ADVENTURER SEEKS TO SOLVE RIDDLE OF THE DONNER PARTY.Byline: Dennis Anderson
Dennis Anderson (born October 10, 1960) is a professional monster truck driver. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. On a day usually devoted to decorating trees and scouring scouring characterized by scour. scouring disease a colloquial name for secondary nutritional copper deficiency. stores for last-minute gifts, a hardy crew plans a Homeric hike into the Nevada and California wilderness to answer the question: ``Where did the Donner party Donner Party, group of emigrants to California who in the winter of 1846–47 met with one of the most famous tragedies in Western history. The California-bound families were mostly from Illinois and Iowa, and most prominent among them were the two Donner go wrong?'' Lee Bergthold, 61, was to begin a planned 35-day trek today, the day before Christmas eve. ``We know what happened to the Donners,'' Bergthold said, sketching a map of his proposed desert itinerary. ``They could have gone south. Why they didn't is a good question, and I've got to find out.'' Two other backpacking enthusiasts, Marshall Landin and Tina Bowers, will accompany him at least part of the way. But he believes much of the trip will be solo. The Donner party, a group of California-bound settlers led by George and Jacob Donner, was stranded by an early blizzard in the Sierra Nevadas in eastern California Eastern California is not a well-defined term. It generally refers to the strip of California, United States to the east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada, or to the easternmost counties of California:
``As long as they had good weather, they were fine,'' Bergthold said. Only 42 of 89 people survived, some by eating the bodies of the dead. The tragedy occurred about a day's journey from what today is 7,000-foot Donner Summit. It still can be treacherous. Over the weekend, snow closed highways in the area and stranded thousands of travelers in the Lake Tahoe area. The Donner party gained extra miles and lost time by cutting away from the California Trail, traveling through Wyoming and Utah and into Nevada before rejoining it a few miles west of Elko, Nev. Bergthold plans to take the route he believes the Donner party should have taken, trekking south through desert and mountains on the Nevada side. Departing from Battle Mountain, Nev., Bergthold hopes to make about 10 miles a day on a southerly heading. He wants to reach Bad Water in Death Valley, 350 miles distant, a little over a month after his start. A low-tech ground crew supports Bergthold's latest effort. Bob Brister, a biology teacher at Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. here, will track the expedition's progress from a pickup truck on a highway about a dozen miles from the hikers' route. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Lee Bergthold, shown in an undated un·dat·ed adj. 1. Not marked with or showing a date: an undated letter; an undated portrait. 2. photo, will begin a 35-day trek in hopes of solving the Donner party mystery. Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion