Dog Valley Tour Report

The Truckee River Trail Practice Tour

From the sand swales in the 40-Mile Desert to the spectacular view of
Bear Valley west of Donner Lake, it was two days of rediscovering the
Truckee River Route for 17 fascinated members of Don Wiggins' party of
explorers.

 Don Wiggins

   The trip, dedicated to Tom Hunt and his trail preservation work, was a
revelation. Using diaries which described the route of emigrants in the
1840's, the group looked down on the river and the steep banked slough
that slowed the early emigrants. Wiggins said this was the first OCTA
group to travel up this section of the trail, and it was mind-boggling to
see the descent the wagons had to make to reach the meadow land below.

   Heinrich Lienhard in 1846 wrote of chaining  the rear wheels of the
wagon and sliding down an impossible-looking slope "about as fast as a
railroad train.  It proved to be a fine ride that could hardly have been
surpassed by a sleigh," he wrote.

View of Reno (Truckee Meadows) from Long Valley Creek
summit.  The rocky slope on left is where Lienhard took his "sleigh
ride."

  Crossings of the Truckee River were noted as the caravan climbed
westward to Verdi, and sections of the old Dutch Flat and Henness Pass
roads were pointed out as the group hiked a piece of the trail before
dropping down into Dog Valley.

Dog Valley

   From a hill south of Prosser Creek Reservoir, the OCTA group looked
down on the Truckee River at Trout Creek, just east of the town of
Truckee.  Here, Wiggins said, the emigrants left the Truckee River for
good.

Truckee River where emigrants left it for good.

   At Donner Lake, quotes from the diary of August R. Burbank cleared up
the mystery surrounding the "Canibrel Cabins" occupied by the Donner party
the winter of 1846-7, proving the Murphy cabin was not among those burned
and was still standing by the big rock September 10, 1849, when Burbank
passed by.

   Climbing west on old Highway 40, Wiggins' group contemplated possible
routes up the steep granite face of the mountains.  According to new
information gleaned from diaries, it would seem Donner Pass isn't where it
was thought to be.

   There is Roller Pass and a pass between Stephens Mountain and George R.
Stewart Peak to the north. There is no diary evidence, Wiggins said, that
the pass between Mt.Judah and Donner Peak, Coldstream Pass, was ever used
by emigrants.  Many used Roller Pass after climbing up Coldstream Canyon.

   When the trip ended at Emigrant Gap, looking down on the trail into
Bear Valley, Wiggins had proved to the OCTA group that until all the
research is completed, the final chapter of the Truckee Route has not been
written.

    Photos & Text by Pat Loomis

The states of California, Colorado, Nevada, and Washington were represented by the the following group members:  Norine Kimmy, Kathy Buob, David Hopper, Paul and Brenda Giguere, Bud and Mary Rhoades, Bernie and Joanie Rhoades, Frank Muller (Reno Gazette Journal,) Steve Larmore, Richard Hallford, Jeff McClung, Al Steunenberg, Barbara Dorr, Virginia Hammerness, and Pat Loomis.