Historic Hood River
Cloud Cap Coach
6-27-2018
Notes
For all the images I’ve shared of the early automobiles to make the trip to Cloud Cap, I don’t think I showed this fine glass plate negative of a horse drawn carriage returning from the inn. I count 10 people in the carriage and four horses. I’ll bet the coachmen checked the brakes more than once before making this journey.
Charlott
Judging from the size of the trees and that sandy (crushed lava), plus the way the land slopes there, I think this is taken right in front of Cloud Cap prior to heading down. There is a log fence there and I think that the actual front door of Cloud Cap might not be too far up the hill from that.
What an over loaded wagon. Wonder if this was just a day trip outing, which would have been a rather long one up and back for those poor horses, or guest staying there. See no baggage, and where on earth would one put it??? Maybe it was just a posed shot.
Buzz
Looks like a work crew to me.
L.E.
The horses did a beautiful job of posing on a steep hill for the photo.
Here is the construction crew for Cloud Cap. I couldn’t really make any comparisons, but l also think this looks like a work crew.
https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org?showimage=167
Arthur
I agree these men are dressed more like workers than guests, but I can’t match any of them to the construction photo. The man in the middle looks very familiar to me, but I can’t place him. I’m sure it will come to me after my brain finishes flipping through 18,000 images.
Kenn
I agree it may be posed, the brakes would be taxed just to hold the load sitting still.
J.E.
I wasn’t there, but old-timers told me of the stage from Hood River to Cloud Cap. I recall that they said Bert(?) Stranahan of fashion stable was the teamster who drove a stage such as this. They described it as a light wagon with seats.
Mr. Stranahan would drive from the Hotel in Hood River to a farm in the Mt. Hood area with a team. At Mt. Hood he would take four fresh horses for the trip to Cloud Cap and make the whole distance in a single day.
I’m wondering if this could be the old Cloud Cap stage that served the lodge guests before there were any automobiles, appearance of the passengers aside. Maybe, maybe not.