On March 6-10, 2024, our Expedition Team will retrace the tracks of John A. “Snowshoe” Thompson during his inaugural delivery, in January 1856, of the mail across the Sierra from Placerville, CA to Genoa, NV.
- Expedition commences on Wednesday, March 6th at 7:00am from the Snowshoe Thompson statue in downtown Placerville.
- Arriving in Genoa on Sunday, March 10th around 11:30am.
- Trek and ski is approximately 100 miles with 18,000’/15,000’ elevation gain/loss over 5 days.
- 5 NorCal endurance athletes skilled in wilderness and winter conditions.
- Following researched inaugural January 1856 mail route Thompson blazed.
- Live tracker will enable those interested to follow online our movement across the map each day.
- Professional wilderness photographer embedded to capture the beautiful terrain and action.
- Publishing stories and interviews from select authors and historians on website and Facebook group.
- Special feature on Agnes (Singleton) Thompson Scossa.
We have researched primary sources from numerous sources to find clues to the route he blazed. Then we headed to the wilderness to set feet on the ground and eyes on the landscape to further refine the route. It’s a tedious labor of love, both in wading through the plethora of periodicals, stories, books, websites and archives as well as days spent in the field, surveying the terrain.
Thompson neither wrote down the details of his route(s) nor created maps. He navigated by the terrain and sky. This makes our challenge even harder, in which we revel. [Below, see a few high-level maps that have been created in the past to see the general route].
We believe Thompson generally, followed the Johnson Cutoff route which had previously been used by the emigrants and stagecoaches. Today, much of that trail has been replaced by Routes 50, 89 and 88. However, there are traces of the Old Emigrant Trail, El Dorado Trail and Pony Express Trail which provide clues to the most likely path Snowshoe followed – at least initially. He would have been seeking the path of least resistence for speed and safety.
We share, to the best of our ability, the historical route of Thompson’s inaugural mail delivery route of January 1856. We will also document his numerous alternative routes which he used across the 20 years of delivering the mail and goods in the Sierra (1856-76).
During our Snowshoe Thompson Expedition in March 2024, we will reprise his inaugural mail carrier journey of January 1856 and honor his extraordinary feat of endurance. In addition, we will share stories about the man, and his family, highlighting his remarkable life and character.
We will publish a live tracker link for interested parties to follow along with us over the 5 days we plan to trek, ski and snowshoe from Placerville to Genoa. More information will become available in our Facebook group as the Expedition date approaches.
If you’d like regular updates and want to join in the ongoing discussion, please come join our History Expeditions Facebook Group.
More Information and Resources:
John A. Thompson Life Timeline
Snowshoe Thompson Expedition Team
