Dog Valley to Truckee on the northern route of the Lincoln Highway, Part 4

We are now on our way up Henness Pass Road, leaving Verdi and headed towards the “First Summit.” The First Summit is where the emigrants then descended to Dog Valley to camp and feed their animals. The Lincoln Highway does not head down to the valley but follows a ridge above the valley.

First summit. Click photo for larger view.

Here at First Summit was Bauer’s Hotel, 1865. I couldn’t find any more information on this hotel, nor could we see any hotel's physical signs. We always find it fascinating to think there was so much traffic on this road that hotels were needed every so often. Looking at the panorama photo above, we can see the Lincoln Highway headed towards the Second Summit, a road heading down to Dog Valley, the direction the emigrants traveled, and the road to Verdi.

Dog Valley as seen from the Lincoln Highway, looking north-east.

Just past the First Summit, we round a curve and the view of Dog Valley is spectacular. We intend to head down to the valley next year and check out a Trail West “T” Marker on the old trail through the valley the Emigrant Trail soon heads back up from the valley to what’s known as “Second Summit”. The Trails West “T” marker pictured below describes the scene.

Trail West “T” marker at Second Summit. Click photo fro closer view.

The road from Verdi to Prosser Reservoir is all dirt and fairly easy to travel. The first section up from Verdi to First Summit is a beautiful example of the “washboard effect”. Once at the summit the road is easy to drive, dusty in the summer, and not recommended in the winter. In the map below we can see a portion of the Lincoln Highway headed into Stampede Reservoir, which of course was not there during the early parts of the 20th Century. We will take up that portion of the adventure on our next installment of the Lincoln Highways northern route from Verdi, NV through California.

Map showing area and some key features. Click map for a closer view.

Satellite view showing Verdi off in the distance and the climb up to the first summit. Looking southeast. Click map for a closer view.

Verdi to Henness Pass Road on the old Lincoln Highway northern route, part 3

Dog Valley and Henness Pass Road from Verdi to Truckee is one of the most historic in California. Besides being the Lincoln Highway's original route, this was also the Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon Road (DFDLWR), and before that, an emigrant trail.

The first wagon train across The Sierra was the Stevens, Townsend, Murphy party, guided by Caleb Greenwood, a trapper, in 1844. They took the only way known to them, from the area known today as Verdi. They followed the Truckee River down its narrow canyon. This was a brutal passage as the emigrants often found themselves in the water working their way upstream. It may be that they were the only wagon train to use this passage as a newer, easier route had been discovered.

Sign at the Von Schmidt Obeilisk park in Verdi, at the California border line.

That newer route was the road we are about to travel on. In 1845 Caleb Greenwood, not wishing to repeat the Truckee River route, discovered the way we are venturing on. This route avoided the waters of The Truckee and used the ridge tops and not the canyons for travel. This was the same route the Donner Party followed on their way west.

Map showing both new and old routes from Verdi to Truckee. Click map for larger view.

Starting in 1864, this route was also the Dutch Flat Wagon Road, which became quite busy as travelers headed west and even busier during the silver boom in Nevada with thousands traveling east. Automobiles started using this road in 1901, and in 1913 the Lincoln Highway Association chose this way for its northern route. From 1864 to 1926, this was the main route into California from points east.

Automobile traveling west on the new Truckee River Route of the second generation Lincoln Highway, soon to be Highway 40. Photo from Lincoln Highway Traveler Newsletter.

The Dog Valley route as it was called was being prepared for it’s inclusion as the new state highway when in 1926 it was decided to build the more expensive, $889,894, and difficult Truckee River route. The Dog Valley Route would have been completed for $94,000. Apparently politics played a role in the new routes construction. After 1926 all traffic was diverted down the newer Truckee River Route, Highway 40. The Dog Valley Route was abandoned and became a county road.

Trey standing by Trail West “T” marker #24. The quote by Emigrant Isaac Wistar commented that “large pines, firs and cedars abound…some of which are fully six feet through.”

As we head up Dog Valley Road, it changes to Henness Pass Road, and we spot our first Trails West “T” marker, describing the immense trees, some 6 feet wide! The emigrant trail likely followed the present-day road's general route, though likely they used the sides of the hills for passage. In the photo above the Lincoln Highway is behind the photographer by about 10 yards.

Satellite image showing location and features. Click map for a closer view.

From this point up to the first summit, the road is quite rough, with the washboard effect very evident. Shake, rattle, and roll!