The Placer herald., 1860-08-11
Report of the Survey Of the Route of the
Placer County and Washoe Wagon

Placer County and Washoe Wagon
Road.
To the President and Directors of the Place,
County and Washoe Wagon Road Co:
GENrLExEN-In accordance with the nstruc
tlons received from you in the month Of June,
proceeded at once to make q preliminary survey
or wagon road to connect Sacramento, via Au-
Aurn, Forest Hill and Secret Springs, with the
new mining district Of Western Utah. Having
completed the survey, herewith beg to lay be.
lore you few OF the most important facts elicit
ed by it. The altitude of Auburn, and its dis
tance from Sacramento, having been ascertained
| from previous surveys, commenced by Measur-
ing the distance fom there to Secret Springs
at which Point graded road first becomes ne
cessary.
From Auburn to within four miles of Forest
Hill, the outline Of the road is undulatng; there
being, with the exception of the crossing of the
North Fork Of the American River, no hills of
any consequence to be overcome, and the grade
of the road across the river is such as to allow
six mule teams to haul their maximum load of
from 1000 to 5000 pounds over it, From the
North Star House, four miles below Forest Hill.
to Secret Springs distance of 20 miles, the
present road through Bakers Ranch, around the
bead of VOLCANO Canon at the Maintop and of El
Dorado Canon, near the Forks House, runs about
North East and is very direct in its general
course. 1t is so good natural road as not to be
Of some underbrush, and the removal of u few
rocks here and there. 1t has almost uniform
rise OF about 100 feet per mile, and is as good n
piece of road as could be made in the Sacramento
valley. The distance from Auburn to the Secret
Spring store, is Al miles and IL chains. At
Secret Springs the line of the survey leaves the
Emi grant Road and running around the South
side of the hill nearly on a level across the old
road at gap in the ridge between the main
North Fork of the American River, and one of
the branches Of Secret Ravine ut t2ns 26chs,
and thereby avoids an ascent and descent OF 400
feet made by the old road within 1t miles. The
grading Oh this piece of read is light, and the
material easy of excavation. At AIMS 26ch's,
an ascending grade of 4deg 1873 inches per rod
carried around the South side of Big Secret Hill
reaches at aims 43ch's gap beyond and 27g
feet lower than the summit of Secret Hill on the
old road. The excavation on this piece is OF
mixed character, the slate rock coming rather
near the surface, though as the transverse slope
varies from TO 25deg. seldom or never exceed
ing The latter road of the width propose to
make will seldom, except in few steep points
cut enough into the solid rock to require blasting,
and most or oil of these steep points can be
avoided by IL careful location. At Aims 43ch's.
the survey crosses the Old road, and, with an as
cending grade of 5, or l. deg rs inches per rod,
rises around the North side of small hill above
TadpOle Lake, at As miles reaches the centre of
the ridge, follows the road for l0ch's, and with
the sarle grade continued on the South side Of
the ridge, joins the old road at 45ms 2Gch's-
The ground on this piece is very favorable, the
transverse slope being from 5. to l5deg, and the
material light and loose. From here to 46ms
3Ochs, the survey follows the old road which can
by q small expense be materially Improved. At
At ms 30ch S cnmu,encps dnseanding grad" nf ?
or 6deg. inches around the South side o. the
hill to u gap at Al ms 26ch's the excavation in
this will be mixed earth and cement, as the
transverse slope is only TO l5deg. very little il
ANY of the solid cement will he touched at
Aims 26chs an ascending grade of 3. or l0deg.
IS inches carried around the South side OF the
ridge reaches Roberts Flat, at point near to
aud about 40 feet above the cabin, avoiding an
ascent and descent of 200 feet. From Roberts
Flat, Is chains of 3deg. ascending grade. and
from there level line around the South side OF
the hill, reaches q narrow backbone at 49m's
6Ochs, avoiding rise and fall Of 1870 feet.
At the beginning of June these last miles of
the oil road was covered With snow, to the depth
of or feet; but, the new line of survey avoids
it altogether. The ground is mixed eurth. ce-
ment, apd occasionally slate rock, the traverse
slope 10 or 25deg.-From 49m's 60chs, the cid
road does not need altering, but can be leveled
and improved at q small cost. At Inns 6Och's,
an ascending grade. of 3deg. for "A chains, and
then level around the South side of the ridge
joins the old road in gap at 53m's lOch's saving
rise and fall Of 400 feet. From 53m's 25chs a
descending grade of Al or IA deg. inches reach
cs a gap and joins the old road at 53m's 65chs.
This ground is all easy of excavation. From
53m's Techs, an ascending grade of 81 or 1ldeg,
inches reaches the road in gap ut 54m's 3Och's.
nearly level road with foil of 10 feet per
mile round the south side Of the ridge will avoid
several asccmts and decents o. from 200 to 500
feet each, and will reach the old road on a back
bone at So ms 9ch's On about one mile of this
piece the excavation is in hard cement with
transverse slope of 20 3Odeg.; on the remain
& ~ 60 Of v,iy vol o1Oruo or p n
loose cement with slope 10 a 2odeg. From
5Sm's 45ch's, to 56m's S0ch's, an ascending grade
of 6deg. or 20 inches round south side of Cement
Point. From 68m's 70ch's m ascending grade
of 8deg. or 27 inches round steep cement point
to SONS Sch's The excavation round these two
From CONS 50chs, 5deg. descending grade to 81
miles thence follows ,road down to gap From
6lm's 40ch's to Gins 55ch's 2adeg. or 7ainch as
cending grade to next gap, Gins 60ch's ia above
one of the sources of the Middle Fork of the Ame-
rican River. From this point an average and
(if desirable) uniform grade of 3deg or 10 inches,
will reach the West summit Of the Sierra Nevada
Rt66m's 60chs at pass 230 feet lower and about
half n mile North of that through which the old
road crosses the summit From the summit down
into Squaw Valley. s miles of road with de-
scendiIg Crude of 5deg on the North side of the
North branch of Squaw Creek, will join the old
road (which runs down a very steep hill in the
South branch of Squaw Creek.) in the middle Of
Squaw Valley On these 10 miles the excavation
is of very mixed character. The ground on the
lower miles of the ascent is part earth and part
cement on the upper miles part earth aud over
granite boulders and broken rocks, on the de-
seen: about mile will be cut in solid granite
and the east in mixed ground. About miles of
the ascent was still covered with snow or feet
deep and that was the only ground on the Whole
new line of road where it lay except in small
patches. 1 afterwards reconnoitered the main
ridge and found gap about 500 feet, still lower
than the one by Which crossed, and which can
be reached by leaving the former line at about
81 miles and running round the North side OF the
hill, in the canon Of the Main North Fork, in
stead of on the South side of the hill. and above