 The Milwaukee Road once served as a vital link, providing economic and social connections between small, scattered communities in Washington.Today, it is once more a link between these communities, for people who hike, bike, or ride horses along the route.Stretching more than from Cedar Falls near North Bend to Tekoa at the Idaho border, the John Wayne Pioneer Trail passes through tunnels, over mountains, along rivers and lakes, and through dry, sagebrush countryside.