The Value Of A Shortcut

The Value Of A Shortcut (HM20LB)

Location: Soda Springs, ID 83276 Caribou County
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Country: United States of America
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N 42° 38.866', W 111° 42.12'

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Inscription

Hudspeth's Cutoﬀf

When they left the main trail leading to Fort Hall, emigrants heading to California thought that Hudspeth's Cutoff would save them considerable time and miles in the race to the gold fields. To their surprise, they were still in Idaho's Raft River drainage when they again encountered the main trail. They had saved about 25 miles, but the route crossed over four mountain ranges and consumed more time than they would have by following the established trail. Even so, the cutoff soon became the route of choice for most emigrants.
If you were traveling by covered wagon in the 1850s, would any of the following factors have influenced your choice of routes?
· The main trail had a number of difficult crossings - especially over bluffs and getting to water along the steep cliffs of the Snake River.
· While there was wood along the Hudspeth, it was mainly sagebrush on the Fort Hall route, and the emigrants preferred wood for cooking.
· Grazing opportunities for oxen were more plentiful on the Hudspeth and in most years water was reasonably available.
· Then too, there is the American disposition for taking shortcuts, especially if it meant that the would be able to get ahead of others and reach California first.
When the Applegate Route from Humboldt, Nevada to Dallas, Oregon opened in the fall of 1846,
Oregon bound emigrants were able to chose an alternative to floating down the Columbia River. A few years later, Hudspeth's Cutoff made this option even more appealing.

Details

HM Number	HM20LB
Tags	Roads and Vehicles, Early Settlers
Placed By	Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Marker Condition	No reports yet
Date Added	Wednesday, August 9th, 2017 at 10:01pm PDT -07:00

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Locationbig map

UTM (WGS84 Datum)	12T E 442455 N 4721939
Decimal Degrees	42.64776667, -111.70200000
Degrees and Decimal Minutes	N 42° 38.866', W 111° 42.12'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds	42° 38' 51.96" N, 111° 42' 7.1999999999998" W
Driving Directions	Google Maps
Area Code(s)	208
Which side of the road?	Marker is on the right when traveling South
Closest Postal Address	At or near 1501-1599 Soda Point Power Plant Rd, Soda Springs ID 83276, US
Alternative Maps	Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap