The DU Lounge

The 230-mile spur headed north from Fort Hall toward Big Southern Butte, a conspicuous landmark on the Snake River Plain. From there it passed near the present-day town of Arco, wound through the northern part of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, went southwest to Camas Prairie, and ended at Fort Boise. This journey typically took two to three weeks.

Goodale's Cutoff took its toll on the travelers and their wagons. The rugged lava restricted travel to one lane, so progress was slow.

The path along the edge of the lava flows was circuitous. The emigrants typically passed through in late July, the hottest part of the summer. Wood dried out in the desert air and shrank, causing wheels and boxes to come apart. Pioneers wrote of finding pieces of broken wagons littering the trail.