On our
way to Star Valley Wyoming (Just shy of Jackson Hole) we found a disappointing amount of
year-round caches. So we created a couple virtual caches of our own!
Beginning in 1843, emigrants
traveled across the continent along what became known as the Oregon Trail. Increased
traffic during the 1850s resulted in the first government road construction project
in the west. The 345 mile Central Division of the Pacific Wagon Road went from South Pass,
Wyoming, to City of Rocks, Idaho, a geologic formation, which marked the Divisions
western boundary. Superintendent Fredrick W. Lander of Salem, Massachusetts, supervised
construction for the U.S. Department of the Interior. The 256 mile section of the road
leading from South Pass to Fort Hall, Idaho, is known as the Lander Cut-off. The cut-off
traversed this Salt River Valley for 21 miles and parallels Highway 89 through this area.
The new route afforded water, wood, and forage for emigrants and their stock. Between 1858
and 1912, it provided travelers with a new, shorter route to Oregon and California, saving
wagon trains seven days. Lander, with a crew of 15 engineers, surveyed the route in the
summer of 1857. The following summer, 115 men, many recruited from Salt Lake Citys
Mormon emigrants, constructed the road in less than 90 days at a cost of $??,???. The
invention of the automobile led to its abandonment.
To claim this virtual cache, email
me the cost of this road.
Remember, please don't put your answers in the log (not even decrypted answers) |