History,  Mountains,  Postcards from the road,  USA

A postcard from California: crossing the Donner Pass

October 5, 2024 / 11 Comments

Greetings from California

In 1844 a group of pioneers left the usual route west to follow the Truckee River into the mountains. The Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party became the first overland settlers to use what later became known as the Donner Pass. It took them roughly four months to cross the Sierra Nevada by this route.

The pass was subsequently named after a later group of settlers. In early November 1846 the Donner Party found the route blocked by snow and was forced to spend the winter on the east side of the mountains. Of the 81 settlers, only 45 lived to reach California. It is commonly believed that some of them resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating those of their companions who had perished and possibly also killing their native guides for food.

In October 2024 we crossed the same pass (in the opposite direction) in less than half an hour!

11 Comments

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