About this episode
In the winter of 1846-47 a group of pioneers were headed to California when they were trapped in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains. The snow was over 20 feet deep, they were running out of food, and the group wasn't working together. Three unsuccessful attempts were made to escape and get help from California. On December 16, 1846 a small group began another attempt on homemade snowshoes with enough food for six days; hoping it would take around 10 days to make the 100 mile journey. Tim Twietmeyer and Bob Crowley, have been trying to understand this story for over six years. This episode is an explanation of their findings and announcing their memorial trek 174 years later. You can find out more about this heroic endurance feat and about the memorial event and how to track them at ForlornHope.org .