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There's a whole other chapter to the Donner Party story people have never heard.

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Charles Stanton went snow blind. The rescuers would find his bones in the spring.

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When they tried to cross the summit, a storm hit and they were pushed back.

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Everything, possibly they could go wrong, went wrong.

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This is the spot we believe is the camp of death.

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This is where the cannibalism happens.

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This is the spot.

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He pulled nine children out of that hole and he'd put them on his back.

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It's a story of survival. The human instinct to survive.

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Can you just imagine with thirty feet of snow? Forget it.

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Ah, come on! Ah, f***!

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This is where everyone that wanted to come to California had to pass through here.

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The entire country.

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What do you got?

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Whoa, whoa, Josh, we got something up here. Check this out.

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From here. Oh, my word, look at that!

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If this is what we hope it is, it's historic.

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The Donner Party. The very name conjures terror in those who've heard their story.

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In 1846, more than 80 souls, men, women and children set out from the Midwest for California's Golden Shores.

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But a disastrous decision to take a shortcut leaves the emigrants hopelessly snowed into the uncharted Sierra Nevada mountains.

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And instead of the promised land, the pioneers are led to starvation and the most desperate and gruesome of acts.

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The tragedy became lurid national news and has been so sensationalized that today, the Donner Party is synonymous with one thing, cannibalism.

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But what really happened out there in the Western Frontiers' Heart of Darkness?

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In the 175 years since, a combination of lies and legend has buried the truth behind this real American horror story.

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Why did the pioneers fatally alter their course? Why were they unable to band together and escape the mountains?

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And what of the people themselves? Their heroism and largely forgotten rescue effort have been buried.

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Now, a daring group of extreme athletes and historians are retracing the settler's route in the dead of winter to unlock the secrets of the Donner Party.

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And they may have uncovered something lost to history, the so-called Camp of Death, where the first instances of cannibalism occurred.

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Its discovery would be a major find and could produce untold artifacts.

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My mission is to uncover the real story of the doomed Donner expedition, and it will take us many months and hundreds of miles to do it.

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So prepare to go west, into the snow, into the mountains, and into the gathering storm of the most terrifying journey in American history.

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My name is Josh Gates.

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Hello!

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Explorer.

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Adventurer.

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Amazing.

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Wow!

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And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations.

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That was exciting.

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With a degree in archaeology and a passion for the unexplained, I travel to the ends of the earth, investigating the greatest legends in history.

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Now let's punch it.

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This is Expedition Unknown.

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Welcome to the frontier.

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You know, it hasn't changed much around here since the spring of 1846.

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That's when 1600 men, women, and children set out to cross the country in search of pristine land and untold fortune, in a faraway place known as California.

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At this time, a still young America is comprised of 28 states.

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Beyond is the untamed wilderness of the west, leading to the coastal territory of Oregon and California, then part of Mexico.

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There's no transcontinental railroad, no interstate highway system.

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Settlers face a six-month-long, 2,000-mile journey on foot and by wagon.

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To stay ahead of deadly winter snowstorms in the west, these pioneers must set off in the spring just as soon as there's enough grass to feed their livestock.

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One such group includes the families of James Reed and George Donner, but they get off to a late start.

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Their group consists of 20 ox-drawn wagons and 87 people.

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The Donners, George, a farmer, and Jacob, a furniture manufacturer, are originally from North Carolina.

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Joining them are other families, including those of James Reed, an Irish businessman most recently from Illinois, and William Eddy, a carriage maker.

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These are not frontier-hardened survivalists.

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Nevertheless, on May 12, 1846, the party leaves Independence, Missouri, with their sights set on California.

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The initial leg of the trip across the Great Plains goes smoothly enough, but the train gradually falls further behind schedule.

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Up ahead, however, there may be a way to make up their lost time.

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The party, like most of the people moving west, are carrying this.

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The Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California, a how-to pamphlet written by a real estate investor named Lansford Hastings.

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The guide was his way to lead people toward plots of land in California, where he conveniently has interests.

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In other words, he's a hustler, and he's devised a shortcut known as the Hastings Cut-Off.

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It's designed to trim 300 miles from the journey by forging across the Great Salt Lake before rejoining the California Trail.

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There's just one problem.

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Prior to 1846, Hastings had never actually tested the route.

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And that brings us here, near the Little Sandy River in Wyoming.

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In this very spot, the lagging group is forced to make a choice.

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If they stay to the right, they maintain their course on the well-trod California Trail, the chosen path of every other group.

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But if they bear left, they veer toward the Hastings Cut-Off, which could get them back on schedule.

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What to do?

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In need of a party leader, they elect George Donner, who by all accounts is the exact wrong man for the job.

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Professional, soft-spoken, gentle and charitable.

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Not exactly someone familiar with making choices of life or death.

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The Donner party steps left and chooses the Hastings Cut-Off.

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And while they don't yet know it, this one decision will alter not just the course of their journey, but their very lives as they walk on toward a horrifying destiny.

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The supposed shortcut takes them through what is now Utah. It does not go well.

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Crossing 80 miles of desert takes six grueling days.

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The wagon wheels sink into the hot salt flats like warm butter.

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Three days in, their water is gone.

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36 oxen die, and several of the crippled wagons have to be abandoned.

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Whatever unity the party had evaporates in the scorching sun. Families turn against each other.

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In fact, James Reid gets into a heated argument that ends with him stabbing another man to death.

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But on October 20th, the lead wagons of the Donner party reach the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

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The desert is behind them, but winter lies ahead.

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They forge on into an unseasonably early snow, ascending to 7,000 vertical feet to a high pass that acts as a doorway to California, to a place known as Truckee Lake, where they can rest before the final push.

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Welcome to Truckee, California.

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When the Donner party came through here, there was nothing but wilderness.

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Later, this became a frontier trading post, and from the Central Pacific Railroad to historic saloons, echoes of the Old West are everywhere.

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This place was once infamous for its extreme weather. Today, it's celebrated for its extreme sports.

