Truckee's feeling the holiday spirit!
Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California. Around 17,000 people have the good fortune of calling this small town, which is surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains and located just 29 miles northwest of South Lake Tahoe, home. In the early days Truckee was known for it's logging and commercial ice manufacturing. Now days it is a popular year round destination for outdoor enthusiasts. There are plenty of trails in the area for hiking and biking during the late spring, summer and fall. In the winter, Truckee is one of the snowiest cities in the US. With an average of over 200 inches of snow, the trails become popular for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. Additionally, there are several world class ski areas nearby for those seeking a more high speed adventure. Truckee has an elevation of 6,000 feet, a respectable height but your breath is more likely to be taken away by the scenery than by the elevation.
The main commercial street in Truckee is Donner Pass Road. It is lined with many small locally owned shops and restaurants that are trying to survive this very challenging year. California has had some of the most restrictive regulations during the pandemic, which has certainly made for a challenging year across the state. We were happy to see so many businesses opened as we walked along the historic downtown. They're all operating at a very limited capacity (25%), but tighter restrictions are right around the corner.
We enjoyed spending the morning exploring around Donner Lake. The lake has a surface area of 1.31 miles and is a pretty impressive 238 feet deep at it's deepest point. The Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway runs parallel to the north shore. At the present time the mountains are covered with snow and there is some snow on the ground but they have yet to receive their first heavy snow of the season.
Donner Lake from the west end
On the east end of the lake is Donner Memorial State Park. The 3,200 acre park offers camping, picnic areas, boating, fishing, water skiing, paddle boarding, hiking, biking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing depending on the time of year. It is dedicated to the Donner Party, a 91 member emigrant party led by brothers George and Jacob Donner that came west from Illinois in 1846. Like many of the emigrants of that time, they were drawn west by the prospects of a better life. Unfortunately, like many others, their journey ended tragically.
Emigrants Memorial in Donner Memorial State Park
Although they left Illinois in April, their start was considered "late" in order to make the difficult journey before the harsh winter. They were accustomed to cold, snowy winters, but it appears that they underestimated the winters of this area. Additionally they made several critical mistakes along their journey. The most critical of their mistakes was listening to Ohio attorney Lansford W. Hastings.
In 1845 Hastings had written "The Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California". In the book he described a "short cut" that he said would save 300 miles (30-60 days) of difficult travel time. Unfortunately the Donner Party didn't realize that at the time Hastings had never traveled that route. Additionally they ignored warnings along the route left by Hastings, who was trying his "shortcut" for the first time to turn back because of the challenging conditions.
In late October the Donner Party had made it to what is now known as Reno, Nv. They chose to rest there for six days before proceeding towards the pass. Unfortunately the harsh winter came early that year and once they restarted their journey their progress slowed to a snails pace. In spite of a shortage of supplies and food they decided to settle in the area near Truckee for the winter. They sent out small groups who tried unsuccessfully to reach help. Finally in mid-February rescuers reached what was left of the group. Only 45 of the original 91 member party survived. It is believed that they survived partly by turning to cannibalism of their deceased fellow travelers.
The lake and pass have been renamed to honor the Donner party and the state park does a great job keeping the memory of not only the Donner party but all emigrants who attempted this long and dangerous journey. We had the great fortune of meeting a very friendly and knowledgeable California park ranger who enthusiastically shared the story of the Donner party with us. He was a great story teller who had the gift of being able to tell the story in such a manner that we were hanging on every word. If you visit the park, make sure to stop by the visitors center. If you see a friendly looking park ranger with slightly less hair than me ask him, "Can you tell me a little about the Donner Party". You'll be glad you did.
Below are a few pictures from the Lakeshore Trail in Donner Memorial State Park
Goodbye from Truckee!
