & Houseworth Collection, made in 1866. Slippery Ford was famous enough they took many photographers of the area, including the Slippery Ford House. The photo below is interesting as it appears to shows the third building on site. We assumed from previous photos there were just two buildings.

From Slippery Ford House looking east on the old Swan-Henry Toll Road.

Looking at these old photos of Slippery Ford House, the first thing I notice is the roadbed's great condition. Today this road is often a jumble of rocks resembling a stream bed more than a road. This is due to erosion over the years, with water etching deeper into the ruts each year. In addition there is no road maintenance anymore, so nature is left to it’s own creation along this trail.

Monica standing in the middle of the badly eroded roadbed. You can see a old culverts sticking out of the ground. That is likely Lincoln Highway era pipe.

Monica's photo above shows how the roadbed has been eroded over the years, exposing the base, which consists of softball size and larger sized rocks. These sections of the road can be difficult to walk as every time you step the rocks move. You can see a Lincoln Highway era culvert sticking out of the ground.

Looking west towards Strawberry Valley from the Slippery Ford House, 1866. Look closely and you can see the wagons coming up the hill towards the house. Click photo for larger view. Photo from Library of Congress.

Monica and a blasted rock.

As we travel these 19th Century roads in the Sierra Nevada, we often come across these rocks with a star-shaped pattern. These rocks were just too big to move, so the road builders blasted them, making the roadbed level. Dirt would then be graded on top of the rocks to make a smooth surface for travel. That’s why many of these roads were toll roads, to pay for the ongoing maintenance.

A rock showing the star shaped pattern from blasting.

We are approaching our destination near Strawberry, and there is one more historic obejct to enjoy, Monks Rock. Hank Monk was quite famous in his day for being a devil may care stage driver, who held records for his speed of travel. It’s said that one night, when stage traffic would travel the less crowded roads, he hit his head on this rock while speeding to his destination.

Monk’ Rock, on which the famous stage drive Hank Monk hit his head while driving his stagecoach team up the Slippery Ford Trail. Photo from the Library of Congress. Click the photo for a closer version.

We have looked at Monk’s Rock trying to envision how he managed to get close enough to actually hit it. Still can’t figure it out, but it’s a great story about a big old rock, of which this area abounds.

Monks Rock.

Just past Monk’s Rock, headed west towards Strawberry, the end of the hike is the Lovers Leap Campground. This campground is usually filled with rock climbers who find it thrilling to climb up the sheer side of Lovers Leap. Lover’s Leap Campground is only a short 1/4 mile from Strawberry. There is day-use parking at the campground.

Lover’s Leap Campground at Strawberry.

Now that we’re done hiking down the Slippery Ford Trail we’ll take a look around the Strawberry area in our next episode of our Lincoln Highway Adventure in El Dorado County.

Map of area showing key features. Click map for larger view.

Google Earth view looking east.This 3D view shows the topography of the area well. Click map for a closer view.

Echo Summit to Slippery Ford on the Lincoln Highway southern route, Part 3

Leaving Echo Summit on the old Lincoln Highway we continue our adventure west. Johnson Pass Road was the old highway, passing by the road to Echo Lake on the right. It was here that the American House roadhouse once stood during the 1800s. Later during the 1920s and 30s Echo Portals stood here. This was a resort with food and lodging as well as Echo Summits first rope tow for skiing. This resort went out of business with the arrival of the Great Depression in the early 1930s.

The early transcontinental driver making their way across the country might have used “strip maps” to guide them on their journey. In the above photo, we see one such “strip” of maps, which were originally produced by the Southern California Auto Association and is currently housed in the Library of Congress.

The California section from a strip map of the Lincoln Highway, 5th edition. Click map for a larger view.

In the above photo, we can see the California map that was part of the “strip maps” series showing the entire country. The above map is the California section of the maps. This map showed the 1913 Lincoln Highway route heading south from Sacramento towards Stockton and the Altamont Pass. In 1928 the Carquinez Bridge near Martinez was opened, and the newer, faster route was drawing in red by someone on the above map. You still would need to take a ferry from Berkely to San Francisco.

Phillips Station, just before it burned down around in 2019.

After passing the site of Phillips Station, and old stage stop and roadhouse, we come to Sierra Springs Road off to the right. As we can see in our Lincoln Highway interactive map, that road was the Lincoln Highway! Keep your eyes open for California “C” monuments, indicating this was a state highway. We have yet to find any, so maybe you’ll be the first! Go here to find out about “C” Monuments. Let us know if you find one, or two.