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Truckee is the snowiest town in the U.S., getting an average of 168 inches a year.

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Athletes flock here to ski and snowboard. As for me, I'm more into biking.

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Whoa!

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I am riding what is known as a snow bike.

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Basically, if a snowmobile and a motorcycle got real drunk one night and made a baby, this would be it.

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It's fast, it's maneuverable, it's sketchy, which is to say, it's fun.

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I'm on this ridiculous contraption to reach an expert on the Donner party at one of the most hallowed places in the Sierras.

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That is, if I can stay vertical long enough to get there.

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There goes nothing.

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Whoa!

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The key to that is to get there.

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The key to not falling is to just keep moving, which is easier said than done.

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Watch out.

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Ah, come on!

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Ah, come on!

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Oh, ow.

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Okay.

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I think my bones broke the fall, which is good.

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I've had a slight hiccup on my search to learn the truth about the infamous Donner party, but I'm not lying down on the job for long.

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Alright, back to it. Here we go.

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I'm heading to a place that used to be called Truckee Lake.

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These days, it's known as Donner Lake, and there's a reason for that.

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This is where the Donner party camped and ultimately became trapped.

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After taking their disastrous shortcut, the Donner party eventually rejoins the main route to California.

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But they've lost their most precious resource, time.

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When they get here in the Sierra Nevadas, they are nearly a month behind schedule.

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Every other pioneering family has a chance to get there.

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They're going to be able to get there by the end of the year.

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And they're going to be able to get there by the end of the year.

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When they get here in the Sierra Nevadas, they are nearly a month behind schedule.

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Every other pioneering family headed to the West Coast has already come and gone.

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The Donner party attempts to follow them high into the mountains, but a massive snowstorm stops them in their tracks.

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To discover more about what happened here, I'm meeting historian Frank Mullen at a memorial plaque to the Donner party.

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Josh, how are you, man?

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Good, nice to meet you.

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Hey, nice to meet you too.

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Frank is a journalist and the author of the Donner party Chronicles.

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He has spent 30 years studying what happened here.

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They've got to get through this pass at the end of the lake, right?

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What's today known as Donner Pass?

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Right. They made it within a few miles of the summit, but then a storm hit and they were pushed back here to the lake.

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If it had been another year, even if they'd been as late as they were, they might have been able to do it.

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They just happened to do this in a year where the weather was really lousy.

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And early.

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The winter of 1846 in the Sierras was beset by a series of hundred year storms that rolled in one after another,

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dropping over 10 feet of snow by mid-November and another five feet by December 1st.

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They're not really a unified group anymore, right?

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That's right. By the time the Donner party members reach Donner Lake, they are not talking to each other.

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Bitter and frustrated by their condition, the emigrants break off into different camps, most near the lake.

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The two Donner families make camps six miles away in a sheltered nook along Alder Creek.

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What's left? What are they eating? Are they hunting?

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There was no hunting here. The William Eddy had gotten his rifle, he shot an owl, he shot a squirrel,

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shot a fox, killed a bear, finally. But that didn't last all that long with giving the amount of people.

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When anyone mentions the Donner party, within a breath, they say cannibalism, right?

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I mean, this is forever linked.

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Yes, they are. We are repelled and also attracted, like a Dracula movie.

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What really shocked me in doing research about this story is that this whole ordeal that unfolds up here at the lake for months on end,

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there is no cannibalism. Not initially, right?

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Not initially, no.

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They are doing everything they can to avoid cannibalism.

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Yes, they are. They started scraping the bottles of the barrels, they started boiling the leather covers of books,

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and they're moccasins to soften them up to try to eat them.

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To literally eat their shoes.

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And their shoelaces sort of fry them like potato sticks.

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Wow.

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We have a Donner party plaque here with a list of those who perished and those who survived. Why is this plaque right here?

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This is the fourth wall of one of the cabins of the Donner party who were here during the terrible winter of 1846-47.

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Right here.

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Right here was one of the cabins, yes.

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How many people were living in this cabin?

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16 people living in this cabin, most of them children.

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And did any of them die here?

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Seven of them died in this cabin.

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Right where we're standing. So this is hallowed ground in a sense.

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This is the exact spot where people suffered for months where people died, where babies died.

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Yeah.

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So when does the cannibalism begin? Where does it start?

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The cannibalism begins with the escape group called the Forlorn Hope.

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Six weeks after becoming trapped at Truckee Lake, a small group of some of the strongest emigrants strap on homemade snowshoes and set out in a last-ditch effort to find help.

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The escape group, as Frank calls them, came to be known as the Forlorn Hope.

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Why aren't the Donner brothers part of this group?

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George Donner is suffering from gangrene, injured his left hand, fixing his wagon on the way up prior to the lake.

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And Jacob Donner has given up. He's in bed and he's not getting up and nobody can tell him otherwise.

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So what happens to them?

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First couple days they went out, they got to the base of the pass and then up and over it and then they were sucked in after they lost their guide.

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Charles Stanton went snow blind and he stumbled into camp in the next morning.

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When they were leaving he was sitting on a stump.

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Mary Graves said, are you coming Mr. Stanton?

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And his eyes were pretty much swollen shut and he was smoking his pipe on the log and he said, I'll be along presently, Mary.

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And they went ahead. He never showed up. The rescuers would find his bones in the spring.

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Without Stanton to guide them, the group becomes hopelessly lost.

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Their meager food runs out and a blizzard catches them in the open.

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They're pinned down in a makeshift tent for five days.

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When the storm finally passes, two other men are dead.

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Facing certain death, the survivors tearfully resort to the ultimate taboo, cannibalism.

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So many people say immediately, how could they have done that?

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I would never have done that. I could never engage in cannibalism.

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But in some ways it's easy to say that, not having been here.

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Right. It's very easy to say that when you're not in a position of choosing between death or eating the food that is forbidden food, but it's right in front of you.

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The place where it happened has never been found, a spot known as the Camp of Death.

