The Dalles Chronicle August 18, 2002 page A12 Outdoor Recreation by Paul 'Skip' Tschanz, Chronicle Staff Laurel Hill, part of the old Barlow Trail, is about the shortest hike I know of -- but it certainly isn't short on interesting things to explore. The first surprise is that the trail starts out as a stone and earthen stairway climbing about 20 feet to an abandoned segment of the old Mt. Hood Loop Highway. This road was built in the early 1920s as an alternative to the Columbia River Highway. Some time in the 1950s this highway was rebuilt, leaving several isolated sections of pavement to be reclaimed by Mother Nature. At the top of the stairs follow the pavement a few hundred feet to the information signs at the bottom of the Laurel Hill Chute -- reportedly the single most difficult obstacle on the entire 2,000 mile Oregon Trail. Standing at the bottom of this rocky chute you might wonder how in the world the pioneers brought wagon and oxen down this cliff. Standing at the top of the chute you wonder more about their sanity. With oxen hitched to wagons loaded with everything they owned, these sturdy men and women went straight down the chute, at times cutting down full-size Douglas fir trees that they would rope to their wagons to slow the descent. I've been told you can still find trees with grooves in their trunks, showing where ropes were used to guide the wagons. Today, looking down the chute, I wouldn't even climb down myself -- let alone take a wagon carrying grandma over the edge. The path to the top of the cute is wide, well-maintained and doable for just about anyone in reasonable health. This is typical west side forest with a healthy population of maidenhair fern and rhododendron. This is a hike that is well worth revisiting in the spring if for nothing more than the annual explosion of rhododendron blossoms. At the top of the hill is a junction: to the right is a post with a Barlow Road marker, to the left is the top of the chute. On the trip to your car, spend a few extra minutes exploring the old Mt. Hood Loop Highway. It is now covered with blown-down trees, and forest duff is slowly but surely covering the asphalt. It won't be many years before this road will be just a memory. Laurel Hill Chute trailhead is on Highway 26, near milepost 50 -- a few miles west of Government Camp. the parking lot is almost microscopic, holding just two or three cars at a time. This hike goes through a historic area so please practice your Leave No Trace (LNT) Outdoor Ethics & Skills. The LNT tip for this hike is if you see something of historic nature, leave it where you found it. Skip Tschanz is a member of the Oregon Nordic Club and can be reached at otschanz@eaglenewspapers.com He writes a weekly column for The Dalles Chronicle. Written permission to reprint given by The Dalles Chronicle, The Dalles, Oregon. Copied and submitted by Earline Wasser "Don't judge each day by the harvest your reap, but by the seeds you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson Researching WASSER, GOAR, JOURNEY, HAMM, VINZANT, McNEAL, MATHIESON Member of Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society c/o The Dalles/Wasco County Public Library 722 Court Street The Dalles, Oregon 97058