#27 - Donner Summit Overlook - Donner Pass, CA
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 39° 19.157 W 120° 19.121
10S E 731149 N 4355637
History sign along the Hwy 40 Scenic Bypass at Donner Summit Overlook.
Waymark Code: WMVZRH
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/17/2017
Views: 2
History sign #27 of the Hwy 40 Scenic Bypass series.
Text of sign #27 - Donner Summit Overlook
History
“I don’t believe I have adequate words to describe the real beauty of Donner Pass. As we stood looking down I had a floating sensation . . . I lost all fear as I looked at one of the most beautiful blue lakes [Donner Lake] I had ever seen. Everything below us seemed suspended in shimmering light.”
Thornton Round, 1914 - from The Lincoln Highway California
Donner Pass is beautiful but its uniqueness comes from more than the beauty. Its history is unique. You cand stand on Donner Pass in the same place that Native Americans crossed for thousands of years, in the same place the remnants of the Donner Party crossed or that the first wagon train, the Stephens Party (Stephens Peak is nearby) used. From that place you can see the first transcontinental highway and the first transcontinental railroad. Under your feet, or nearby, are transcontinental fiber optic cables and a gas pipeline. Overhead you can see the transcontinental air rout and even higher, at night, you can see passing satellites.
A Good Story
Look east to Donner Lake and then right. That is Schallenberger Ridge. Moses Schallenberger and two companions stayed behind with most of the Stevens Party wagons in 1944. When his companions decided to follow the main group in to California. Moses remained alone for the winter. He ate coyote (“stringy”) and fox (edible) and survived in a little cabin that would be used by part of the Donner Party two years later. Moses was 17 years old. His friends came back for him in the spring and together they hiked over the Summit snow down to California. The Native Americans stripped the wagons — the first vehicle thefts in California?
Group that erected the marker: Donner Summit Historical Society
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
On Hwy 40 about a half mile east of Donner Pass.
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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