The Forlorn Hope - Retracing the steps of the Donner Party
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2022
- On December 16, 1846, seventeen members of the Donner - Reed party left their snowy encampment in the high Sierras in an attempt to hike to safety and secure a rescue party to come to the aid of the trapped emigrants. They became known as "The Forlorn Hope"
174 years later, four Californian ultra runners, Bob Crowley, Tim Twietmeyer, Elke Reimer, and Jennifer Hemmen left Donner Lake on snowshoes to cross the Sierra, recreating one of the most renowned journeys in American pioneer history.
Bob and Tim joined the Oregon California Trails Association (OCTA) to tell the firsthand story of this epic exploration.
The Oregon-California Trails Association is the pre-eminent guardian and promoter of the inspirational story of the 19th century westward migration, which is unique in world history. Our mission is to protect the Historic Emigrant Trails legacy by promoting research, education, preservation activities and public awareness of the trails, and to work with others to promote these causes.
#californiatrail #oregontrail #donnerparty #donnerordeal #trailrunning #explore #california #nevada #donner #hastings #running
"We became consumed with the people themselves." I couldn't help but note the irony of that statement.
A thing that was clearly eating away at the researchers.
Boom boom tschhh. 🥁
Thank you. I am a descendant of Mary Graves. I found this very informative, unexpectedly emotional. Thank you for the time and research, and respect you have shown for the survivors and of course the deceased.
Thanks for this comment and great to hear of your story!
This is amazing.
I was born in 1961 and learning about the Donner / Forlorn Hope was mandatory in middle school. At least three weeks and a book report, discussion, and a film.
But it was always surreal, in that one can't imagine the brutality of the Sierra Nevada mountains, without being there, or seeing this kind of footage.
The SN range is utterly unforgiving of mistakes or incompetence.
Obviously, even experienced trekers, using modern gear, were challenged by the terrain and weather. This gives me a new appreciation, some 50 years on, and my first real understanding of what I learned as a kid, which was good, but insufficient to really grasp how bad it was for these pioneers.
It's a true miracle any of them survived, and a testament and tribute to the toughness of pioneers, a toughness which we have sorely lost in modern society.
Amazing story of perseverance, determination, and hope. I can’t imagine what those people went through.
Thanks for the comment and for watching the channel
I've driven my 18 wheeler over Donner pass in the winter. can't imagine anyone taking wagons over in summer, let alone winter
That was Lansford Hastings' scam. He touted his Cutoff to the Donner/Reed party and others, but had never traveled it with wagons.
Amazing,and to show how many alive today can be traced back to this group.They made an amazing difference !
Thanks for the comment and watching the video!
I live in the East near Philadelphia, PA. Due to the heavy snows of early March 2024 in the Donner Pass area, for the first time I saw how intense the weather can become and so quickly. I found myself being overtaken by the story of the Donner/Reed party and have spent the last several days actually learning as much of the fact/truth as I can.
I had always known the basics of the story, but in many of the television accounts they always fixated and sensationalized the cannibalism aspect which always left me wanting to know more about the exact events. After reading several much more in depth accounts and watching videos like this and the 1992 Ric Burns (brother of Ken burns) documentary I have become almost obsessed with the whole story from Independence Missouri all the way to the final outcome.
While becoming stranded is obviously the most extreme and tragic aspect, understanding the incredible mistake taking Hastings cutoff and the trouble they found was very enlightening. Most of all becoming better acquainted with the trials and tribulations of all those making the trek no matter what path was taken is truly humbling to a first world 21st century man.
Thank you for your wonderful comment!
@@octatrails
You’re very welcome.
Hastings was a terrible person, a charlatan and would-be king of California. A deluded megalomaniac. Tragic that they ignored his advice. Jim Bridger shares responsibility in this matter also, he promoted that road to make $ at Fort Bridger.
@@octatrails what was the outcome of the ax head you found
@@BurgerTaco It was left where it was found, which is where it belongs for eternity.
its fascinating human story .it's so tragic but fascinating .im from switzerland and i only heard of the donner party in some movies as a side joke. then 2 years ago i looked into the donner party story and i cant stop reading or listening about them.
i wanna write so much about this story here but i leave it with
just thank you 4 your great work you all did .
