Steve's Winch and the precarious road

Bicyclers contemplate the Freebridge Road, seen at right and curving down to the Deschutes river. This old wagon trail is one of the few public roads that access the Deschutes in the lower 23 miles. It beckons to those seeking Steelhead and does not tolerate mistakes kindly. Photo courtesy thedallesroad.com

By Tom Peterson

Steve Palmer has had a busy week. 

And it’s just Thursday, July 30.

The tow truck driver who operates Steve’s Service in The Dalles recently got a call to assist a vehicle in Wasco County near the Deschutes River. 

According to the Wasco County Sheriff’s Log a car had gone over the side of the road.

But this is no ordinary road. 

Located approximately seven miles up river from the mouth of the Deschutes, this 3.5 mile remnant of a wagon trail cuts precariously through the canyon to the river and tilts to the downhill. The road drops some 850 feet. 

“Nothing run of the mill about that,” said Palmer on Thursday. “It’s pretty arcane when it comes to a road.”

Palmer was dispatched to the site at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday and found two fishermen with an Enterprise Rental car that had gone over the edge of the road about 200 yards from the bottom in a tight turn. 

“Had they gone a bit further, it could have been a total disaster,” Palmer said. It was “precariously over the edge - the front end went into the corner where it was empty and the back end of the car was sticking up in the air.”

And no one was injured.

Palmer was able to use his Dodge 2500 with a tow winch to pull the vehicle back on to the road. The renters of the vehicle were then able to drive the car back to The Dalles.

Palmer said he did not make it home until 11:30 p.m.

The car was returned to Enterprise in The Dalles but was taken off site. 

And that might be the end of it. But…

Palmer said there is also a 650 Kawasaki  motorcycle that went over an embankment and is no longer operable in the same area. 

The owner of the motorcycle is going to build a sled for it so that Palmer can pull it from the area.

“It’s been a hectic week for that road,” Palmer said.   

Side Notes:

• Freebridge Road leads to a part of the river that is referred to as Kloan. Remnants of the columns that supported the Freebridge can still be seen in the river. It was named Freebridge after Wasco County purchased it, and wagons were not required to pay a toll as they had been forced to at the privately-owned bridge at the mouth. 

• The composting toilet at Kloan has been named “Xanadu” by some particular fishermen and in the past has offered some nice amenities, including magazines, posters, hand sanitizer, wash cloths, mints and even a socket for electricity. In case you want to blow dry your hair. Unfortunately, the socket was not electrified.

Approxiamte location of Freebridge Road, which is about seven miles up river from the mouth of the Deschutes River.

This map gives a closer look at the 3.5 miles and 850 feet of descent that is Freebridge Road.

Steve Palmer of Steve’s Service in The Dalles got an interesting call for tow service on Wednesday.

Here is a photo of the historic Freebridge, which crossed the Deschutes River at Kloan. It somehow fell apart all at once in 1914.