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And for many people who have heard about the Donner Party, this is kind of the end of the story as they know it.

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A tale of disaster and cannibalism.

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The terrible choice that the settlers made at the Camp of Death gave them enough strength to push forward.

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And helped ensure that some of the so-called escape party managed to do just that.

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And of those 15 people that set out in the Forlorn Hope Party, how many of them ultimately survive and walk to safety?

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Of the 15 snowshoers, all five women and just two of the 10 men survived a 33-day trip out of the Sierra.

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Right.

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These survivors made their way down the western slopes of the mountains to find something they had nearly given up on.

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Rescue.

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And for years, historians wondered exactly where it happened.

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I leave Frank and the snow behind and drive west, descending more than 6,000 feet in elevation to follow the Pioneer's Trail in hopes of discovering where it leads.

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The 15 members of the Donner Party known as the Forlorn Hope, who tried to escape out of the mountains, figured it would take about a week for them to find rescue.

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33 days later, only seven of them managed to limp into the first outpost of civilization known as Johnson Ranch.

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It's an incredibly important part of this story, and yet for years its very location was lost to history.

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For as famous a story as the Donner Party, nearly no archaeological evidence of their harrowing journey has been found.

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Johnson Ranch could change that, since it's one of the only places we know they set foot.

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And since this is an extreme story, it requires extreme researchers.

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If there's anyone who might know exactly where the ranch was, it's Bob Crowley and Tim Tweetmeyer.

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The two of you are, I say this as a compliment, oddities.

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You are historians and you are ultramarathoners. They don't make a lot of those.

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Can you brag on Tim's behalf?

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Yeah, so one of the most famous ultramarathons here in America is the Western States 100-mile endurance run.

212
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:26,000
A 100-mile run?

213
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:32,000
Tim is a 25-time, under-24-hour finisher, 5-time winner.

214
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:37,000
If there is a Michael Jordan of our sport, that's the guy right there.

215
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:38,000
That's incredible.

216
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:42,000
Is this sport what led you to your interest in the Donner Party as historians?

217
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:51,000
It is. When you need to do field research, when you want to check a route, we can go into places on foot that most people wouldn't want to go or can't go.

218
00:18:51,000 --> 00:19:05,000
These two have been obsessively researching Donner Party history, culminating in December of 2020, when they used their skills and historical knowledge to undertake a week-long trek in deep snow and sub-zero temperatures.

219
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:12,000
Along the route they believe was taken by Forlorn Hope, a route they think led here.

220
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:18,000
And the first person to make it here from the Donner Group is William Eddy, right?

221
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,000
The only one to make it there here.

222
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:28,000
Eddy actually was found a short distance from the ranch by Native Americans, who brought him the rest of the way to the Adobe Ranch House.

223
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:37,000
And the young gal there, 16 years old, greeted them at the door, the shadow of a man, and she cried, she wept, she was scared, looked like a ghost.

224
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:42,000
The other survivors of Forlorn Hope were quickly found and brought back to the ranch.

225
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:48,000
If Bob and Tim are right, and this is that long-lost site, it would be nothing short of historic.

226
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:57,000
This story, the Forlorn Hope story, and Johnson Ranch, are pristine in terms of the opportunity for both discovering the story but also artifacts.

227
00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,000
All right, should we see what's under our feet?

228
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,000
Yeah, let's go see if we can find it. I got someone I need you to meet.

229
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,000
Okay, please lead on. Let's go.

230
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:12,000
For the past few years, Bob and Tim have been working with a local historian who has managed to secure rare access to search this land.

231
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,000
They bring me to meet Bill Holmes. Bill, how are you?

232
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,000
Great, how are you?

233
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,000
Nice to meet you. I see metal detectors and I see shovels.

234
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,000
Right.

235
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,000
It's a good sign.

236
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:22,000
It is.

237
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,000
You know, we look around here today, we see rolling fields. So where do we start swinging these metal detectors?

238
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,000
I have a great place for you to go.

239
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:41,000
Bill reveals the results of an aerial LIDAR survey, which has turned up what historians believe may be the foundation of the original Johnson Adobe, the mud structure where all the survivors were brought.

240
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:48,000
If so, it would be one of the only locations in the entire Donner Party story to have been geographically pinpointed.

241
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,000
This is it. This is it. Okay, shows up great on LIDAR.

242
00:20:52,000 --> 00:21:00,000
Right. So you can see though, there is clearly a rise. There is a feature here that goes back here. And then does it turn?

243
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,000
Yeah, let's see what's in here.

244
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,000
We start metal detecting in and around the footprint of the anomaly.

245
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:13,000
Right here.

246
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,000
And are quickly rewarded.

247
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:17,000
Right in here, looks like.

248
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,000
That's tough ground.

249
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:24,000
This dried clay is hard to cut into. So we're doing more scraping than digging.

250
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,000
But in no time, the hard work pays off.

251
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,000
All right, looks like we got a half of a horseshoe.

252
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:34,000
Look at that.

253
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:36,000
That is awesome.

254
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,000
Horse or a mule, look at that.

255
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,000
Yeah, like how worn down the back of that shoe is.

256
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:43,000
Look at that.

257
00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,000
That's 2,000 miles on that baby.

258
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:46,000
That's right. How about that?

259
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,000
Think about where this went.

260
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,000
And it's still lucky if it's only half a horseshoe.

261
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,000
Let's see if we can find the other half.

262
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,000
Exactly.

263
00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,000
It turns out our half a horseshoe is lucky.

264
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,000
At least our metal detectors seem to think so.

265
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,000
Hey guys, guys.

266
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,000
What do you got?

267
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,000
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Josh, we got something up here. Check this out.

268
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,000
Huge piece. Look at this.

269
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:19,000
Wow.

270
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:22,000
That's the edge of a plate.

271
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,000
I'm with a team of researchers looking for the lost ruins of Johnson Ranch,

272
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:30,000
a pioneer-era homestead reached by the survivors of the doomed Donner Party.

273
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,000
Here.

