[pct-l] Bridge of the Gods

[Stephen]

Hahahahahahaha, I fell out of my ever lovin chair on that one ! 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne Kraft" <wayneskraft at comcast.net>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 9:28 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Bridge of the Gods


> 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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