248 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 
canyon is cut entirely in gray limestone and calcareous shale, and 
here the slopes are generally smooth and the canyon, though V- 
shaped, has not particularly steep walls. The canyon continues to 
widen and the surrounding hills to diminish in height until about a 
mile above the station of Dale the valley is very broad and shallow. 
Here the creek forks and the railroad follows the south fork to its 
head. If the traveler will observe closely the slope north of the 
stream at the point where it divides he will see an old road winding 
up over the low ridge which separates it from Emigration Canyon. 
This road is the old Mormon trail. It crossed the high mountain 
that may be seen on the left, came down the north fork of the 
creek, and then crossed the divide to Emigration Canyon, in which it 
may still be seen at the point where it comes down to the creek. As 
the traveler who makes the journey from Salt Lake City to Park 
City has an opportunity to see some of the country crossed by the 
ormon pioneers a more extended description of the route they fol- 
lowed and the reasons for so doing are given in the following foot- 
note, °° 
* Although it is probable that be- 
tween the years 1825 and 1840 most of 
the streams, valleys, and passes of the 
region about Great Salt Lake had been 
their explorations, and the credit for 
the discovery of new routes and the 
making of new trails must be given to 
was never published, and it was circu- 
lated only from one trapper to another 
by word of mouth. 
e Main route ine this western 
1846 ia 
then turned sharply to the north and 
passed through Idaho. Emigrants to 
Oregon alifornia traveled to- 
gether by the usual route up Platte 
River, along the Sweetwater, an 
through South Pass to Fort Oriduer 
and then to Bear River valley. They 
followed this stream as far as the soda 
springs, where those for Oregon turned 
north to Fort Hall, and those for Cali- 
for nia followed Bear River southward, 
pa 
eden (Humboldt) River. 
the region of Fort Bridger, which pre- 
viously had been abandoned, by Lans- 
ford W. Hastings and James M. Hud- 
speth, guides, who induced the emi- 
grants to try shorter routes than that 
by the soda springs. 
way. by Hudspeth and equip with 
pac mules, followed wn Echo 
Canyon and er River along the 
Lake 
party had little difficulty and was one 
of the first of the season to reach Cali- 
fornia. Two parties guided by Hast- 
ings had much difficulty in finding a 
