Col. John Frémont led several exploring expeditions into the Oregon
Territory, mapped the Oregon Trail, and helped add California to the
United States during the Mexican War. He later was one of California’s
first United States Senators and the first presidential candidate of the
Republican Party. In 1844 we find him at the head of an expedition
exploring the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In the account that follows,
Frémont describes crossing the snowy range in February, over what is now
Carson Pass and descending along the approximate route of U. S. Highway
50 to Sacramento.