Traveling Old Trails

For most Americans in the mid-nineteenth century the westward movement meant relocating to the Willamette Valley in Oregon Territory or the Sacramento Valley in California. To cross the obstacle of the Continental Divide, the emigrants followed the valleys of the North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers to South Pass in today's state of Wyoming. This was not the end of their mountain barriers, however. After crossing the Green and Bear Rivers and resting at Fort Bridger they had to find their way through the Wasatch Range. Fort Bridger National Historic Sight Not impressive but functional  For most of these travelers this meant following the Weber River through the mountains then trekking north to Fort Hall and heading west along the Snake River. After a short distance along the Snake the trails diverged with the California Trail cutting southwest through City of Rocks and on to the Humbolt River and with the Oregon Trail continuing along the Snake. This was a...

Over 125 miles of the original Pony Express Route across Utah still exists as a gravel road maintained by Utah's Department of natural resources. The road is marked and runs from Camp Floyd at Fairfield, Utah to Ibapah near the Nevada border. Although it is lightly traveled now, in its day it was an important road which the Pony Express shared with the Overland Central Stage, the company that pioneered the route. At the beginning of the twentieth century this road was followed by motorists as part of the Lincoln Highway. These were brave travelers indeed. Today, travelers are warned to be prepared for snow in winter and blowing dust or flash floods in summer. Today, on a morning dominated by threatening clouds and sporadic rain, I made the first leg of the trip west from Camp Floyd to the relay station at Faust. Camp Floyd, the jumping off point, was built in 1858 when President Buchanan sent over 5,000 soldiers to Utah to suppress a feared Mormon rebellion tha...