South End of Shoshoni National Forest

As we approached the holiday of July 4th, we needed to find a “home base” for rest and relaxation. During this heightened period of vacationing campers, we were fortunate to find a place in a federal forest campground at an altitude of 8500+ feet, about an hour south of Yellowstone, in the Shoshoni National Forest…oh how we love these US forest service campgrounds! As you might recall, Yellowstone was the Nation’s first national park and Shoshoni was the Nation’s first National Forest.

Also, on our way to our campground, we passed a roadside monument called Hack Monument. Out of curiosity, we stopped for a look/see. More to follow on this in our photographs below.

A short hike from our campsite.
A view from our campsite.
A view of the Grand Tetons from Jackson Lake, just south of the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
Hack Monument was a tribute to those hardy men who felled the timbers and cut the ties that were an integral part of building a railroad. While this particular monument honors those who helped build the Chicago and North Western Railway, as well as those hard-working me and their families whose sweat and toil contributed to the First Transcontinental Railroad linking our country from coast to coast!
The use of the word “Hack” comes from the name “Tie Hack” given to the men who would “hack” ties from felled timbers. As you can imagine, it was a very dangerous job.
The next several photographs are taken from the Hack Monument site
An early photograph was taken of a Tie Hack shaping a log from a felled tree. Several ties can be made from this one log. One wonders how many suffered foot and leg injuries.
A period photograph of loggers maneuvering logs as they float downstream. Logs were typically felled in the winter and floated downstream when the spring floods swelled rivers, enabling the movement of massive numbers of logs. This was a very dangerous occupation, resulting in numerous injuries and frequent deaths.
This current-day photograph depicts a portion of a slough that would be used to help transport the logs downstream when the transporting stream/river could not handle the number of logs. This photograph is included to help visualize the following photograph.
Another period photograph. This photograph is particularly hard to visualize due to its poor quality. Recall how the previous photograph showed a portion of a slough? Well, the structure from the lower left to the upper right is a continuous slough that carried logs over what appears to be a deep ravine. The two light lines on the left are the sides of the slough. The center darkness is water flowing along the slough.
This panorama shows the current-day path of the river as it meanders along. In the 1800s, we suspect the early spring floods would transform this river into a raging torrent.
Posted in 2021 - The West...More Yet to Discover
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  • SherilynSo interesting!!!ReplyCancel

    • HaroldThanks, Sherilyn. Most pleased you like it. ReplyCancel

  • Mary NashBeauriful scenery for your birthday HB. Have a great one.
    Love you, Mary and WeldonReplyCancel

    • HaroldThanks for the bb wishes. Yes, scenery is great. ReplyCancel

  • LisaWonderful photos!  Absolutely stunning scenery.  ❤️❤️❤️ReplyCancel

    • HaroldThankx, Lisa. The scenery in this part of the US is outstanding!ReplyCancel

  • Sherry MaskAbsolutely beautiful pictures and history lessons!ReplyCancel

    • HaroldThankx, Sherry. We re most pleased you are following. How’s the temp in Jefferson?ReplyCancel

  • Sandra SpencerHappy Birthday! It is 12:01 so I am officially 76! Hope your birthday was great! Your pictures and comments are awesome!ReplyCancel

    • HaroldSandra, congrats on you bb. Two more years and you catch up with me 🤩. ReplyCancel

  • mao  I am enjoying your RR  history. My grandfather was a bridge builder for the Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis RR called The Milwaukee Road in the late 1860/70s. I still have his rr pass.  Happy Birthday, Harold. Your campgrounds are so gorgeous. What views!ReplyCancel

    • HaroldMAO, leave it to you to have a relative somehow associated with our travels. Thank for the bb wishes. ReplyCancel

  • MARDEE DESSOMMES  Well here’s a new place to add to my bucket list… Thanks so very much for sharing your travels!!ReplyCancel

  • Peter WalshWere there tripod holes for the Jackson lake Tetons shot?   ReplyCancel

    • HaroldPJ, great photographers don’t need tripods, cameras, or scenery…just imagination…which I don’t have 🙁ReplyCancel