We're glad you joined us from Europe! We hope you're subscribed to our channel so we can keep bringing you great content.
Thank you for taking the time to put together this informative project. One part of this story that haunts me is how little we know about Luis and Salvador. The only two who according to the survivors that didn’t partake in consuming other victims for their sustenance, and also the only two who were actually murdered and consumed themselves. They may very well be the reason why forlorn hope survived and made it into the valley below. Being Miwok, one also wonders whether they had a choice in being up there to begin with, or were simply order to do so.
You're most welcome and thank you for your watch time and insightful comments. We can certainly only wonder...
The story of Luis and Salvador is a tragedy in and of itself.
Fascinating video! It's difficult to find videos that can provide the scale of what those folks went through, especially ones that are as in-depth as this one. Bravo!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Roanoke Tales just did a really good video about the Donner party. Also there's an audiobook version of "The Indifferent Stars Above" which was rotten by one of the survivors, here on TH-cam.
i have been waiting for a video like this. unreal. this is incredible. i can only hope to find someone to take me out to these spots (and hopefully come back)
Join the Oregon-California Trails Association. Our local chapter has lots of people who could take you to these spots. More info at www.octa-trails.org.
Wow! This is so amazing! I am very curious about the Donner Relief Expedition too! Looking forward to seeing it!
Very interesting video and it really captures the distances and some of the difficulties. I find it incomprehensible that they could have survived given the circumstances the distances. Had they not made it out I wonder if anyone would have survived that winter. That four rescue parties managed to make the trek back to the lake is itself an amazing accomplishment. Thanks very much for putting together this video of your search for the route of the forlorn hope.❤
I just can’t imagine the horror and how I would have managed only for one day!!!
Agreed. Taking a poll. Are you subscribed to the OCTA TH-cam Channel?
Excellent presentation! I have researched the actual route of the Donner Party, primarily Hastings Cutoff, but until now, was unable to find documentation regarding the Forlorn Hope's route. Good show and cheers to you all for your efforts and commitment toward providing "the rest of the story."
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you guys, so much.
Amazing tale of determination
We agree!
Absolutely amazing!
Glad you enjoyed this!
I was getting board until I found your video. Thanks!
Thanks for watching
This is fascinating. The Donner story still breaks my heart.
Absolutely.
For all that snowfall it's a very arid area. Soo different from the East.
Awesome work. Look forward to the forensics on that axe head 🙏🏻
fascinating what a amazing trek thanks for video honoring them.had alot of emotions on this.
Glad you enjoyed it
very cool project what an experience. thanks for sharing this effort.
Glad you enjoyed it!
The weather just made it impossible, it would've been tough with modern snowmobiles nevermind snowshoes
Thanks
Thanks for watching!
my god it's totally incredible to found the items of axe in the desert of trees or this litterally immense forest my god incredible , i m french and i m fascinate literally by this story of donner party.
37:57 It seems so impossible to me when taking into account the state of fatigue and "hunger," resulting in a lack of physical strength and energy. How does one traverse the slopes of mountains through the forest and those steep ridges with no more strength? I am in doubt, is this the right path?
Yes, this is an amazing story well told by Bob and Tim.
Unbelievable will of survival, I wonder if these people made any of the original clothing or shoes like the original people wore.
Stuka
Whirlwind
Corsair
I really don't understand the majority of the video footage that was taken. Most of the footage feels like it was done on a holiday hiking trip without much context. As an example, the "steep" hike up the side of the mountain doesn't show a shot of what was at the top or an aerial shot to give the viewer a sense of where this all takes place. The other thing that bothered me was there's really no explanation of why routes were taken or how they came to the conclusion that the yellow map line was indeed the Forlorn Hope route.
Even though the route may never be known, the presenters mentioned that they tried to eliminate places that were not practical for people trying to head to the valley (about 10:00 into the presentation)
The high sierras
Mexico
A presence huh .
What a lame party
darn im lost no photo of the axe what did i miss u have the axe head? I want to be on that expedition of relief! MAN THE BLIZZARD OF THE LAST 20 YEARS IS OCCURRING RIGHT NOW THAT WOULD BE UN FREAKING BELIEVABLE IF YOU GUYS ARE IN THIS OR JUST MISSED IT! whats happening right now in the SN is exactly what they faced all those years ago,