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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 1915)
TTTE STTXT5AT O HTOONTAX. PORTLANT5, JUNE 6. 1915. HIGHWAY OF THREE NATIONS INVITES AUTOS OF TOURISTS Pacific Route From British Columbia Into Mexico Traversed as Early in Year, as April for Full Length but Rains Hamper Passage at Present. i . -J . . : ;; - .. - - ? ... a. . . ' ,.' . . . , 4 ' ": ' - '''' - - . '. --" 1 , VTmV'fttisffffl :- v :,.- nTTi 'IB - t S WM W - - -- t - vass&ts v v "r.-f,,- r& tfesivJ lu' r' rV v -v - c a -v.vlU - - . '-?'- A , running time, or lees time tUan ta ro- I f - I ntiirAl hv ti Snuthpm Pftnifle trains I IE . II I - - r -Ki.. 7. I) j9Sc04f;v. r- Ja.J. r r ."' r- i "T I 1 I I I I I I I I I ! 1 I t I r , . . 5 "I. ' " - j'i i I 1 I i 1 , J . Jf t i.,n.. i Mini ii T TT .. . 1. Tf:isit V ,. 4 ?rN. iro csry yr ii I I trains BY CUKSTIuR A. MOOHKS. THE 1'acific HiKhway. a. road of three nation that commences at Vancouver. British Columbia. Can ada, traverses three states of the Union. Washington. Oregron and California and 'winds up at Tla Juana. Met., beckons the transcontinental automobile tourist. The distances from Vancouver. B. C to the various cities are: To Seattlv, 17( miles; to Portland. 381 miles; to Siskiyou, on the California line, 710 miles; to San Francisco, 1170 miles by way of Vallejo. the direct route; or if one wishes to cross the Sacramento River at Tehama and tour the Sacra mento Valley, the distance is about 100 miles longer; to Paso Robles, 1324 miles: to Los Antreles, 1580 miles, and to San Ptro. 1707 miles. As early in the year as April the full linpth of this route was in good condition. A pathflndtna; party from the Howard Automobile Company left San Francisoo on April 4. comiif North over the Pacific Highway to the Call fornla line and proceeding through Ore gon over the Central Oreson Highway and on through Washington to Spokane in the eastern part of that state. From Spokane the party crossed to Seattle and later went north to Vancouver, B, C. The return trip from Vancouver. B. C. .was made over the Pacific High way through Seattle. Tacoma, Portland, Salem. Albany. Eugene, Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford. Ashland. Duns muir. Redding. Stockton and Sacramen to to San Francisco. Fast Tim Made mm Trip. To give tbr readers of The Oregon'.an first-hand Information on the condi tlon of the Pacific Highway in Oregon the writer rode with the pathfinding party for the full length of the high way In Oregon. Vhe Quickest way to describe the condition ot the roads on that leg of ' the trip is to report that we covered the entire 343.4 miles from Portland to good shape again. During the main Ashland In IS hours and 29 minutes ' portion of the Summer all of the main Southern Paclfl to cover the same distance. Does that sound ,11k the Paciflo Highway was impassable? To be sure the highway Is not at this time in as good condition as when we made the record-breaking trip. Oregon. in, company with nearly every other part of the United States,-has Just emerged from a severe rain' spell of nearly a month's continual duration. As result the Pacific Highway la not In satisfactory condition for its entire length. Reports Indicate that about IS miles of travel in the Pass Creek Canyon between Divide acd Toncalla are not appetising, and scrna of the road just this side of the California state line. where new work is being done prepara tory to the laying of pavement, has been pat somewhat "on the Frits' tem porarily. But the writer knows from the knowledge he obtained on the re cent pathfinding trip across the state that all sections of the Pacific High way in Oregon will be in good. If not fine condition after July 1. As little as a wt or sunsmne snouio give an surfaces a chance to dry out com pletely. Worst fMretckea la 'Waahlagtom. This same prediction should be tpr. plicable to muddy patches of the Paci fic Hishway in Washington and Cali fornia. As a matter of fact, the two worst stretches of the entire Pacifio Highway are in Washington between Kelso and the Oregon line and in Cali fornia between Dunsmulr and Redding, but it is regarded as certain that a cessation of rain coupled with sunshine and the work road crews will iron out these surfaces and make the trip one of pleasure from Alpha to Omega. In thinking of Oregon roads It should be considered that nearly all of them are of mud base. Consequently after a hard rain for a few days the roads are ma.ie Eluggish but during the Sum mer months a couple of days of pleas- . ant weather will place them back in roads are In good shape almost every gene. This route is aaid to be In better day. Special articles and road bulletins published elsewhere in this section give