Donner Party in Dire Straits
January 1847 was a challenging month for the 81 surviving members of the Donner Party trapped in the Tahoe Sierra. In mid-December, 15 intrepid...
In the footsteps of history: Donner Relief Expedition retraces 1847 route
Today when people think of the 1846 Donner Party and the Sierra entrapment, they think of the numerous mistakes the members made including starting...
Charlie Stanton: Unsung Hero of the Donner Party
Charles Tyler Stanton was an unlikely hero in the saga of the Donner Party. Stanton had brown eyes, a full beard and was blessed...
Donner Party faces calamity in the desert
Crossing Utah’s Wasatch Mountains took a severe toll on the Donner Party with repeated delays, diminishing supplies, loss of morale and increased bickering. At...
Donner Party decisions seal their fate, Part II
Author’s Note: To acknowledge the historical significance of the Donner Party and its window into an important era in the West, I will occasionally write...
Donner Party decisions seal their fate
Author’s Note: To acknowledge the historical significance of the Donner Party and its window into an important era in the West, I will occasionally write...
The 175th Anniversary of the Donner Party Adventure, George Donner & James Reed
Author’s Note: To acknowledge the historical significance of the Donner Party and its window into an important era in the West, over the next...
Tamsen Donner: Strong-willed matriarch of the Donner Party
Author’s Note: To acknowledge the historical significance of the Donner Party and its window into an important era in the West, over the next...
Forlorn Hope retraces Donner Party steps
Four Californian ultrarunners left Donner Lake on Dec. 16, 2020, on snowshoes to cross the Sierra in a reprise of the 1846 winter journey...
Retracing steps of Donner Party
Four extreme athletes will set out on Dec. 16 to follow the 1846 route of the Donner Party’s Forlorn Hope. Over five or six...
