You are standing on the 1884 River Wagon Road from Waugh (AKA Middle Creek) to Redding. This road cut down traveling distance and created a flatter, quicker, and more desirable route between Shasta and Redding, maiking it a six miles one way trip versees the nine plus mile trip between the two cities prior to 1884. The section of road from Shasta to Middle Creek was built in 1883 to haul frieght from Waugh to Shasta, because in 1883 the Central Pacific Railroad built tracks up the Sacramento River Canyon from Redding to service communities and states to the north. As part of the railroad deal Waugh became the frieght depot for Shasta, taking it away from Redding. Joseph Waugh also moved his lower ferry, which was located just north of the now Ribbon Bridge, just south of Middle Creek, so this road was also used for ferry traffic. There is also a Geo cache around the Waugh's Lower Ferry site just up the trail about 1/2 mile.
With all this being said, below your feet buried about 6 inches in the gravel are old wagon ruts created by wagons and stages traveling to and from Redding. The Wagon Ruts were recently covered over in the winter of 2023 to improve the road you are standing on for a fish habitat restoration project. There was a rock bridge over Salt Creek, but that was washed out in the last rain storms, so who knows maybe these wagon ruts will appear again in a few years. To see my video on the History of Waugh and the Wagon Ruts, here are some links.
The History of Waugh: https://youtu.be/J_zobsFqKJA
Wagon Ruts Covered Up; https://youtu.be/6gJt4xJfurc
Waugh's Ferry: https://youtu.be/vblShqCUy-w