detailed information and data on all of the Pacific Highway and It will not be necessary to repeat that Information here. It might be well, however, tc Inform the tourist that two good high ways are available for travel between Portland and Salem, the state capital 63 miles south. Capitol Highway Preferred. The Paciflo Highway proper runs through Oregon City, New Era, Canby, Aurora, Hubbard and Woodburn, and another, known as the Capitol High way, on the west side of the Willamette River passing through Rex, Tigard, Newberg and way points. Except for a trying stretch between Rex and Tigard the latter highway Is regarded by most automobilUts as the preferable route, although it is the longer way. The contract has been let for the Improvement of this Rex-Tigard road and it is announced that the im proved road will soon be finished. From Salem it is also possible to di verge from the main Pacific Highway by shooting through Independence. Cor- vallis, Monroe and Junction City to Eu shape now than the regular Facmo Highway running: through Turner, Marlon. Jefferson. Albany, and on to Intersect with the other route just north of Junction City. In April we found the road from Sa lem to Eugene like a boulevard almost U of the way. Nor were any had stretches met between Eugene, Cottage, Divide. Yoncalla and Roseburg ex oept for about two miles of rough work In the Pass Creek Canyon. Bad Portion Eliminated. The former nasty chapter in the Cow Creek Canyon south of Roseburg has been made a thing of the past by a new road that has a good surface and a greatly reduced grade. There is not much cause far criticism between the southern terminus of the Cow Creek Canvon and Ashland and the last 20 miles lead in sr Into Ashland from Cen tral Point through Medford is paved with a standard hard-surface material. The remaining 20 miles between Ash land and the California line are being Traded nreliminary to pavement. For the full length of the racific Highway in Oregon the signboard facilities are adequate so that there is little nossibtlitv of getting off on "wild goose chases." Garages and hotel facilities en route are of the very best Some of the finest hotels in the state, outside of Portland, are located at ta lem, Albany, Eugene, Roseburg, Grants Pass. Medford and Ashland. The Pacific Highway is one of the most scenic routes imaginable. Nota ble among the chapters of beautiful scenery in Oregon are the Willamette River, Umpqua River and Rogue River valleys that cannot be excelled for river and farm landscapes. their environs the road was bad. Prom ises were made that the local authori ties will Improve these bad stretches, which can easily be done with the split log drag. Roads Belna: Coaetrveted. Between Ferndale and Belllngham imiulry should be made as to the best temporary road to follow on account of new construction making parts of both the meridian and northwest diag onal roads impassable. i South of Bcllingham the worst roads were encountered north- of Mount Ver- I non anc, especially in the vicinity of Al ger. All of the bad places can be easily remedied if the county authori ties will give them their attention. The trip from Bellingham to Seattle was made in seven hours and a half. The excellent road, from Mount Vernon into Seattle made up for the bad sections encountered. Through the efforts of the officials of the Pacific Highway Association the customs regulations between the United fctates and Canada have been so sim plified that no inconvenience is encoun tered In going from one country to the other. The customs officials are found on the docks and 20 minutes is ample time to make all arrangements to ship the auto by boat- to and from Victoria and Seattle. Speed la ResnUated. From Seattle to Tacoma there is a veritable boulevard. The 40 miles are paved with brick on a concrete base, with a few miles of warrenlte in King County. In Pierce County the hard surfacing is mostly concrete, which Is In excellent condotlon. This 40 miles is difficult to make in more than one hour and a half, the difficulty being the speed limit of 25 miles. However, It will be found that the authorities are so proud of their road that speed with safety is the ruling regulation. From Tacoma south through Olympla to Centralia and Chehalis the roads are excellent, the 60 miles to Chehalis being easily covered in two hours and a half or less. From Chehalis south to Port land the autolst Is advised to Inquire as to the best temporary road to Kel so. New construction has made the regular route Impassable in places, but detours are provided for and Kelso can be reached either by the way of To ledo or by way of Winlock. From Kelso it will be best for this season to ferry across the Columbia to Goble on the Oregon