Edelweiss Ski Hill along Highway 50.

Just beyond the Sierra Springs alignment, we come to Sayle’s Flat, home of Camp Sacramento. The City of Sacramento has leased this land since the 1920s for recreation. Across from Camp Sacramento once stood Edelweiss, a small ski resort that once was the home of Spyder Sabich, a world-class skier. The above photo shows the ski resort in the 1950s. Eventually, low snow years and changing habits of skiers forced the closure of this place.

Looking towards Sayles Flat from the old Edelweiss Ski Resort Hill. Camp Sacramento is just out of view at left. You can see me lower left looking at the Trails West “T” Marker.

The original 1913 alignment of the Lincoln Highway often followed the old emigrant trails in these parts. As witnessed by the Trails West Association “T” marker just downhill from the Edelweiss site, this is no exception. This is the course of Johnson’s Cut-Off trail, which guided early travelers of the 1950s and 60’s down the mountain and across the American River at a place called “Slippery Ford.” We will discuss that extraordinary place in our next blog post following the southern route (Pioneer) of the Lincoln Highway.

Map showing location and features. Click map to see larger version.

The Lodge at Echo Summit, Lincoln Highway, Part 6

The early autoist would have finally reached Johnsons Pass after climbing up the steep Meyer’s Grade from the Tahoe Valley floor. These old autos would need supplies like water and oil once they reached the summit, as they were constantly leaking or burning up fluids. Fortunately, entrepreneur TC Wholbrick had built an early service station and food stop that he called a “Canteen.” We have talked about TC and his Canteens here. While there had been a small forest service cabin, TC added to it, creating the building we see in the above photo.

Inside of the Echo Summit Lodge and Canteen.

Above is a rare photograph of the inside of the Echo Summit Canteen. Everything seen in the photo was handmade by TC. Some of the furniture is inside the present Alpine Club Lodge, which occupies the site today.

The view from the Echo Summit Canteen, looking east.

While enjoying a break from the road, you could head to the deck in the back and check out the magnificent view, as seen above.

Once your supplies were purchased, you started back down the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. If you were a transcontinental autoist, having left New York weeks ago, this was your final mountain challenge on your way to San Francisco. The sign pictured below was just 100 yards beyond the Canteen, a popular spot to photograph your passengers and auto.

Summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Johnson’s Pass, Echo Summit, El Dorado County.

In the photo below, we look back at the lodge as we head down the west slope of our journey on the Lincoln Highway. You can see a Lincoln Highway sign in the tree on the right.

Looking east at the Echo Summit Lodge and Canteen.

Below is the official Lincoln Highway map showing the location and features. To see the entire interactive map, go here.

Map showing locations. Click the map for a larger view.

Meyers Grade to Johnson's Pass, Lincoln Highway in El Dorado County, Part 4

We have been discussing the route of the original 1913 Lincoln Highway through El Dorado County, and with our last post, we started the climb from the Lake Tahoe Valley floor up Meyers Grade towards Johnson’s Pass. The photo above shows an automobile making the climb from where I believe the present Highway 50 passes. There are only a few flat spots along the grade, and one such spot is where Meyer’s Grade Road passes over the present-day freeway. In the map below, we show where this photo, #1, was taken. When the present freeway was built, some of the original section of the last climb up to the pass was destroyed. We believe the car is where the present-day freeway passes.

Click map for larger view!

This section from Highway 50 up to the pass was considered the last major obstacle on the way to the promised land of California. This is likely the steepest ascent yet, and you can still drive this section! Imagine trying to pull with oxen a wagon full of your goods up and over this section. Early automobiles would often break down, trying to navigate this last section and call for help from the Celio Ranch, in Meyer’s. In the photo below, we see the 1919 Army Convoy members being assisted by a caterpillar tractor.

1919 Army Convoy on Meyers Grade getting an assist from a Caterpillar tractor.

The photo below is a TC Wohlbrück photo showing his car in about the same spot as the photo above with the Army Truck. At this point we are almost at the summit, maybe less than a quarter of a mile away. Imagine driving this dirt road after rain!

A Theodore Wohlbrück photo from a few later than the Army Convoy photo at the same hairpin turn.

Once you reached the top of the pass after 1922, you would be greeted by a Canteen Service Station run by Theodore Wohlbrück. There you could pick up supplies, get water for the radiator, and have a bite to eat while enjoying the spectacular view. In our next El Dorado County Lincoln HIghway post, we will look at that Canteen service station and the summit pass.