274
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:39,000
Wow, look at that.

275
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:40,000
That's a lot of wood.

276
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,000
That's a lot of wood.

277
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:42,000
That's a lot of wood.

278
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:43,000
That's a lot of wood.

279
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:44,000
That's a lot of wood.

280
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:45,000
That's a lot of wood.

281
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,000
That's a lot of wood.

282
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,000
Wow, look at that.

283
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,000
That's incredible.

284
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,000
Flathead nail and then this very cool piece of pottery.

285
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,000
We can see the edge of a pattern there too.

286
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:59,000
We dig around the pottery and quickly find more fragments and more pottery.

287
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,000
Look at this.

288
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,000
Oh, there's more. See, that's actually more.

289
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:03,000
Look at that.

290
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,000
Wow, there is just pottery everywhere you look here.

291
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,000
That's the edge of a plate right there.

292
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:09,000
Sure looks like it.

293
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,000
Yeah.

294
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,000
So this Adobe was in use between what years primarily?

295
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,000
1844, 1854.

296
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:16,000
So just that 10-year period.

297
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:17,000
Yeah.

298
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,000
If this is something that was used here in the Adobe,

299
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,000
we're right in that time period.

300
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:27,000
The Lidar scan, research and physical artifacts in this field are all but conclusive.

301
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,000
We are in the middle of history here.

302
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,000
This is Johnson Ranch.

303
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:36,000
Every single one of the Forlorn Hope survivors, all seven, they slept here.

304
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:37,000
Slept where we're standing.

305
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,000
They were all reunited after being saved.

306
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,000
This is the place they were reunited.

307
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:47,000
This is one of those parts of the story that is kind of lost the time.

308
00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,000
It really is.

309
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:49,000
Until now.

310
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:50,000
Until now.

311
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,000
It's humbling enough to stand in the footsteps of the Donner Party.

312
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:59,000
But then I remember this is where their rescuers stood as well.

313
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,000
Let's talk about the relief parties.

314
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:05,000
When most people think of the Donner Party, they think of the doomed expedition,

315
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:06,000
the people trapped up at the lake.

316
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:11,000
There's a whole other chapter to the Donner Party story people have never heard.

317
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:12,000
That's right.

318
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,000
It's a story of survival.

319
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,000
The human instinct to survive is remarkable.

320
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:21,000
When those first survivors limped into Johnson Ranch, it became nationwide news.

321
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:25,000
But most of the Donner Party were still trapped back at Truckee Lake.

322
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:29,000
And that meant people were going to have to go and get them.

323
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,000
And these are people that volunteered.

324
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:32,000
They didn't get lost.

325
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,000
They didn't get stuck in snow.

326
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,000
They found out people were stuck in snow.

327
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,000
They're fellow immigrants and they volunteered.

328
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,000
How many people went up to try to save them?

329
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,000
Total.

330
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:43,000
Like total, close to 40.

331
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:48,000
And there were several men that volunteered to not go just once, but several times.

332
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:54,000
The rescuers who set out to save the stranded immigrants were the kind of heroes that history rarely remembers.

333
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,000
In this case, literally.

334
00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:02,000
The actual route that they took to reach the Donner Party at Truckee Lake is totally unknown.

335
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,000
Bob and Tim are aiming to do something about that.

336
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:06,000
Something big.

337
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,000
Your hat says Donner Relief Expedition 2022.

338
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,000
What are you guys doing?

339
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:12,000
What are you planning?

340
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:16,000
We're going to retrace the steps of the first relief from right here in Johnson Ranch to Donner Lake.

341
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:21,000
And we are going to arrive at Donner Lake 175 years after the first relief arrived.

342
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,000
To the day?

343
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:23,000
To the day.

344
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,000
Using years of research, diaries from the survivors and their considerable outdoor skills,

345
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:33,000
they have charted the most likely course that the original relief expedition took to rescue the Donner Party.

346
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,000
The distance you're going to cover is?

347
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:36,000
About 100 miles.

348
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:39,000
On foot, back up into those mountains.

349
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,000
I don't know if you know this or not.

350
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,000
It's not warm up there.

351
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,000
It's harder this way.

352
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:44,000
This is going to take you how long?

353
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000
It's going to take us five days.

354
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:52,000
Their effort is the culmination of years of planning and will be tracked by satellites as they go.

355
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:58,000
I'd love to join them, but my camera team and I stand a 0% chance of keeping their pace.

356
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,000
Still, I'm not getting out of it that easy.

357
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,000
Why don't you meet us somewhere along the way?

358
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:06,000
Okay, we can intersect with your group at the finish line with hot chocolates.

359
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:07,000
I could just be lounging there.

360
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:08,000
I don't think so.

361
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:09,000
That's a little too easy.

362
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:10,000
Too easy?

363
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,000
Yeah, you have to see a little bit of the terrain.

364
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:12,000
All right.

365
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:13,000
How about Donner Pass?

366
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,000
You have snowshoes?

367
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,000
Yeah, I can get them.

368
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,000
Bring them with you.

369
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:17,000
I'll be there.

370
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:31,000
All right.

371
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:37,000
I'm chasing down Bob and his expedition team as they attempt to retrace the Donner Party relief route.

372
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,000
Now, we've been tracking them on GPS.

373
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:46,000
And in the last three and a half days, they have covered unbelievably more than 80 miles on foot.

374
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,000
These guys are animals.

375
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:56,000
So I got some serious catching up to do.

376
00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:01,000
I hop off the bike at the closest point I can get to the team and head out to meet them on foot.

377
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:02,000
Hey!

378
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,000
Lucky for me, they agree to stop for a moment.

379
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:05,000
How are you, man?

380
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:06,000
Good to see you.

381
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:12,000
Along with Tim and Bob are team members and experienced endurance athletes Jennifer Heman and Elkie Reimer.

382
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,000
I am so impressed and amazed to see all of you.

383
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,000
I mean, last time I saw you was nearly 100 miles ago.

384
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:19,000
That's right.

