Interesting Place Names

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Did you ever wonder how some places got their names? For example, the Pudding River near my home in Oregon was named by the pioneers when they made an elk blood pudding on the banks of the river.

Others I've observed:

1) Fried Liver Wash (Joshua Trees) - I assume that someone had liver for dinner near this spot.

2) Texas Dip (Anza Borego) - Could this be named for a recent President?

3) Johnson Wash (Utah) - I am not going there!

Feel free to chip in some that you've noticed.

 

[ski3pin]

One we had to check out a few years back - just because of the name on the map - was Dead Mexican Gulch in Colorado's Flat Top Wilderness. We took a long day's cross country hike from base camp to discover the reason, if one could be found. It was a wonderful and memorable day.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

There is a similar place name in Southern Oregon. Dead Indian Road. It runs from Ashland, up into the Cascades.

In the late 1800s, several Native American bodies were found along the roadside, hence the name. It has now been changed to Dead Indian Memorial Highway.

 

[billharr]

 

[Smokecreek1]

Then there are the names that give you a moment to debate whether you want to go there at all like "Mosquito Creek", "Rocky Trail" or "Rattlesnake Hill "! I can also think of the ones around here that show how time and land use decisions have changed yesterdays landscape into something different today like "the army camp at Willow Creek" or "we will water up at Willow Springs" where in each case, there are no willows in either place anymore (a name like "Willow Creek" also could note a place you might not want to walk- sort of like "bushy glen" or "steep hill". Or the ones, like " Robbers Roost " witch was named not because of all the robberies that took place there, but because it looked like a good place to stage a robbery! Place names are a trip in time and always fun to figure out, although in today's politically correct world, I can think a quite a few that have been changed with a loss to both of our historical past and sense of our selves , but alas what can you do ! In any event they they still give us an indicator as to what may or may not happened at a place somewhere in time!

Smokecreek1 (named either for the color of the creek or the dust devils that looked like smoke that were seen on the desert suface when the wind blew-take your pick and add your own !)

 

[craig333]

Seen a lot but not many pop into mind. I could show you rattlesnake ravine. Great fishing if you don't mind a steep hike down a yes, rattlesnake infested hillside. Its fun too look at old maps (pre 70's) before things started getting "corrected".

 

[Foy]

Come with me to Southwestern Montana, to Beaverhead County, a little northwest of Grant, and not far from Lemhi Pass, where Lewis & Clark first crossed the Great Divide in 1805: There lies Bloody Dick Creek and Bloody Dick Road. The creek's headwaters are at Big Hole Pass, one of several passes carrying that name, but this one is at the very headwaters of the Big Hole River, so it's the divide between Boody Dick Creek and the Big Hole River, each being on the Missouri River side of the Divide.

From what I've read, the creek and the road are named for an individual who emigrated to the high valleys of the MT-ID border area from England in the late 19th century. His name was Richard, and he was a violent sort of fellow, hence the nickname Bloody Dick.

The National Forest Service and Beaverhead County tired of replacing the road signs decades ago. When I first passed through the Big Hole and Jackson, MT in the late 1970s, a tall sign on MT 278 just outside of Jackson still directed travelers across the floor of the Big Hole to the pass and to Grant, beyond the pass, along Bloody Dick Road. I've had the great good fortune to have visited the area several times since the summer of 2000, and the signs have been long gone since then.

Foy

 

[highz]

In the southeast Sacramento Mountains we have Bug Scuffle Canyon and Bug Scuffle Hill. According to the book "The Place Names of New Mexico", the origin of the name is unknown. There are a few other "Bugscuffles" in the US, so possibly it was named after one of those other places. If there's a different interpretation of the name's origin, I'd sure like to know.

 

[Foy]

The Clampett Family from the "Beverly Hillbillies" sitcom moved to "Bev-er-lee" from Bug Tussle, Tennessee.

 

[MarkBC]

...According to the book "The Place Names of ..."....

Lots of great browsing in the various "Geographic/Place Names of [insert name of state]" books.
(not referring to a series of books -- independent books with similar type content)

I have one for each of the 3 states I visit most:
Oregon Geographic Names
California Place Names
Nevada Place Names
(not intending to promote this retailer with these links...but there's no better database of books)

I'm thinkin' I need to get one for Utah, too, as I'll be there this spring...

 

[Smokecreek1]

Wonder if they have a degree in that! What a great way to spend your life-trying to figure out how that place got it's name---then use your fwc to go and see it! Hey, I live in a place named for a "girl"-the daughter of the first white guy here in the 1850's and a real neat place, that's just loaded with history and nature, but again maybe you just don't want to walk up "steep trail" in "rattlesnake canyon" to get to "never get back meadows" and "leach lake"-to go fishing-what can we do! Wander the West-I guess!

Smoke

 

[highz]

… but again maybe you just don't want to walk up "steep trail" in "rattlesnake canyon" to get to "never get back meadows" and "leach lake"-to go fishing-what can we do! Wander the West-I guess!

Smoke

Yeah, I confess I've been putting off hiking the Heart Attack Canyon trail.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Yeah, I confess I've been putting off hiking the Heart Attack Canyon trail.

Soooo, let's go fishing in "nice place " lake, and have a beer at "can't believe its here" bar and grill --sometimes-as long as its not in "dead mans " hill! Ahhh, fun on the map and in the wilds ! How's the weather there highz?

Smoke

 

[ski3pin]

Chicken Out Ridge on the route to Idaho's high point, Borah Peak. Saw a grown man freeze once he was on it.

 

[chnlisle]

I've been to Beaver Lick KY. Believe me I didn't freeze. There are a lot of people walking around there with big smiles on their faces.

 

[Foy]

Chicken Out Ridge on the route to Idaho's high point, Borah Peak. Saw a grown man freeze once he was on it.

I've seen pics of Chicken Out Ridge taken by a friend who lives in Challis. Very aptly named topographic feature. Man-o-Man, Borah is a climb! He left the trailhead at 0430. Isn't it around a 5,000' elevation gain?

Foy

 

[ski3pin]

I've seen pics of Chicken Out Ridge taken by a friend who lives in Challis. Very aptly named topographic feature. Man-o-Man, Borah is a climb! He left the trailhead at 0430. Isn't it around a 5,000' elevation gain?

Foy

Over a vertical mile in elevation gain in three miles to the top. We've done it twice and will do it again when we're back in the area. First trip was four hours to the top. Second time was five hours to the top but we had much of the usual route snow covered that required some challenging route finding. We also had brother Fastshot along, eleven years older than me and his first real climb. He did great! There was one other group, young guys, on the mountain that day. They all retreated when they found themselves on "Chicken Out Ridge".For us the fun part is the downclimb to the notch then the ice axe required crossing of the top of the coulior with close to 3000 vertical down the snow chute; incredible exposure.

The descent is the hardest part. Below chicken out, my god is it steep on slippery hard dirt.

 

[chnlisle]

http://us.geoview.info/weiner_cutoff_road,12886756w