side. The run from Goble to Portland of 45 miles can be made in two hours or less. Later in the season it may be possible to travel the regular route of the Pacific High way south from Kelso through Kala ma, Carrolton and Vancouver. When this is possible the autoist will enjoy the miles of excellent concrete road that has been laid In Clarke County. An interesting sight Is the construction of the 31.750,000 Columbia River bridge between Vancouver and Portland. From Portland there is a choice of two routes south to Redding. Cal. The regular Pacific Highway route now has two bad stretches. About 0 miles from Divide to Yoncalla. in Northern Douglas County, are all but Impassable after a. heavy rain. Then the section from Dunsmuir to Redding. In Cali fornia, will be bad all ocaon. After a heavy rain it Is abominable. The California Highway Commission's signs read: "Dangerous but passable." From Redding on south to San Francisco it is "buggy riding." From Canyonvllle south the worst of the old canyon roads have been re placed with new county roads, so that Cow Creek Canyon la a thing of the past. From a point abont 14 milea north of Glendale an average time of, 20 miles an hour can be made into Central Point. In Jackson County the autoist Is re minded of the good roads way back la King and Pierce counties, in Washing ton. From Central Point south through Medford and Ashland there are 17 miles of hard-surfaced boulevard. The curves are easy and banked, so that a 25-milo speed seems walking. On this stretch are found nine and a quarter miles of perfect concrete road and seven and three-quarters of asphaltki concrete and warrenlte. Jacluon Road Is Fine. From Ashland south to the CalifoM nla line are 20 miles of excellent eartlt road. The old Siskiyou Mountain toll road, with its 30 per cent grades is no more. The new Pacific Highway built bv Jackson County has elimi nated all grade crossings and crosses the Sisklyous . on a 6 per cent grade. The curves are flat and the roadbed 24 feet in width. In one place the road ties a knot in Itself crossing over the Southern Pacific and itself on a beau tiful concrete bridge. From the California line south to Hornbrook. Slsson and Dunsmulr, 4 distance of 75 miles, the Pacific High way signs are followed. For stretches the new grade of the State Highway is followed and an average of 20 miles can be maintained. The recent heavy Tains, probably aided by the activities of Mount Las sen, destroyed the route from Duns mulr to Redding, via Kennett. So much of this road has been destroyed that it may not be available the rest of the season. We made the trip over the old Oregon road. In one day we mado 53.4 miles between Dunsmulr and th Wyndham ferry over the Pitt River near Baird Postoffice In 10 hours' run ning time. From the ferry there Is a SO per cent hill, known as "Bass' Hill." From the summit of this hill the 20 miles into Redding can be made in a little more than an hour. Our party was held up 20 hours at this ferry be cause of an inexperienced man acting as ferryman, who was afraid to cross when the river was three feet higher than ordinary. PACIFIC HIGHWAY GOOD AND BAD SPOTS LISTED Association Issues Bulletin of Condition Following Tour of Inspection - From California to British Columbia. r ((Extract From Official Pacific Hlshr Association Bulletin.) HE question in the mind of each member of this association must be: What of the roads from Brit ish Columbia through Washington, Ore gon and Northern California? This query is of importance not only to the autoist who desires te make the trip overland to San Francisco and San Diego, but it is of the utmost concern to every individual living in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The President and executive officers have Just completed a trip of inspec tion. Starting from Portland, a trip was first made to Vancouver and Victo ria, B. C, and return. Another trip was made from Portland up the Colum bia to Spanish Hollow and thence south to San Francisco over the Ceneral Ore gon Highway route, returning to Port land over the Pacific Highway proper. This trip was made solely for the in formation pf the traveling public In no sense could it be called a joy ride. An accurate and complete log was kept, from which a condensed schedule or re port has been taken. From Vancouver, B. C, there ia a splendid asphalt pavement for 15 miles to New Westminster. For the next 25 miles to Blaine, Wash., the road is in excellent shape except in the vicir ity of Cloverdale. Through Blaine and Ferndale and A c plug; We are distributors fop the celebrated line of AC Plugs that are used for regular equipment by more manufacturers than all other plugs put to gether. 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