385
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,000
Back in Johnson Ranch.

386
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,000
We're 93 miles into the 100-mile trek now.

387
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:24,000
You're animals.

388
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:25,000
All of you.

389
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:26,000
Mind if I tag along with you?

390
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:27,000
It'd be great.

391
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:28,000
It'd be great.

392
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:29,000
Yeah.

393
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,000
Where are we headed?

394
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:31,000
Towards the Donner Party.

395
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,000
That way.

396
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:33,000
I'm right behind you.

397
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:34,000
Let's go.

398
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:38,000
Just me and four of the most well-trained athletes in the world.

399
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:42,000
Now I know how Ringo Star fell.

400
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:43,000
Okay.

401
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:44,000
How about a break?

402
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:45,000
No.

403
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,000
You're doing great.

404
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:48,000
Thanks.

405
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,000
Good job.

406
00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:57,000
The weather is on our side, but trekking in these conditions is slow going.

407
00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:01,000
We're following a trail that hasn't existed in nearly two centuries.

408
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:05,000
Fortunately, it's late in the day, which means we do get to rest.

409
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,000
What do you guys think?

410
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,000
For camp, yeah?

411
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,000
It's a nice little divot.

412
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,000
All right, we got, we got flat ground.

413
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:14,000
Let's take it.

414
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,000
We make camp for the night.

415
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,000
Thankfully, we've got much better equipment than the Donners.

416
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,000
That is, if we can figure out how to set it up.

417
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,000
Nope.

418
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,000
What's this like crazy knot going into this like sheared section?

419
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,000
It's an open letter to tent manufacturers.

420
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:30,000
Stop innovating.

421
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,000
Just crossed poles.

422
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:33,000
Nope.

423
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:34,000
Nobody asked for this.

424
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,000
Nobody asked for this.

425
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:37,000
What do you think guys?

426
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,000
We're going to make sunrise or?

427
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:49,000
Once we've built camp, it's time to get warm.

428
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:54,000
So we gather around a fire just as the rescuers did near this very spot.

429
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:59,000
It's hard not to imagine sitting here by this fire.

430
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:04,000
What it must have been like 175 years ago for that relief party.

431
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,000
So what did they find when they arrived at Donner Lake?

432
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:09,000
Nothing.

433
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:10,000
Nothing.

434
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,000
They arrived at the cabins and everybody's inside hunkered down.

435
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,000
I think everyone there had given up hope.

436
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,000
They probably watched the past for weeks.

437
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,000
When are they going to come get us?

438
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,000
By the time the first rescuers arrived at the lake,

439
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,000
the Donner party had been trapped there for over 12 weeks.

440
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:29,000
In fact, by this time, the shelters of the lake were all but invisible.

441
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:33,000
One of the women comes up out of the ground because they were all underground,

442
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:37,000
buried in snow, their shelters looks up and says,

443
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:41,000
are you men from California or were you sent here from heaven?

444
00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:42,000
Right.

445
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,000
Like they didn't even really have a grip on reality.

446
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,000
Are we living or did we just die?

447
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,000
And this relief party is also in a terrible position here

448
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,000
because they can't bring everybody out, right?

449
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,000
They say we don't have food and they say,

450
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,000
why have you come to save us only to kill us?

451
00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:02,000
13 people have already died and the remaining 54 are starving and desperate.

452
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:06,000
Still, there are only enough supplies to bring 23 of them back to civilization.

453
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,000
The rest will have to stay behind.

454
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:13,000
The second relief party organized immediately after the first arrives 10 days later

455
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:18,000
and discovers a horrific scene

456
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,000
called by one an unholy feast.

457
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,000
Four human bodies are in the process of being consumed.

458
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,000
The remaining survivors have made the same unthinkable decision

459
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:30,000
as those of the Forlorn Hope.

460
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:35,000
Jacob Donner himself has died and is consumed by his family to extend their own lives.

461
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,000
The second rescue party will bring 17 more survivors,

462
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:43,000
mostly children, back to Johnson Ranch.

463
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:48,000
In all, four rescue parties would make it to Truckee Lake.

464
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:51,000
I have to say I can sense that all of you feel a real connection

465
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,000
to the members of this relief party at this point.

466
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:58,000
What we didn't anticipate is becoming fixated on the characters,

467
00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,000
which are so interesting.

468
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:04,000
And one of the ways that helps us remind ourselves who they are

469
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:09,000
as people is we make up little tribute cards with their picture on the front.

470
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,000
This is a card, for instance, of John Stark.

471
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:16,000
And we'll lay John Stark and 47 other cards like this

472
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:20,000
at the Donner Memorial State Park tomorrow at the Pioneer Monument.

473
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,000
Wow. Can I see one?

474
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,000
Wow, this is something.

475
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,000
So this is John Stark.

476
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,000
John Stark was part of the third relief party.

477
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:34,000
On their way out, Stark and the other rescuers came across a group of 11

478
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,000
stranded in the snow, clinging to life.

479
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:42,000
The rescuers took a vote and initially decided they could only save two.

480
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:46,000
John Stark pulled nine children out of that hole,

481
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,000
and he'd put them on his back.

482
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,000
He'd carry them 100 yards.

483
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,000
He'd go back and get the next three children,

484
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:56,000
carry them 100 yards and set them in the snow,

485
00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,000
and then do it over and over again.

486
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,000
He did that for three days without any help at all.

487
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:05,000
And he said, I would have put all nine of them on my back if I had room.

488
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:10,000
And when asked why did he do it, he said, because it's the right thing to do.

489
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,000
Yeah, there's just something almost superhuman about the commitment

490
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,000
that these people had to this cause.

491
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:18,000
To heroism.

492
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:19,000
To heroism.

493
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:20,000
To heroism.

494
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:22,000
Cheers.

495
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:23,000
Cheers.

496
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:31,000
All right, should we get to it?

497
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:32,000
Let's do it.

498
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:33,000
Here we go. Come on.

