Stephens – Townsend – Murphy Party
Posted: September 28, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: history, mountain pass, pioneers Leave a commentThe Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party was the first European Americans to cross the Sierra Nevada with wagons. All 52 people survived the journey to California, including two infants who were born on the westward journey.
This week, (starting Sept 29th) a group of endurance athletes are hoping they can shine a much-deserved spotlight on the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party by embarking on a historical expedition that will trace 120 miles of the route the six horseback riders took across the Sierra Nevada.
The full story of the reenactment can be found here:
Here’s where it gets interesting…
“The wagon party decided to split up, increasing their odds of reaching Sutter’s Fort. On Nov. 14, a group of six people left the party on horseback and followed the Truckee River to its source at Lake Tahoe, which was then known only to the Washoe Tribe as “Da Ow,” meaning “lake.” “
“The Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party were not the first white people to lay eyes on Lake Tahoe. But historians believe the six riders were the first to stand on Lake Tahoe’s shoreline. From the mouth of the Truckee River, they traveled south and down Tahoe’s west shore, where several steep canyons and drainages lead up and over the Sierra Nevada crest. According to Antonucci, the route the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy riders took was in all likelihood up McKinney Creek to Burton Pass, near today’s popular Rubicon Trail, frequently traveled by off-roaders.“
Sadly, the map is not clear enough, but I have read that this group followed McKinney Creek up the east side, Miller Creek down to the Rubicon River and then followed the Rubicon River out to the Middle Fork of the American River and out to the valley. Remember, Hell Hole would not have been dammed up.
Here’s the book I’m referencing, but I’m not going to reread it for the page number. A cool book about why Highway 80 is an interstate highway and 88 is not. And the story of why Highway 4 never got built up is interesting. It discusses railroad routes as well. You think we have bribes and politics going on now, they were going on back then as well. It covers all the roads, passes and railways.
Another article about the pioneers…
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=23567
Yet another article. I don’t want to copy and paste a bunch of stuff but each article has a little something more than the last.
https://www.truckeehistory.org/the-first-pioneer-wagons-crossed-the-sierra-over-160-years-ago.html
So, the wagons did eventually go up and over Donner pass. There is a plaque along Old Highway 40 overlooking Donner Lake.
Back to “The Other Rubicon”, it appears that the Tahoe side of the trail was the first white man crossing of the Sierra in the Tahoe area. Just one more reason why the Tahoe side is the better side. 😉
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Rubicon Ronin
100mph Meadow
Posted: August 5, 2014 Filed under: Travel | Tags: history, TNF Leave a commentLong before I started running the Rubicon (I first drove the Tahoe side in 1985) there were a few special spots along the Tahoe side that no longer exist today. In 1984 a tremendous amount of work was done by the FS and volunteers. Mud holes were filled in (bottom dollar hole), a bridge was built over McKinney Creek (eliminating the “Car Wash”), gabions were installed (users added a “pet rock prison” sign), etc. I’m not sure when the reroute happened but “100mph Meadow” went away.
100mph Meadow cut the corner of the intersection of the Rubicon and Barker Pass Road (Forest Road 03). The story goes, that after crawling up Cadillac at one mile per hour, the Jeeps would reach the ‘meadow’, switch in to high range and open up the throttle. The meadow floor was of such a consistency that it did not develop bumps and you could really clean out the carburetors.
Here is where the trail broke out of the forest and headed across the meadow. With the current S&G100 issues, I’ve learn a little about meadows. They have a built in way to ward off other plant/tree species. So when the Jeeps stopped driving on the trail the trees moved in. They didn’t move in to the meadow, which can protect itself, they moved on to the Jeep trail that had nothing living on it, it was dirt. So, the trees grew ON the trail from seeds probably left by Jeeps.
Here is a shot looking across the meadow and then south to Sourdough Hill:
The second half of the meadow and evidence that I was on the trail, an old Jeep rim.
Trees growing ON the trail on the east end of the meadow and the trail disappearing in to the forest.
It was cool to get out and walk around and check things out. I found another old logging road that would be cool to reopen but don’t hold your breath.
The 'Other' Rubicon 