Donner Pass on Sepia Saturday
We took an Amtrack scenic train ride from Chicago, IL to San Francisco, CA. that was a joy and a very memorable vacation. We saw an incredible amount of scenery on this journey. These two photos were taken overlooking Donner Pass and Donner Lake.
Donner Pass is located in the state of California and is used to traverse the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The pass has an elevation of a little over 7,000 feet and was originally established by fur traders and mountain men and could only be accessed on foot or by horseback. It was more heavily used by the California Trail from around 1826 through the 1850s. The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 finally provided travelers with an easier and more economical travel option.
Donner Pass and Donner Lake get their name from the tragic Donner Party. The Donner Party left Missouri in a wagon train bound for California in the spring of 1846. This journey was expected to take from four to six months but the Donner Party made an ill-fated mistake by branching off from the main trail, taking a new route called the Hastings Cutoff.
The party arrived at the Sierra Nevada range in the first part of November and fell prey to an early heavy snowfall and remained trapped there for almost four months. With food and supplies dangerously low the survivors were forced to cannibalism as members of the party succumbed to the ordeal. Here is a quote from Patrick Breen's diary in February 1847:
"Mrs Murphy said here yesterday that thought she would Commence on Milt. & eat him. I dont that she has done so yet, it is distressing."
In the end rescue finally arrived in the middle of February 1847. Out of the original 87 members of the party, only 48 survived. The ordeal has been described as one of the most horrific tragedies of American's migration to the west.
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It is scary when there is no way out and you have to do everything to survive.
That must have been a wonderful trip by the looks of your photos! Beautiful!
Such a sad story of how the place got it's name!
Thank-you for the history lesson and a reminder how tough it was for those who settled America!
That's such a lovely snap. Thank you for filling me with information. I bet you enjoyed that vacation. Thanks for sharing this with us and have a great week ahead
Howdy blueeyes8960! That sounds like such a wonderful trip! How long did that take? Really nice shots of the pass.