499
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,000
We awaken the next morning, February 18th, 2022,

500
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:43,000
175 years to the day that the first relief party reached Donner Summit.

501
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:52,000
To honor the survivors and the rescuers and to bring history to life,

502
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:57,000
the expedition team opts to dress in period clothing for the final leg of the journey.

503
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,000
Through Donner Pass.

504
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:04,000
We have only six miles to cover today.

505
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,000
At the end of the trail is history.

506
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,000
Look at that view. Wow.

507
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,000
This location is one of the most famous places on earth.

508
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:24,000
I'm in the Sierra Mountains, part of an expedition team

509
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:28,000
retracing the first rescue effort to reach the infamous Donner Party.

510
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,000
And you know, it's kind of eerie in a way,

511
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:39,000
but they would have stood right here where we are on this very day, right?

512
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:43,000
The precise spot, 175 years ago today.

513
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:44,000
How about that?

514
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,000
The only difference is that when the rescue party was here,

515
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:52,000
there was 25 more feet of snow in what is now known as Donner Pass.

516
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,000
You know, this pass is such a funnel,

517
00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,000
not just the relief party, but think about over the centuries,

518
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:05,000
all of the people who came through here, all the footsteps that we're walking in right now.

519
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,000
This very pass, not a very big one,

520
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:11,000
is where everyone that wanted to come to California had to pass through here.

521
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:12,000
Right.

522
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:16,000
The entire country, all narrows down to this very spot.

523
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:19,000
Yeah, it started with originally with the wagon trains coming through the pass.

524
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:23,000
Next they built the railroad through here, then the interstate highway.

525
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:25,000
Everyone came through here.

526
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,000
This really is the gateway to the West.

527
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,000
It really is.

528
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:32,000
Think about how much we owe to the people that came through right where we are right now.

529
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:38,000
Everything from agriculture to the economy to high-tech Silicon Valley, California companies.

530
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:40,000
Anytime you use social media,

531
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:43,000
it's because somebody a couple hundred years ago came through Donner Pass

532
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,000
and helped make California.

533
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,000
This is the super highway of early America.

534
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,000
Yeah. All right. Let's keep moving.

535
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:57,000
Yeah, Josh, watch it. It gets real steep in here. Be careful.

536
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,000
Okay. Nice and slow here.

537
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:04,000
The next part of the trip is a steep downward slope,

538
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,000
which gives me an excuse to use the phrase,

539
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,000
ass over tea kettle.

540
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:09,000
There we go.

541
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:11,000
Watch those spikes. Watch those spikes.

542
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,000
That was like a 30-second slip.

543
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,000
We might have to go rescue the film crew.

544
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,000
The pass isn't looking quite so easy anymore.

545
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:20,000
Never easy.

546
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:23,000
Snow shooing down steep hills is a delicate balancing act,

547
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,000
so we need to watch every step we take.

548
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:31,000
Adding to the danger is the fact that the snow we're walking on isn't always solid.

549
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,000
Watch this right here.

550
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:36,000
Oh, look at that. Yeah, there's a hole down there.

551
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:41,000
On the left side.

552
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:43,000
There's a hole down there.

553
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,000
On the left side.

554
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:54,000
That lake is not as close as it looks from the top of the pass.

555
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:55,000
It's deceptive.

556
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:58,000
It was not easy to get up the Donner Pass.

557
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:00,000
It was incredibly hard.

558
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,000
And for the relief party, each time they made that trip,

559
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:07,000
breaking trail for all those people each time in fresh snow.

560
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:08,000
It's exhausting.

561
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:11,000
You just imagine with 30-feet snow,

562
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,000
and no clear route through, forget it.

563
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:20,000
Be careful there one at a time.

564
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:31,000
Alright, we're down in the flats here now.

565
00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,000
We've got to be getting close to that lake.

566
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,000
Eventually, we complete the descent and link into the road

567
00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:40,000
that leads to Donner Memorial State Park.

568
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,000
We've got a crowd. Look at this. Wow.

569
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,000
Finally, after seemingly endless hours in snowshoes,

570
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:55,000
the finish line is in sight.

571
00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:00,000
The Pioneer Monument built in 1918 to honor the Donner Party.

572
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:05,000
We lay the cards representing the rescuers on the base of the monument,

573
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,000
bringing them together again,

574
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:11,000
if only symbolically, at this site of tragedy and triumph.

575
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,000
Come on in here, guys.

576
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,000
Well done, guys. Well done, guys.

577
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,000
It was an honor.

578
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,000
For these four endurance athletes,

579
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,000
it's the culmination of a long and emotional journey,

580
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,000
something for which they should be recognized.

581
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:43,000
This event today is obviously about honoring the first relief

582
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,000
and all the relief parties here.

583
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,000
I just want to brag on behalf of these four folks for a second.

584
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,000
They've done an extraordinary amount of work,

585
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:53,000
and they've really helped to, in many ways, rediscover

586
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,000
one of the most extraordinary parts of the Donner Party saga.

587
00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:59,000
Those cards that are up there, I hope everyone takes a look

588
00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,000
and goes and sees them. These folks are honoring people who did something

589
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,000
really extraordinary, and they themselves have done something really extraordinary.

590
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,000
So give them a round of applause. They're just amazing folks.

591
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:12,000
And thank you for letting us tag along and play a small part in it.

592
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:16,000
It certainly feels like the end of the road, but it's not.

593
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:20,000
It turns out Bob and Tim aren't done making history with their expedition.

594
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,000
Other than taking your boots off and resting, now what?

595
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:26,000
When we did the Forlorn Hope expedition,

596
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,000
one of the obscure areas that was lost to history

597
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,000
was a place called Camp of Death.

598
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,000
The Camp of Death.

599
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:38,000
This is one of the most critical locations in the entire Donner saga.

600
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:42,000
The place where the Forlorn Hope escape party got pinned down by weather

601
00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,000
and first turned to cannibalism.

602
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:48,000
The event that came to define the doomed expedition.

603
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,000
But it's never been found.

