This is the record of the self contained bicyle tour I made with my daughter Rhielle and my son Spencer starting July 31, 2001. We rode along the Emmigrant Trail starting at Chimney Rock Nebraska and going to Salt Lake City. I refer to this as the Emmigrant Trail because the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, California Trail, Pony Express and first Transcontental Telegraph all basically followed the same route for this portion of the trail. The exception is that the Oregon Trail headed north into present day Idaho at Fort Bridger. Our goal for selecting this route for a bicycle tour was to develop a better appreciation for our pioneer ancestors who traveled to Salt Lake City on the trail. In particular we focused on the Peter Mortensen family who traveled the trail with the Willie Handcart Company of 1856, and Moses Cluff, Ann Bond, and the William Jones family who traveled with the Hodgett Wagon Train which accompanied the Martin Handcart Company of 1856. The Hodgett Wagon Train suffered much the same as the Martin Handcart Company did. We had a wonderful experience in all peddaling our bicycles 606 miles.
Copyright © Clarence Whetten 2001