Big Hill
On their way west to Oregon and California
emigrant wagons often crossed high ridges
in order to avoid gullies and canyons.
When he came in 1843, Theodore Talbot noted that
"he had to cross a very high hill, which is said to be the
greatest impediment on the whole route from the United States
(over 200 miles east of here) to Fort Hall (over 120 miles further west).
The ascent is very long and tedious, but the descent is still more abrupt and difficult."
Many wagons had to be let down by ropes tied to trees that have disappeared long ago.
From the marker at Big Hill located about four miles south along US Highway 30.
This marker has been provided by the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust,
the Idaho Humanities Council, and the Idaho Historical Society.