604
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:53,000
We think we may have a bead on it.

605
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,000
If he's right, and they have identified this lost location,

606
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,000
it would be history in the making.

607
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:00,000
Okay, so are you going to go try and find it?

608
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:02,000
We are, but we've got to wait for the snow to thaw.

609
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:03,000
Right, not today?

610
00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:04,000
Yeah, not today.

611
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,000
Okay, but maybe I'll come look you up in the spring?

612
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,000
Yeah, we'd love to have you along.

613
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:09,000
Will there be less walk?

614
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:10,000
Can't guarantee that.

615
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:12,000
So, once the snow melts?

616
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,000
Once the snow melts, we're going to meet you out there.

617
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:15,000
Sounds good to me.

618
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:16,000
Deal.

619
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:24,000
All right, spring is here.

620
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:27,000
The snow has melted and I am back near Truckee.

621
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:32,000
California heading to a set of coordinates deep inside Taho National Forest

622
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,000
to meet Bob and Tim once again.

623
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,000
Hey guys, how are you?

624
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:41,000
Josh.

625
00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:42,000
How are you, man?

626
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:43,000
Hey, welcome back to Cali.

627
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:44,000
Look at you, clean shaven.

628
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:45,000
Yeah.

629
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:46,000
Looking good, man.

630
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:47,000
Hey Tim.

631
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:48,000
Good to see you again.

632
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:49,000
Good to see you, man.

633
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:50,000
What's up?

634
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:51,000
Hey, I'm Josh.

635
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:52,000
Hey, I'm Greg.

636
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:53,000
Nice to meet you.

637
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:55,000
Greg is our archaeologist on the project.

638
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:56,000
Awesome.

639
00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:01,000
I'm glad you got a long pants on because we're going for about a half a mile hike into the wilderness.

640
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:02,000
You up for that?

641
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:03,000
Yeah.

642
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:04,000
I'm ready.

643
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:05,000
Shall we do it?

644
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:06,000
Yep.

645
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:07,000
Let's go.

646
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:08,000
Let's see what you got.

647
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:09,000
Come on.

648
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,000
After our last hike together, this feels like a stroll in the park.

649
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:20,000
We snake through the pathless forest for an hour.

650
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:26,000
If the camp of death is out here and could be identified, it would be nothing short of historic.

651
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:30,000
And before long, the guys come to a stop in a small clearing.

652
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:31,000
Okay, Josh.

653
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:33,000
This is the spot.

654
00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:34,000
This is it.

655
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:37,000
This is the spot we believe is the camp of death.

656
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:38,000
How did you arrive at this?

657
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:43,000
We researched the entire 100 mile journey of the Forlorn Hopers over seven years.

658
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:48,000
Our first hand accounts from William Metty and his diary, they were looking for shelter.

659
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:53,000
They knew they had to get on the lee side away from the wind because it was blowing.

660
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:54,000
That checks here.

661
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:56,000
They had to have fuel for a fire.

662
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:57,000
Plenty of that?

663
00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:58,000
There was plenty of that around here.

664
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:02,000
We knew where they were the day before and we knew where they were five days later.

665
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,000
Process of elimination, this really is the spot.

666
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,000
It's the only spot they could have been.

667
00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,000
So what do we know about camp of death?

668
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:09,000
What do they describe?

669
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:14,000
They said they had built a fire on top of the snow, but during the time they were there,

670
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,000
the fire burned through the snow and was extinguished in a creek.

671
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,000
And we are literally standing here in a creek?

672
00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:24,000
Yeah, we're in a dry creek bed, but you can see how if there was wintertime or spring where the snow was running off,

673
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:26,000
this is going to be a quite active stream.

674
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,000
So this place fits geographically, it fits historically.

675
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:31,000
How do we say for sure though?

676
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:32,000
You're right.

677
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:34,000
There's going to be very little forensic evidence here.

678
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:40,000
However, when we were in here surveying the area, we found an item and we left it in the ground.

679
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:46,000
And then we contacted Greg, our archaeologist, and said we need help to properly document this.

680
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:52,000
For something to be properly studied archaeologically, it needs to be in situ or in its original place.

681
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:59,000
Bob and Tim have done the right thing here, waiting for the next thaw and calling in an expert to properly document the find.

682
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:02,000
But that also means we need to rediscover it.

683
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:03,000
Okay.

684
00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:05,000
What did you find?

685
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,000
Well, you know, it'd be no fun if we told you.

686
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:08,000
Oh, come on.

687
00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:09,000
Do you know where it is?

688
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:11,000
Well, we know it's in this creek bed somewhere.

689
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:12,000
We need to go find it again.

690
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:14,000
You're out here with a metal detector.

691
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:15,000
You're doing what you love.

692
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:16,000
Get to it.

693
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:17,000
We'll find it.

694
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:18,000
We'll find it.

695
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:24,000
Bob and Tim are confident we're in the right spot, but I'll admit my faith wavers.

696
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,000
Now, Bob, you're sure you found something here?

697
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:28,000
We're certain.

698
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:29,000
It's around here somewhere, Josh.

699
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:30,000
It wasn't a dream.

700
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,000
If it was a dream, it was a happy dream.

701
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:33,000
All right.

702
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:35,000
Oh.

703
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:37,000
Hold on.

704
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:38,000
You got something?

705
00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:39,000
Yeah, I got a hit.

706
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:40,000
Something here for sure.

707
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:42,000
You got that?

708
00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:46,000
Yeah, something here.

709
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:50,000
That sounds like metal.

710
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:54,000
What did you find?

711
00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:58,000
Oh, my word.

712
00:42:58,000 --> 00:42:59,000
Oh, my word.

713
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:00,000
Look at that.

714
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:09,000
The Sierra Nevadas were once the last obstacle to the West.

715
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:12,000
Pioneers risked their lives to cross the mountains.

716
00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:16,000
Now the risk is fun.

717
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:18,000
Hashtag disco tubing.

718
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,000
Is hashtag still a thing?