The view looking east towards Lake Tahoe from Johnson’s Pass.

The Lincoln Highway at Meyer's, El Dorado County Part 3

Traveling from the Trout Creek Bridge, we are headed west towards the town of Meyer’s. Along the way, our Lincoln Highway map has a small truck icon along the road. Clicking the icon, we find that this was the route used in 1919 by the US Army convoy traveling from Washington DC to San Francisco.

Click map for closer view!

This convoy was an attempt by the US Army to see if it could transport men and machines across the country on the new Transcontinental Lincoln HIghway. In 1919 it was still a novelty to drive across the country, and while the convoy made it, the trip was fraught with breakdowns, poor bridge crossing, deep mud, and sand. Along for the trip was Armored Corps representative, Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a 28-year-old officer, and future President of the United States.

Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Photo: National Archives

There is a video record of some of the trip at the National Archives', which can be found here. When the convoy reached Meyer’s, the pioneering Celio Family, who owned much of the small town, threw a huge celebration and BBQ for the soldiers. The convoy then made the trip up Osgood’s Grade and over Johnson’s Pass.

Looking at the map above, we can see the old Osgood’s/Meyer’s Grade up to Echo Summit is closed through traffic. It’s now a popular and very steep trail on a paved surface., where we see Monica making the climb in the photo below. This was the grade everyone used to get to the south Tahoe area for 80 years, until the 1930s when the present freeway was built.

Auto’s leaked fluids much more in days’ gone by. You can see the oil streak on the road. The Celio Ranch is marked with an arrow. This is their ranch along South Upper Truckee Road. Click the photo for a closer view.

The photo above was taken by TC Wohlbrück and showed the grade looking east. This is the same section we see Monica walking on in the photo below. TC Wohlbrück was an entrepreneur who built some of the first gasoline service stations and “rest stops” in the Sierra, which he called Canteens. He built one at the top of this grade, Johnson’s Pass, and it still stands today. You can read more about TC here. We will talk about that on our next post along the El Dorado County Lincoln Highway route.

Monica walking up Osgood’s Grade, now closed to traffic.

A 1923 alignment of the Lincoln Highway found

Traveling east on Highway 50, just past Pacific House in El Dorado County, is this welcome sign for the Eldorado National Forest. You can see in the background a frontage road that seems to disappear into the present freeway at both ends.

In the above photo, we see Monica walking on this frontage road, headed east. You can see our truck off in the distance parked next to the welcome sign.

The above map shows the Lincoln Highway in blue, or at least where we thought it went. In red, we have drawn this newfound route. You can see Peavine Ridge road at the left and to the right Bridal Veil Falls.

What makes finding these “lost alignments” fun is when there is some way for us to ID the exact date when the road was finished. We lucked out here as we spotted a culvert passing under the found road. We check these culverts closely as the sometimes are dated, and this one was! You can see 1923 imprinted upon the top portion of the culvert. This likely means the section of road we are looking at replaced the original alignment of the Lincoln Highway developed in 1913. We will head back and see if we can find the original route, likely tucked into the hill.

We will submit this newly found route to the Lincoln Highway Association cartography department so they can update the official map.

Lincoln Highway alignment found near Fresh Pond

While heading east following the Lincoln Highway route past Fresh Pond, we turned left on Outer Limits Road, then a quick right on to Dubasary Lane headed towards the Ranger Station. As is often the case in California's mountains, the Lincoln Highway's old 1913 route diverges from today’s Highway 50 freeway winding its way around the contours of the hills. In the early part of the 20th Century, equipment like a steam shovel was unavailable, so the roads couldn’t be cut into the hills like they were in subsequent years. Often the Lincoln Highway would follow older wagon roads and emigrant routes. Here is no exception as this route follows the old Johnson Cut-Off Trail from the mid-1800s.

Map showing location. Click map for larger view.

Just down Dubasary Ln., we came upon a section of the old road complete with a white centerline, which you can see in the photo at the top of the page. We tried to follow it, but Highway 50 is just to the right, and during its construction in the 1950s, the old road was covered with rock, making access impossible.

Traveling a bit further down Dubassary Lane, we spotted a “C” monument, also known as a “right-of-way” monument. These concrete structures were used by the highway department to signify the state-owned roadway. Typically they were placed about 15 feet from the edge of the state highway, with an imprinted letter “C” facing the road. The “C” stands for California. Nevada has its own monuments with the letter “N.” This marker had no “C” visible, so we jumped out of the car and investigated.

