Two different views of Twin...
Two different views of Twin Mounds. This landmark was well known to cross-country travelers. Passing between them marked the approach to South Pass.
At the end of Part II in this series, Lone Writer was in South Pass City. Although the mining activity eventually made that location the place to be, the original South Pass City was closer to South Pass at the ninth and last crossing of the Sweetwater River. The town at that location went through several names but eventually took on the name of Burnt Ranch, possibly because Indians burned it to the ground twice. Burnt Ranch later became an Overland Stage Stop and a Pony Express Stop. All of that happened long after the 1856 handcarts passed through. When they went through the only thing at South Pass were more wagons with supplies waiting for them.
Lone Writer turned left on the first road past the rest area going south on Highway 28. That road is designated as Oregon Buttes Road and runs along a line that marked the boundary for the Oregon Territory at one time in our history. Oregon Buttes Road crosses the historic trails corridor about 2.6 miles from the highway. Historic markers have been placed at that intersection.
Turning left on the historic trails leads back to the ninth crossing of the Sweetwater River. It passes through a landmark used by the pioneers known as Twin Mounds. The crossing of the river is on private property for Burnt Ranch. There would not be anything there to look at so Lone Writer made no attempt to contact the owners. There were no buildings there when the handcarts passed through. The small community that was built there in later years was burned to the ground by Indians when the Calvary abandoned it.
Going the other way from Oregon Buttes Road crosses South Pass at the original location. This pass has a gentle slope and is very wide. Wagons would have taken numerous paths parallel to each other in an effort to stay out of the dust so the trail marked today is simply the one chosen to represent all of them.
A few miles west of South Pass was another very popular location because of the natural springs that provided the first abundance of fresh water on the west side of the Great Divide. Because it was on the Pacific side of the mountains, it was referred to as Pacific Springs. During the years when the Pony Express raced across the west, Pacific Springs was a relay station. There is a historic marker beside one of the buildings.
The trail crosses Highway 28 but there is no gate at that point to get on the highway. Using another access road, Lone Writer got on the highway and followed it to the crossing point. A historic rest stop with markers has been placed at that point which is called the False Parting of the Ways. It is called that because at some point in history, a marker was placed there calling it the Parting of the Ways. In fact that is not the correct location.
Lone Writer was able to get back on the original trail on the south side of the rest stop. The trail passed another landmark called Plume Rock. About 9.5 miles from the highway, he reached the true location for Parting of the Ways. This was the point where people who had shared the hardships of traveling for months across the wilderness, made the decision to part ways. Some took the shortcut called the Sublette Cutoff to shave five days off their journey to Oregon. The downside was crossing a desert with no green grass or water for fifty miles. The others chose to continue on the safer route going to Fort Bridger. Of course there was no choice for the handcart companies because the Sublette Cutoff did not go to Salt Lake City.