Pointing the camera northward from my ladder perch while trimming limbs, one can see how badly this line had deteriorated over 40 years of no maintenance. When we first came on the scene it was difficult to visually follow the wires through the trees to assess what needed to be done. NO cutting has been done beyond the pole here and the line simply vanishes into trees, some 10" thick that have grown up through the wires ! Here I have cut an opening in the trees below enough to free the wires and have moved back uphill to cut some more that were left too close once the lower cuttings allowed the slack to assume its natural sagging. The visible pole was devastated by trees, limbs, and snow loads falling on the lines. Both pins were broken off, the insulators hanging in the limbs, but not before some helpful passersby gave them a good shotgun blast. The pole was split vertically some six feet down from the top from a strong side blow on the wires at some point. This presented the biggest pole repair challenge of the job.

Shanti the Oleo Leaper Deathdog from Hell gives perspective to the steepness of the terrain as she wanders along the abandoned railroad right of way. This line was built in 1881 and it is unclear if it ever saw rails. It appears the Northern Pacific planners had originally intended to hold high along the south side of Marshall Canyon, utilizing a high bridge to cross Hangman Creek to reduce grades as they approached Spokane Falls. As it played out, the mainline followed the valley floor and this high line with its great amount of rock work already completed was left to mosses and trees to reclaim.