DENVEB & RIO GRANDE WESTERN ROUTE. 



249 



The railroad climbs steadily and makes several loops in order to 

 decrease the grade and finally arrives at the summit at the siding 

 of Altiis (6.900 feet), about 2,700 feet above the starting point at 

 Salt Lake City. By several loops and curves it descends on the east 

 to East Canyon Creek at Gogorza and then follows up that stream 



Figure 63. — Map showing old trails for Oregon and California. 1, Weber Canyon route; 

 2, East Canyon route ; 3, Parleys Park route. 



to Kimball. Although the original trail by which Brigham Young 

 and his party of pioneers entered the valley of Great Salt Lake came 

 up East Canj^on Creek and crossed the crest of the mountains north 

 of Altus at nearly its highest point, this trail was used only a short 



way for their wagons through Weber 

 Canyon and were so much delayed that 

 they were the last to cross the Sierra 

 Nevada that season. On account of 

 the difficulty experienced in Weber 

 Canyon, Hastings advised some of the 

 parties following to take a route 

 farther south, passing around the south 

 end of Great Salt Lake. This was 

 partly explored the previous year by 

 Fremont and later became known as 

 the " Hastings cut-off." 



The ill-fated Donner party, which 

 left Fort Bridger on July 28, 1846, 

 were undecided which route to take. 

 As they were only a few days behind 



Hastings a messenger was sent ahead 

 to confer with him. He advised the 

 " cut-off," and as a result the party 

 proceeded down Weber River only to 

 the head of the dreaded canyon, 6 

 miles below the mouth of Echo Can- 

 yon, at a point where the station 

 of Henefer is now situated on the 

 Union Pacific Railroad. Here they 

 turned to the left and crossed over a 

 divide and down a ravine to what is 

 now known as East Canyon Creek, a 

 route probably as rugged as the one 

 they were trying to avoid. They fol- 

 lowed this stream up for a distance of 

 about 8 miles through a very rocky 



