Some, Mormon historian, can check my facts here. Wasn’t it the Donner Party that cleared the trial down Emigrant Canyon that the Mormons used? So, Mormons weren’t the first pioneers to reach the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.

That is correct, the Donner's were there before the pioneers, but they did not come down Emigration canyon. They came down Weber canyon and bushwhacked there way into the valley. Because they went down Weber canyon they were delayed and got caught in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The definitive book on the subject is Ordeal By Hunger.

When I was 15, our Boy Scout Troop from West Los Angeles went on a long campout activity.

We traveled by VW bus all the way to the Salt Lake City area and then were dropped off with our camping gear 36 miles East of the the city.

Our troop hiked the last 36 miles of the Mormon Pioneer Trail. It took us several days or so to accomplish. It started at Henefer, UT and ended
at the "This Is The Place" monument. I will always remember that camping and hiking experience.

It was in the Hot Summer environment so that added some reality of what the Pioneers dealt with especially with all the bugs that just love to pester people. It made us tuff. Not too many other people were on the trail that week. Other than carrying our portable radios along, it was like a trip "Back in Time" for us 15 year olds.

I want to say, Thanks for GREAT SCOUT LEADERS!!!

There are some nice hiking spots on the Mormon pioneer trail. They are fun and enjoyable, and you can still feel the spirit of the pioneers. I wish there were more accesses to some of the other areas and sights a long the Mormon trails here in Utah. I would certainly walk or hike on them. Much of the Mormon trail is covered with scrubs, bugs and snakes, and not good for hiking.

The Donner Party did come down Emigration Canyon. They were following a guide written by someone who had not been here and who recommended they come down Weber Canyon.

However, it was passable only on horseback, not wagon. They spent a lot of time trying to get through Weber Canyon but finally made the alternate route through Emigration Canyon.

When the Mormon Pioneers came the next year, they followed the same steep path with stumps remaining from the Donner Party's route down Emigration Canyon.

The delay trying to get through Weber Canyon caused the Donner Party to be stranded on the western slope of the Sierra mountains where the party broke up into individual camps and many died of exposure. When the snow finally melted, the marks on the trees were twenty feet high.

Utah was part of Mexico in 1847, but ceeded to the US after the Mexican war.

Many trappers and explorers visited the Salt Lake Valley. Peter Skeene Odgen had a fort in what is now Odgen Ut.