719
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:26,000
Now going for an amateur recreational land speed snow tube record.

720
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:28,000
Josh W. Gates Jr.

721
00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:30,000
Remember, kids, do not try this at home.

722
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:32,000
I am a professional sort of.

723
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:33,000
Okay.

724
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:36,000
I guess I just sit in this thing and here we go.

725
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:38,000
Oh, oh, oh, God.

726
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:39,000
Oh, my God.

727
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:40,000
Oh, God.

728
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:43,000
Oh, it's much faster than it looks.

729
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:44,000
Oh, boy.

730
00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:45,000
Oh, this doesn't seem safe at all.

731
00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:46,000
Oh, my God.

732
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:47,000
Oh, my God.

733
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:48,000
There's a corner.

734
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:49,000
There's a corner.

735
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:50,000
There's a.

736
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:52,000
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

737
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:53,000
Oh, no.

738
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:56,000
Oh, oh, I'm in the creek.

739
00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:57,000
Hey.

740
00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:58,000
Whoa.

741
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:01,000
Land speed record.

742
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:06,000
It's an axe.

743
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:08,000
You found an axe head.

744
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:09,000
That's what we found.

745
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:12,000
Hi, in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

746
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:15,000
I'm with a research team looking for evidence of the Donner

747
00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:18,000
Party's infamous and lost camp of death.

748
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:19,000
Look at that.

749
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:21,000
That's what we were looking for.

750
00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:22,000
Unbelievable.

751
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:23,000
Greg, what do you think?

752
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:24,000
Wow, fantastic.

753
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:25,000
Amazing.

754
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:26,000
Yeah, that is.

755
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:30,000
That is a hand forged axe.

756
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:32,000
You can see the pitting here.

757
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:33,000
Yeah.

758
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:35,000
Yeah, there are two things that are really distinct about this.

759
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:37,000
One is the size.

760
00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:39,000
It was what's called a belt axe.

761
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:42,000
It would have hung out near the belt rather than being a full

762
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:43,000
size axe.

763
00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:44,000
It would have been carried portable.

764
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,000
It would have been ready at the belt and used for smaller

765
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:51,000
scale activities, limbing, production of firewood and

766
00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:52,000
kindling and things like that.

767
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:55,000
And it could be anywhere from the time range you guys are

768
00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:59,000
looking for the 1840s on up to the 1850s or 60s.

769
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:01,000
We are right on the money time wise here.

770
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:04,000
And in terms of Donner history, we know they didn't have much

771
00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:05,000
with them.

772
00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:07,000
The only thing we are certain they had was a personal hand

773
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:12,000
axe, likely carried by William Eddie and it's in his diary.

774
00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:13,000
That's mentioned.

775
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:14,000
That's inventory.

776
00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:17,000
It is absolutely mentioned in his diary and he had a story

777
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:19,000
that went with it in this very spot.

778
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:22,000
When they came here and they began to harvest the wood with

779
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:25,000
the snowstorm bearing down on them and it was 20 feet of

780
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:26,000
snow at the time.

781
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:29,000
They were chopping away and somewhere in the night they

782
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:32,000
chopped and the axe head broke off and they lost it in the

783
00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:35,000
snow and weren't able to start a fire.

784
00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:38,000
And that's why for 36 hours they had to be under blankets.

785
00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:41,000
They had no mechanism to start the fire.

786
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:44,000
And so that axe head was the one thing that you could

787
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:46,000
possibly find in this spot.

788
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:48,000
This is wild.

789
00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:51,000
I mean, could this really be?

790
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,000
And the answer is it could.

791
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:54,000
It could.

792
00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:55,000
I mean it fits the geography.

793
00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:56,000
It fits the history.

794
00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:01,000
And the axe itself is the right period, the right type.

795
00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:04,000
And if this is that axe, then we're standing in the camp of

796
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:05,000
death.

797
00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:06,000
No doubt about that.

798
00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:09,000
And if that's the case, then this right where we are is

799
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:13,000
where they made the most difficult of choices.

800
00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:17,000
Everything, possibly they could go wrong, went wrong here.

801
00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:18,000
Yeah.

802
00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:20,000
And yet they somehow survived it.

803
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:21,000
That's the human spirit.

804
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:22,000
Amazing.

805
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:27,000
If this is what we hope it is, it's historic.

806
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:30,000
It's monumental really.

807
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:31,000
Thanks.

808
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:32,000
Thank you.

809
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:33,000
Really.

810
00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:34,000
Greg, it's a pleasure.

811
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:35,000
Tim, thank you so much.

812
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:36,000
Thanks.

813
00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:37,000
Thanks.

814
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:42,000
For 175 years, the history of the Donner Party has been told

815
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:43,000
as a horror story.

816
00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:47,000
A pioneer Stephen King yarn where the living envy the dead.

817
00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:50,000
But after walking in their footsteps, it seems clear to me

818
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:53,000
that we've been telling the wrong tale.

819
00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:57,000
Their journey was a disastrous combination of a con, a lack of

820
00:46:57,000 --> 00:47:02,000
leadership, infighting, and the worst of weather.

821
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:07,000
And yet over half the Donner Party survived.

822
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:10,000
If it hadn't been for their nearly superhuman determination,

823
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:14,000
or for the bravery of the Forlorn Hope and the selflessness of

824
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:18,000
the rescuers, then all would have been lost.

825
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:22,000
Those who lived would go on to settle the West and have families

826
00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:24,000
of their own.

827
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:28,000
It has been calculated that 25,000 descendants are alive today

828
00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:32,000
because of the 48 people who refused to die in those mountains.

829
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:38,000
They include state senators, judges, artists, and countless

830
00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:41,000
homesteaders who shaped the Golden State.

831
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:45,000
So if you ever find yourself driving west on interstate 80

832
00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:49,000
through Donner Pass, be sure to remember that long before the

833
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:53,000
highway, this was all wilderness that demanded great sacrifice

834
00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:57,000
from those who forged the path for us to follow.