Mormon Emigrant Trail - Sly Park to Iron Mountain. The naming of Melissa Coray Peak honors not only the heroic pioneering efforts of Melissa and her party, but thousands of emigrant women who endured similar hardships in settling the West. After spending the winter of 1847-48 in Northern California at the request of Brigham Young, the former members of the Mormon Battalion began to make preparations for leaving to find their families that they had not seen for almost two years. They also found a campfire area near a large spring and what appeared to be a freshly dug grave. Edited by Stephanie Bishop, IS Dept.SOURCE DOCUMENTATION by Anthony E. Belli, BOOKS: "I remember ..."By: Betty Yohalem Published by: The El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce - 1977, MUSEUM HISTORICAL FILE: Mormon Emigrant TrailUnpublished manuscript titled: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MORMON EMIGRANT TRAILBy: Covington - May, 1974. July 17th, they cleared about 10 miles of bad area for the trail and camped at “Leek Springs” which had vegetation that resembled leeks. From West Pass (9550 feet), the 1848 route drops abruptly northward to Caples Lake, then eastward to Carson Pass (8550 feet). Beware that avalanches can be a distinct possibility after winter storms. To the memory of Daniel Browett, Ezrah H. Allen, and Henderson Cox, who were supposed to have been murdered and buried by Indians on the night of June 27, A.D., 1848. July 14th the 10 men returned with no sign of the missing scouts. Henry Bigler reported he was scooping up snow with one hand, while picking wildflowers with the other. Five hundred Mormon volunteers, recruited in Iowa, served one year in the Army of the West under command of Col. P. St. George Cooke during the war with Mexico. However, the emigrants traveled over it from east to west, beginning in 1848, so that is the direction this photo tour travels. . The area was named Sly Park, after James Sly, referring to the meadowed area as “Sly’s Park.” As they approached the area, they heard one of the cannons the group had obtained from Sutter being fired. July 16th was another day like the previous one, with men clearing brush and moving rock off the trail. The main body did not want them to go, but they felt it was necessary and went anyway. Zodock Judd recorded in his journal that they were encountering granite boulders up to 8 to 10 feet in diameter and they had no hammers or drills to break them up. John Sutter on April 9, 1848, to settle their affairs. There would be 40 overnight accommodations and trading posts between Nevada and Old Hangtown. The forward group was celebrating July 4th, by firing it. The snow was too deep and they were unable to make the trip over the Sierra Nevadas. It was decided that they would find a place of gathering and would assemble the group later to again try to leave. By mid June, a wagon train had been formed which consisted of 45 men, one woman, 17 wagons, several yokes of oxen, and about 300 head of livestock. The “Lost Boys” of the Mormon Battalion – Arrival at San Diego, Mormon Battalion: A Unique Military Story, San Pasqual Battlefield & Kit Carson District Patch. [Hope Valley lies about 20 miles South of Lake Tahoe with intersections of Highway 88 and 89.]. Mormon-Carson Pass Emigrant Trail Marker, Mormon-Carson Pass Emigrant Trail, the heavily-travelled gateway to California gold fields, was blazed in 1848 by discharged members of the Mormon battalion traveling east to join their families. (In 1994, the Oregon Trail Association, Sons of Utah Pioneers, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, and the forest service would dedicate the peak just south of West Pass as Melissa Coray Peak, after the only known woman accompanying the group.). They made about 8 miles that day and camped at a place they called “Log Springs.” (This was east of the present reservoir). While in this location they organized into captains of ten and appointed Samuel Thompson, as captain over the entire group, with Jonathan Holmes, as president. Azariah Smith and others brought the horses and livestock up from Sly Park to this area on this day. Copyright © 2006–2020, Some rights reserved. The Mormons sent word that parties interested in forming a wagon train that would travel to the Salt Lake Valley, should meet at a small valley in the foothills, which they named Pleasant Valley. The location of today’s Hwy. . . State Route 88 Conditions can be found on the Caltrans website or by phoning the recorded road condition line at 1-800-427-7623. © Copyright 2009 California Pioneer Heritage Foundation, From Temecula Valley to Mission San Luis Rey, 07. The existing Old California Trail went from Sutter’s Fort north to Johnson’s Ranch (now Marysville) and then east to Emigrant Gap, Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake), along the Truckee River to present day Reno, Nevada. 52 Oregon-California Trail Association Dedicated July 30, 1994 . The Iron Mountain Sno-Park in Amador County is located off of Highway 88 on the Mormon-Emigrant Trail Road 51 miles east of Jackson. It had taken them 15 days to blaze the trail of 39 miles from Pleasant Valley. The California Trail had the disadvantage of requiring teams and wagons to cross the Truckee River some twenty seven times and was very difficult, so the group decided they would try to find a better route when they were able to leave. They were only able to make about 5 or 6 miles that day and camped by the large spring with the fresh grave. Due to a quirk of topography, however, Devil’s Gate itself is not visible from the turnout. They were kept busy with replacing broken axles, etc. After seeing the Indians, they posted a guard all night for the first time. . Origin of the Bulls at Rancho San Bernardino, 16. It took them most of the week to cut the trail through some of the most difficult territory yet. About two miles from Log Springs, the road turns due east and follows what is now paved Mormon Emigrant Highway. With 17 wagons, 2 cannons, 150 horses and mules, and 150 cattle, this organized party left Pleasant Valley July 3, 1848, following the drainage divide between the American River and streams to the south. It had been over a year since the men had seen their families. The Iron Mountain is one of four sno-parks in the Carson Pass area and is within the El Dorado National Forest. Ten days passed without word from the advance team so ten men were dispatched to search for the missing scouts. The mountains rose several hundreds of feet on each side of the canyon. July 29th, found them camped at Red Lake, after descending the steep Carson Pass area. It was called Old Mormon Station and was 107 miles east of Placerville. On August 5th, they emerged out of the canyon into the Carson Valley. On the way, they had seen some Indians on horseback that were wearing clothes that resembled those of the missing scouts. There were bloody broken arrows and bloody rocks in the brush around the site. The group, which consisted of 47 men, at least one woman, 17 wagons, 150 horses/mules, and 150 cattle, moved out on July 3, 1848.