Into the mountains

We left Joe B and the others standing in the Nevada desert open mouthed at the treachery of Bartleson and the others riding off with the last of the good ox meat, determined to save themselves by getting over the mountains before the winter set in.  The remainder of the party had to face up to the Sierra, a mountain range the like of which they had never encountered before.  It would be their greatest physical and psychological challenge of the journey, demanding route-finding and mountaineering skills of the highest order.  In order to get to their destination--the ranch of John Marsh--east of San Francisco bay, they had to navigate their way through mile-deep canyons and soaring snow capped mountains.  And it was mid-October--they had to do it before the snows came.  In the meantime, Bartleson and his companions had eventually returned, hungry, sorry and footsore.  They had failed to find a way over the mountains and had used up all their food.  Now they were going to be served up a generous portion of humble pie.  Needless to say, they were coolly received, but another ox was slaughtered to feed them and the party proceeded into the mountains together.

It's hard to imagine that one of us would be so forgiving, but they had all come a long way together, and probably realized that there was strength in numbers, even if some of those numbers had shown themselves wanting in the solidarity department. 

The precise point of entry into the Sierra is unclear from the diary entries of the two principal diarists.   It is generally agreed that they followed the west fork of the Walker River to the foot of the eastern Sierra, and the mountains can be entered two different ways from this approach. 

Rather than debate which canyon they entered, I can quote from the two diarists in the party as my brothers and I tried to follow their progress from the roads that exist today, carrying motorists from the eastern Sierra across the mountains via the Sonora Pass.

'This morning we set forth into the rolling mountains, in many places it was so steep, that all were obliged to take it on foot.  Part of the day we traveled through vallies between peaks where the way was quite level...encamped on the side of the mountain, so elevated that the ice remained all day in the stream - but we had not yet arrived at the summit.  Killed another ox this evening - made 12 miles.' --John Bidwell

'Many of the pines were 12 feet in diameter and no less than 200 ft. high'

From here they intersected the East Fork of the Carson River, which had some grass for their animals.  They were desperate to supplement their stock of food, but were unable to find any game.  The rock walls of the canyon of the Carson River became so steep that they were forced to dismount and look for a side canyon.  They explored several before selecting Golden Canyon and making camp on October 17.

The next morning, 'Having ascended about a half mile, a frightful prospect opened before us:  naked mountains whose summits still retained the snows of perhaps a thousand years...the winds roared - but - in the dark deepGulfs which yawned on ever side, profound solitude seemed to reign.'

On October 18,  they climbed 2300 feet up Golden Canyon and at an elevation of 9425 feet they crested the Sierra Nevada, but although they were pleased at having located a pass over the summit, they were now faced with the chilling prospect of snowcapped mountains in every direction.

Today, 174 years later, in the fourth year of the California drought, we were short on snow-capped mountains, but the towering peaks above the deep stream-cut gorges were very daunting.  It was hard for us to understand how Joe B and the others had held their nerve--except that they had no alternative.  In later years Joe B recalled how the sight of Nancy Kelsey, with her toddler in her arms, marching resolutely along with the others had inspired him to carry on when he felt like quitting.

For the emigrants, the next days were spent in even greater challenges in getting down from the peaks that they had conquored, with virtually all their food gone.  We pondered this by one of the streams that they crossed while we ate our 21st century sandwiches...

...and used our 21st century iphones...