Trey pointing to the “C” monument with no visible “C”.

While the monument had no visible “C” from Dubasary Lane, there was a “C” imprinted on the opposite side, which indicates the old road was on the other side of the chain-link fence. Now the old route started to make sense. The old Lincoln Highway was closer to the newer Highway 50 than previously thought.

The hidden “C”.

It was hard to get this photo as the chain-link fence made it impossible to walk around. The “C” is clearly visible and indicating the roadbed edge was 15 feet on the other side of the fence. In the following photograph, our car is parked, facing west at the site of the monument. We can see how far the old road is from Dubasary Ln., about 15 feet past the fence at left.

Below is the official Lincoln Highway map showing a satellite view of the area. I have shown some of the features and drawn in red the found route of the old Lincoln Highway.

Map showing the found route and some other features. Click map for larger view.

We can surmise that with the modern Highway 50 in the 1950s, the older road was destroyed. It was too close to the new highway, so it was moved away from the freeway and given the name, Dubasary Lane. This newly found route will be presented to the Lincoln Highway Association cartographers for approval and addition to the official map found here.

The Lincoln Highway was America’s first coast-to-coast highway for automobiles. When first planned it followed roads already in place. Here in California's mountains, the old road often followed the older wagon and emigrant trails from the 1800s. Here is no exception as just across Dubasary Lane from the “C” monument is a “T” monument put up by the Trails West organization. It mentions that this is part of the Johnson Cut-Off Trail from the 1850s. Down in the American River Canyon from here was the Bartlett Bridge, which predates the famous Brockliss Bridge. The wooden Bartlett Bridge was destroyed by flood on March 7th, 1855, and replaced with the stone Brockliss Bridge a few miles upriver. We couldn’t find a drawing of the Bartlett Bridge but found this one of the Brockliss Bridge, which the Pony Express used during its incarnation.

Brockliss Bridge over the American River by Edward Vischer. Toll House at right.

Often we find ourselves at some special location in history that even pre-dates the old Lincoln Highway. The old road spans the time from horse and buggy and the new-fangled automobile.

The Lincoln Highway is your road to adventure.

The Lincoln Highway from Fry Creek to Milestone 29

Tuesday found Monica and I venturing into the Eldorado National Forest, searching the Lincoln Highway's old southern route between Fry Creek and Milestone 29. This is a fantastic section of old roadbed that has, for years, been buried under an accumulation of forest debris and erosion. We hiked this portion before, but the road/trail was blocked by manzanita and other plants, making it nearly impossible to travel farther.

Great news, as the forest has been cleared for fire prevention. All the growth that had hindered our progress has been removed, making for an easy hike. Most exciting is many hundreds of yards of rock retaining wall has now been exposed after over 100 years. Let's take a walk and we’ll show you what we have found.

Iron piece on the west side of Fry Creek.

In the photo above, I’m looking at one of the first objects we found, a California “C” Monument, which was used to designate the state’s road boundaries. What is fascinating is there is no “C” printed on the block. There is only one other time we have found these markers with no letter “C” embedded in it. The marker indicates that our official map may be changed to show this previously unknown loop of the old road.

A hundred yards or so from the “C” Monument, the old road crossed Fry Creek. The only evidence of a bridge is iron sticking out of the granite on the west side, and a retaining wall on the east side.

The photo above shows the small retaining wall, on the opposite side from the iron piece, hidden behind some bushes. The photo below shows the site looking west accross Fry Creek. There must have been a bridge here.

The photo below shows the road just a few hundred yards east of Fry Creek, where we came upon this beautiful stone retaining wall. We don't know the year these walls we built. The Lincoln Highway was designated in 1913, but this road is older than that. This was California’s first wagon road, designated in 1895, predating the automobile, so the walls could have been built during the 19th Century.

The photo below shows some of the clearings that have exposed this long retaining wall. We were quite impressed with the length and height of some of these walls. Truly expert craftsmanship to have withstood over 100 years of neglect.

Below we see one of the longer walls and the piles of manzanita that have been cleared. This wall was completely hidden from view before this recent clearing. Below is one of the longer retaining walls we came upon. Notice the piles of manzanita bushes that have been cut out, exposing this once hidden wall.

A little further on, we came upon a stream crossing and a terra cotta pipe passing under the roadbed. We have seen rock and metal culverts before, but never terra cotta or clay. Quite unusual.

