The Donner Party is infamous for their ill-fated trek from Utah to California in 1846. They were caught in a snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains that decimated their company and other horrors happened.
The Donner Party Knew They Were in Trouble at Hastings Pass
The Oregon trail went into Idaho on its way to California. Lansford Hastings proposed a route that dropped down and go through Utah that would save time and 300 miles. This shortcut turned out to be treacherous for the Donner Party.
When the company tried to make their way across the western desert in Utah, they’re wagons were bogged down in the searing sand and their oxen died and were lost by the lack of water.
By the time the company reached the Sierra Nevada range the snow hit and of the eighty-two that set out, thirty-five died while others resorted to cannibalism to survive. They were eventually rescued and taken to Sutter’s Fort in California.
Wagon Tracks are Still Visible Near Hasting’s Pass
There are places where you can see the wagon tracks going over the pass in the Cedar Mountains. There are more on the valley floor that head into Nevada. The trail is marked with historic signs that give quotes from those who travelled there…