A friend and I visited Donner Pass, about 30-miles from home, to hike and take pictures of this interesting and historic place in the Sierra mountains. In 1844 the first transit of overland settlers in wagons came across the Donner Pass. Since then, hundreds of thousands of pioneers and tens of millions of travelers have traced this historic route. Hazardous winter weather conditions have stranded travelers since the Donner Party in 1846, from whom the pass takes its name. Receiving 300-500-inches of snow annually, attempts at keeping Interstate 80 passable year-round is generally unsuccessful at one of the snowiest places in the USA.
Completion of the Central Pacific Railroad tracks and tunnels over Donner Pass in 1868 made fast and safe trans-American travel possible. Tunnels, #6, #7 and #8, built by Chinese laborers using manual equipment, stand today as a feat of engineering and construction. The original Chinese tunnels, supplemented by newer tunnels in 1925 were deactivated in 1996 and are historical monuments to the ingenuity and industry of the US after the Civil War.
Today Donner Pass is a recreational destination located 9-miles west of Truckee, California on old Highway 40. In addition to the historic tunnels there are mountain peaks, hiking trails, rock and ice climbing, ski resorts and alpine lakes for all to enjoy.
All images were taken with Fuji X-T50 with Fuji XF 16-55mm f2.8 R LM WR II lens in RAW format, processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 14.4
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