Monica is holding a portion of the clay pipe we found laying around. It’s quite thick and heavy.

Still, further on, we came upon a stream crossing and another terra cotta pipe passing under the roadbed. In the photo below, we have walked a bit further east and found another pipe. Check out the size of that Terra Cotta pipe emerging from under the roadbed. It was in such good condition we wondered if it was a recent replacement. Nothing else has been repaired along this stretch of Lincoln Highway, so we assume this is an original culvert. Why clay was used in this particular situation, we do not know.

Below is a photo closeup of the pipes double-layered construction. The outer white layer is quite hard. Not sure what type of material it’s made from.

We are just about through with our hike and we can see Monica walking east on the old road towards our destination, Milestone 29 off Highway 50.

With the recent clearing having been done this stretch of the historic road is easily hiked. The retaining walls are extensive and easily spotted now with the clearing. Lot’s of bear scat around so it’s best to walk this during the daylight before dusk, lest one come upon a furrier traveler on the old road.

Monica heading east near Milestone 29.

Below is a map showing the location of our adventure. We started near Fry Creek at the left and followed the blue line towards Milestone 29 on the right. Very little of this section of the old road is visible from Highway 50.

Click map to see a larger version.

Below is a map showing the two routes of the Lincoln Highway through the mountains of California. Our adventure this time is on the southern route in El Dorado County.

Click map to see a larger version.

Johnson's Pass on the Lincoln Highway

T.C Wohlbrück took this 1920s photograph of the Echo Summit Lodge at Johnson’s Pass, El Dorado County. Wohlbrück was not only a photographer but was an entrepreneur as well. He was one of, if not the first person to set up what we would call today, gas station mini-marts. He called them “Cantina’s,” and he had three of them to his name. The first one built at Emigrant Gap, the second he established in 1922 at Echo Summit, and the third at Donner Memorial Park in Truckee.

The spectacular view from the lodge veranda.

In the early days of automobile travel, cars were unreliable and needed regular water, oil, and gas supplies. As more people ventured out exploring the summit areas in their autos, T. C. saw an opportunity to supply travelers with the necessities for their automobiles, food, and souvenirs. This spot, which was historic as the summit of Johnsons' Pass on Meyers Grade, made a great stop to get supplies and admire the spectacular view of Lake Tahoe. Wohlbrück offered food, rooms, cabins, souvenirs, and postcards which featured his photography.

A close up of the proceeding photograph shows the signs attached to a directional device. “Please Register at Lodge” and “Make your postcards from the top of the world, Echo Summit…”

The photograph shows the lodge as approached from the west. Immediately after the lodge, the road drops down a steep and twisting portion of Meyers Grade towards Lake Tahoe. While looking at the photograph through a magnifier, I noticed the sign on the right, which is a Lincoln Highway sign, guiding the traveler along the "highway."

When the State of California built the Highway 50 expressway, it bypassed this historic spot for the current route around Echo Summit. The business soon declined, and in 1952 The Alpine club purchased the lodge and still runs it today. There is a new Lincoln Highway sign, which still stands, attached to the building by the stairs.

A closer view of the Lincoln Highway sign.

Found! 1923 alignment of the Lincoln Highway.

Just past Pacific House on Highway 50 Monica and I recorded a section of old roadbed that we believed was at the old Highway 50, and possibly the Lincoln Highway. There is an easy to pull off turnout at the Eldorado National Forest sign where we started to hike the old roadbed.

Monica on the roadbed. We are facing west. Highway 50 to the right and below.

Headed east we were able to walk about 300 yards where the road drops downhill and seems to merge onto the present freeway. Across the highway, we could see where the trail again continued, so we were confident this was the old highway.

We then walked as far as we could west, to just about 50 yards past the Eldorado National Forest sign. There is a large amount of debris piled there so that we couldn't go further. Headed back down to the truck we walked just a few yards up the expressway where Monica spotted a concrete culvert going under the old roadbed.

Map showing where the alignment is, red line.

We decided to get a closer look at the culvert to see if there were any markings on it. Walking down towards the entrance, I could see numbers stamped into the top portion of the culvert. There, under some moss that had grown on the top, was the date, 1923. This road was the Lincoln Highway! The Lincoln ceased to exist as a name when the freeways were given numbers in 1928, in this case creating Highway 50.

So, all in all, it was a productive day spent looking for and finding an old alignment of The Lincoln Highway in the Eldorado National Forest.