[pct-l] Bridge of the Gods

[Wayne Kraft]

The bridge crossing the Columbia River at Cascade Locks belongs  
eternally to God, of course, but its temporal caretaker is the Port  
of Cascade Locks, a tiny municipal organization with a limited  
budget.  The Port of Cascade Locks has managed to keep the 1926-built  
structure maintained and safely serviceable since purchasing it with  
revenue bonds in 1961.  It seems like the measly fifty cent toll  
asked of pedestrians crossing the bridge would be considered a  
bargain by most folks, but apparently some thru-hikers object even to  
this. Well, there are alternatives.  You could ford the river. It is  
only about 1800 feet or so across and you do have to watch the  
currents, the grain barges and the gill nets, but you are out for  
adventure, are you not?  You could also take an alternative route to  
avoid the toll.  You could do a road walk to Biggs and cross the  
Columbia there for free.  It's only about 120 miles extra and it  
saves you fifty cents.  Actually, I'd recommend you take the Herman  
Creek Trail from Wahtum Lake down to the river.  That will cut, oh,  
two or three miles off the road walk. Or maybe we could get the PCTA  
to build us a new "free" bridge.  I hear it would cost about $26  
million to replace the bridge, so I guess our memberships would cost  
a bit more. Of course, we could probably build a cheaper bridge  
suitable only for pedestrian traffic.  A sort of Bridge of the Lesser  
Gods.  As for me, I cross the BOG every once in a while and I've  
always considered it sort of a privilege to chip in my small  
contribution to the Port of Cascade Locks' expenses, but that's just  
me, I guess.

Wayne Kraft